lets have some opinions

[franci666]

who, in the opinion of you sparks out there, is the best electrical component manufacturer??

looking to replace my consumer unit for one with more ways. who would you recommend?

let the battle commence!!!

 

[ricicle]

Any of the reputable brands if you are doing this notifiable work yourself.

If you are not doing it then it will be the brand that your Electrician sees as best.

 

[franci666]

dont worry, i know its notifiable work.

just dont want the cheapest/ nastiest installed. i want to make sure there are not any bad manufacturers that no spark would touch.

just trying to see if there is a general favorite, and a general "dont touch".

 

[londonboy]

Personally I like Crabtree CU's but I know with the recall people are now hesitant

 

[franci666]

recall????

what was the recall for??

 

[franci666]

also, have you got any model numbers of what was recalled??

 

[londonboy]

http://www.screwfix.com/sfd/content...f;jsessionid=UMQKYXCPFK4IOCSTHZOCFFA?ts=43033

Have a look at that link.
Wylex Crabtree and Volex were affected.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[flameport]

I normally fit Hager boards, as they are good quality and not that expensive.

As for the others, apart from the unbranded imports which all seem to have have 3 letter names:

Wylex/Volex/Crabtree had their chance and failed big time - any factory which can turn out defective items for a full year must have no quality control at all.

MK are all very well, provided you don't mind them changing the design of the circuit breakers all the time, so although the new ones may fit a board fitted last year, the levers don't line up and the whole lot looks an untidy mess.

MEM are good quality but grossly overpriced.

Contactum were cheap tat even before they went out of business and were bought up by some lot from Saudi Arabia.

There are others.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

As for the others, apart from the unbranded imports which all seem to have have 3 letter names:

So are the branded imports, like Chint for example, OK?

MK are all very well, provided you don't mind them changing the design of the circuit breakers all the time, so although the new ones may fit a board fitted last year, the levers don't line up and the whole lot looks an untidy mess.

Keep the cover closed then, or put it in a cupboard and close the door.

MEM are good quality but grossly overpriced.

If you're getting an electrician to do a rewire, or a proper job of a CU replacement, what % increase does extra for MEM represent?

There are others.

Merlin Gerin?

The metal Siemens used to be OK - dunno what they are like these days.

franci - try Googling for products described as "single-phase distribution boards" rather than "consumer units"...

 

[sparkwright]

I normally fit Hager boards, as they are good quality and not that expensive.

As for the others, apart from the unbranded imports which all seem to have have 3 letter names:

Wylex/Volex/Crabtree had their chance and failed big time - any factory which can turn out defective items for a full year must have no quality control at all.

MK are all very well, provided you don't mind them changing the design of the circuit breakers all the time, so although the new ones may fit a board fitted last year, the levers don't line up and the whole lot looks an untidy mess.

MEM are good quality but grossly overpriced.

Contactum were cheap tat even before they went out of business and were bought up by some lot from Saudi Arabia.

There are others.

Spot on comments.

I like to use Hager, most of the time.
Nice quality stuff, never any problems, easy to work with.
One of a few manufacturers that provide 25 A MCBs.
Even nice design if on show.
Do not rely on the little spirit level they now include inside the board.

I usually use MEM for 3 phase.

 

[1john]

Have the hager boards still got the MET down the left side, that was a stoooopid design IMO, especially when swapping out an old wylex rewirable board, the CPC's would never reach.

I have installed the CPN or CTI boards in the past and had no problem with them, obviously not my ideal choice but to speak as you find, they were easy to install, everything lined up and there was ample room for dressing it neatly . I have never had a problem with Contactum either although I dont like how the whole lid sits over the skeleton on the plastic boards. I have had alot more greif from faulty MCB's from MK since they moved the mcb switch from 'mid position' on the breaker. I have found wylex to be good in the past, but I recently installed one loaded with RCBO's and could not get the breakers to sit flat for anything so each breaker is slightly wonky. I think I may go back to hager, fortunatly I have found a fair quantity of mid position MK MCB's for the time being.

 

[flameport]

Have the hager boards still got the MET down the left side.

No, the new ones have it along the top edge with the neutrals.

 

[1john]

Have the hager boards still got the MET down the left side.

No, the new ones have it along the top edge with the neutrals.

Looks like I will switch back to hager, dpnt think I have installed a hager unit for 4/5 years now. The old units were nice and soft for cutting the knockouts with a knife iirc.