Is 'Steeple' a viable brand for consumer units?

[ikearns]

Hi all

We are currently getting quotes for an electrician to supply a new consumer unit to replace the individual switches which have been in our house for decades (the house dates back to 1902).

The majority of quotes centre around the brand Crabtree however one quote has mentioned a brand called Steeple which is the homebrand of the Denhams chain of electrical distributors.

Can anyone please clarify if this is a viable solution for our residential electrical installation or should we only stick with the common brands like MK, Wylex, Crabtree etc?

I am sure the board comes up to spec and the dual-RCD insulated 15 way board seems to tick all the boxes but as I am sure most people would be, I am concerned that it is a homebrand and not a known market name

Any help and views are appreciated

regards

Ian

 

[kai]

Go for a Wylex or MK Board, it's Easier to purchase spares for at a later date, as they are widely stocked + at the right price.

 

[BigJon]

I've never heard of it TBH.
Branded consumer units are very reasonably priced these days so if it were me I'd spend the extra few £ and get a decent one, Crabtree, Merlin(schnider), MK, Wylex etc.
Atleast in future you know you'll still be able to get replacement parts.
Steeple may be a good make, hopefully someone else can comment on they're quality.

 

[jaysean1]

Im think that steeple DBs are made by the people who make wylex.

 

[333rocky333]

The steeple mcbs were part of the wylex recall, so I would also assume there the same.

 

[ikearns]

The steeple mcbs were part of the wylex recall, so I would also assume there the same.

I saw that Electrium made those recalled MCBs and that also included the Crabtree brand so would that mean that Crabtree / Wylex / Steeple are all 'one in the same' and just the badge differs? Much in the same way that Volkswagen are the parent group of Audi / Seat / Skoda?

 

[1john]

Go for Hager, electrium managed to pump out dodgy MCB's for 2 years, MK mcb's are unreliable, cheap and nasty. Other brands are of equal or perhaps better quality as hager but far more expensive.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I've never heard of it TBH.

I think it's Denman's own brand.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

...Steeple which is the homebrand of the Denhams chain of electrical distributors.

I think it's Denman's own brand.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

 

[securespark]

Suprised Ban isn't jumping in to say, shouldn't you have written:

"..."Steeple" which is the own brand of the Denmans chain of electrical distributors."

http://www.denmans.co.uk/downloads_public/steeple_consumer_units.pdf

I haven't fitted these, but used to fit 100's of the previous generation units made by GE and also marketed as Sector, Senate's own brand.

They were very reliable in my opinion.

 

[sparkybird]

yes but I know from experience that getting parts is a PITA... go for something a bit more regular (ie one that we've all heard of!)

 

[ikearns]

I had a chat with the good people at Denmans Electrical Wholesale and they appear very helpful.

The units do indeed come off the same production line as Crabtree and Wylex and they are the middle component range that they stock:-

Crabtree / Wylex
Steeple
'Basic' (the range is actually called basic)

The MCBs between labelled brands are not compatible but the units and components are of a good quality and popular for domestic installations.

With a good number of branches around the country then I dont think buying components after installation will be an issue and as per their legacy units made by GE, they fully support them for years to come.

I asked about the previous MCB recall and whilst this was over a year ago the rep in the branch said it was approached very responsibly with Electrium (the manufacturer) calling all contacts who had purchased the effected components with instruction to replace them. This was followed up by a letter and another call if no reply was received - appears to be good and responsible customer service.

We have decided to go with this brand as it sits within budget and will be happy to post review and images after the installation.

 

[ELZ4742]

indeed, steeple is denmans own, distributed by electrium, made by crabtree.
the recall was on a certain batch of 6a, 10a and 16a mcbs. they paid contractors £70 per mcb to change them as part of the recall.

 

[AndyPRK]

Just how many brands do electrium make