Which brand sockets to get - opinions invited

[DrEvil]

Hi there

Hoping for a bit of assistance/opinion.

My dad's getting a certain amount of reqiring done. He's also changing his socket faces and light switches over to chrome but he went out and bought homebase's own cheapest (paid around £8 each after discount).

Having in the past picked up B&Q's cheapest (Marbo branded) and seen them fuse within the year I advised him that getting a better brand may be worth it, especially as i think the homebase ones don't even look that smart (in my opinion).

Had a look for MK stuff and it's pricey in chrome! But other brands I've seen are Crabtree (£16 each) and Volex (£9 each) on the Screwfix site and the Volex on bulk buy ends up being cheaper than the homebase stuff.

Does anyone have any opinion on Crabtree and Volex stuff? Is it alright.

Would anyone recommend any other affordable brands in this range?

 

[GaryMo]

Have a look at the Click Deco range by Scolmore.

It's not expensive and the accessories of of a very good quality.

 

[JohnD]

Crabtree is good quality. Volex is cheap.

 

[sparkwright]

Far as I can tell Volex sockets are made from Crabtree socket components.

Hamilton do a reasonable range of stuff.

Avoid the ultra-flat plate ranges as they take up more space in the back box.

Also be aware some ranges have larger faceplates than the norm, which can be a problem where two accessories may butt up together.

 

[flameport]

Crabtree is good quality.

Not any more - they have recently changed, and although the fronts look identical, the backs are completely different.
They are much thinner, the terminals and terminal screws are smaller, and wires tend to be pushed out of the terminals when tightening the screws.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Click

 

[Lectrician]

Hamilton are good quality and most wholesalers have very favourable rates on them.