I agree Telco are horrible. Contactum was always a favourite of mine.
Which double socket to buy
- Thread starter RobTi
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Contactum used to be one of the very few makers who used two pole switches on their sockets. I used to use them a lot but use click now and the cable entry positions are the same layout as contactum so no trying to wrestle cables into different orientations if swapping.
It looks like that is a NO.
Given the ongoing trickle of personal opinions being offered, it may be appropriate for me to remind people of what I wrote in post #11, namely ...
Kind Regards, John
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I bought LAP Euro mod stuff from Fewscrix. It was BG.
Yep.
When you have to go back after 2 months of original installation, and start replacing BG accessories every fortnight, you tend to vow to never use them ever again.
The grid switches are the worst, IMO.
When you have to go back after 2 months of original installation, and start replacing BG accessories every fortnight, you tend to vow to never use them ever again.
The grid switches are the worst, IMO.
That makes sense. What sort/mode of very early failure re you seeing?
I have to say that, over the years, I've used accessories of a wide range of brands - from cheapest ('unbranded') to 'very expensive', and I have to say that I have very rarely had to replace any of them, unless they have been mechanically damaged.
Kind Regards, John
Just checked my receipts to see when I've used BG from Screwfix and see I've used more than remembered. During a full refurb in March 2018 I replaced every accessory in a 1 bed rental property with BG apart from the shower and immersion MK switches because they were fairly new and the CU which I used Pro Elec to fit in the space. To date the bathroom pull switch is the only failure and that happened in May and September 2018, second time I fitted Crabtree.
I expect rental accessories to not last as long as other residences but 5 years on still going strong. This is the only property where I've fitted a bulk of BG products, only seem to have used 12 other BG accessories and 6 of those are DSSOs in my home.
Other than that I've fitted a number of BG CUs without a single known failure.
As a matter of interest what sort of failures do you experience?
As it happens the MK shower switch failed about mid 2020 (During lockdown) so about 3-4 years old and replaced with BG 20A DP switch by tenant (to avoid visitors) and that lasted just a few showers, hardly a surprise but it failed so quickly there were no external signs of failure.
Yes some do.
Some think you need to switch the plate/pull switch on/off every time you use to switch "that little red light off" but you can`t tell `em it only needs using for servicing or some kind of "emergency" situation thingy
I think that over the years we get an opinion about certain brands and sometimes our ideas are reinforced or even countered by remarks from our peers. Whether we end up with a reasonably logically correct up to date opinion can be another matter as we do all have a little tendency to stick with an opinion once made.
If we think something is "the worse thing since white bread" then we tend to stick with that idea (if anyone doubts it, I prefer wholemeal bread )
If we think something is "the worse thing since white bread" then we tend to stick with that idea (if anyone doubts it, I prefer wholemeal bread )
Sorry but my opinion is very different to yours and it's included in all of my rental agreements.
This particular example was very lucky: https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/shower-isolator.595585/ that the water went down the drain and the bill was under £2K
Very much so.I think that over the years we get an opinion about certain brands and sometimes our ideas are reinforced or even countered by remarks from our peers. Whether we end up with a reasonably logically correct up to date opinion can be another matter as we do all have a little tendency to stick with an opinion once made. ... If we think something is "the worse thing since white bread" then we tend to stick with that idea (if anyone doubts it, I prefer wholemeal bread )
I also suspect that some of the views/opinions that people sincerely have, 'in good faith', could well be biased. Just as we don't hear on the 6 o'clock news every day about all the planes that have not crashed that day, I suspect that electricians (understandably) do not think about, talk about or remember the countless number (undoubtedly the vast majority) of accessories, or all brands, that have not 'failed prematurely.
As I have already observed twice in this thread (and now a third time
), the diversity of opinions we always see as regards 'brands to avoid' and 'brands I've had no problems with' suggests to me that, at least in terms of 'premature failure', there is probably very little to choose between brands, even between the cheapest and most expensive.Kind Regards, John
Additionally the cost of running the little red light is avoidable 24/7.
I have just measured the current of my shower in standby mode IE isolator on... 12.4mA or 2.85W assuming 230V but 3.01W at my current 243V.
Circa 25KWh per annum
Yep but of course still avoidable.
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