Is there a QUALITY household dimmer switch?
 

I've been through many dimmer switches over the years and its always the same story... They only last a few years. Is there a higher level of quality than those available at home depot etc.? They were bad enough when they were American made... now that everything comes from china I'm afraid that besides failing they will probably burn down the house.

I'm skeptical about advice from know-nothing 'associates' and dealers steering you towards their high-profit line. Is there something like a 'Hospital rating' for switches or a manufacturer of Quality stuff?

yes go to msc direct and look thru there catalog , the public can buy from them , they are more expensive than the box stores but sell graded materials .

You could also try an electrical supply house. They sell better switches. I bought all my electrical from a local supply house 13 years ago and the same dimmer switches are still going strong.

Get an Ariadni. They are in red and white boxes. They have the slide beside the toggle switch and are not the rotary type. I used them for many years & never had a customer complain or replaced a failed one. Put them in my house when I built. Never an issue. I have some that have near 800W on them. You have to size them to the correct amount of wattage you have in bulbs on the load. They make different load ratings. Read the instructions and don't break off any more tabs than you have to or at all. This may require positioning them differently in the switch box if you have a multi-gang situation. Putting on the end gives more room for the Alum. tabs.

What happens is people don't realize that they are rated for different wattages or remove too much of the heat sink when they install them.