Brand choice

On the subject of faulty gear.

Contactum pull switches - seem to fail regularly.

MK switches and socket outlets, including their outdoor ranges - absolute rubbish, got sick of swapping out Logic rage light switches and Masterseal outdoor socket outlets.

Eterna/Enlite LED floodlights - don't seem to last 5 minutes - avoid, along with any wholesaler's 'Own brand'.

The older 70s/80s/MK/Crabtree/Wylex stuff was way superior in terms of simple white moulded accessories.

Contactum consumer units - the old plastic clamshell lids - awful. Lost count of how many are missing or broken off.

Wylex 60/100A metalclad switchefuses - terrible terminal arrangements, with 2 different sized Allen head grub screws for mains and earth connection pts.

Hager sockets - not a fan, don't like the closely grouped centrally-located wiring terminals - makes it hard to seat the accessory when screwing front back.

BG - RCBO & RCD failures.

I could go on!

1

Crabtree is my favourite here - well constructed and easy to wire; terminals sensibly positioned - screwdriver access from a common direction. MK are solidly constructed but more awkward to wire, with terminals in less-friendly positions. MEM also good. I have not come across what I would call a really bad brand. MK has a very good range (but not lamp holders it seems - or has that changed lately?). I used to buy MK for the dolly operated switches, which I preferred to the rocker type, but these seem to have disappeared from the market.


For plug tops I have never liked MK. They are of heavy, solid construction (perhaps giving the "quality" feel to some, hence popular in d.i.y shops) but are not the easiest to wire. The philosophy goes back to the BS546 range - wrap around terminals and narrow channels in which to run the sleeved conductors, requiring conductor length to be precisely cut and risking snagging. Pinch pillar terminals are much easier. At least the pins do not fall out when the top is removed!


The MK auto-cord grip is the basis of a good idea but it needs refinement. Certainly it grips a thin cord very tightly - pull harder and it grips harder. Thick cords are very difficult to insert. You would not believe (or maybe you would) the number of times I have come across thick cord wired into MK plugs with the outer sheath stripped right back so the cord grip is gripping the inner sleeved conductors. The MK shutter arrangement - requiring the simultaneous insertion of the live and neutral pins, instead of the insertion of the earth pin, to open the shutters - is a good idea, for which MK deserves credit.


Overall for plugs, Crabtree wins again. Note that Crabtree was the first to introduce sleeved live and neutral pins (now compulsory) and in fact introduced this idea on its former BS546 interlocking plugs.

2

Fancy stuff - not handled enough to have an opinion.

3

Light fittings - again not handled a great deal. Fitzgerald was mentioned earlier; I have installed a few of these - easily available, practical, affordable, do the job well.

4

Yes, it is the ubiquitous Wylex. Easy to get spares for upgrades and modifications. However the consumer units in my house are Square-D, one of them installed by me - also good.

May I add another couple of categories please?


5. PIRs.

6. Flood lights.


Obviously, the two tend to go together.


In my experience, no coating has been particularly durable and PIRs certainly don't last forever.

For may years my favourite stand-alone PIR was of all things the Wickes 110-degree own-brand one - it has a decent amount of wiring space, included a PE parking terminal, three-point mounting with deep standoffs so easy to fix to uneven walls, two separately grommeted entries so easy to loop through, easy to adjust (both in position and light level/time) and relay output so no problems paralleling it with other sensors or override switches. The only thing I didn't particularly like about it was the clip-on lid - but it was reasonably difficult to remove so not really a safety concern. Best of all, over perhaps 15 years never had a single one fail on me.  Of course they've stopped doing it now....

    - Andy.

Yes I`d forgotten the Contactum pull switches - no they are pretty poor, I dont use them.


Lampholders ashley and pendant sets BG my pref too.


Yes PIR switches I didn`t mention - I found the friedland ones and some BG ok - can para up as relay output so I like them.

Years ago, when PIR floods were quite new there was I think a Briish make and the PIR switch and flood were on separate joints of a longer stem. You could mont at a decent height for tamper evasion , get a reasonable target for detection and tilt the flood down enough to prevent blinding , all with a bit of care. They were expense though being relative new tech. Nowadays all the combined units seem to be so near that you either get a good target of a downish flood but not both to any great degree, therefore the separate switch and light option , of course the stan alone PIR often costs more than a combined unit.

Also I forgot to ask about LAP.

I have only ever seen them at Screwfix so have avoided them but no idea what they like (i did fit some customers own downlights though).

Any views folks?