Wylex, Volex & MK, these seem to be the main choices on EBay and
screwfix for consumer units. I have always perceived that MK are the
best. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

Thanks

On 26 Jul 2005 00:35:16 -0700, "Rob" wrote:

Wylex, Volex & MK, these seem to be the main choices on EBay and
screwfix for consumer units. I have always perceived that MK are the
best. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

Thanks


I think that MK are the best of these, having fitted five of them.
Same thing with the wiring accessories.


If you are going to use a fair amount of their stuff, as I have, it's
worth going along to an electrical wholesaler like WF and negotiating
a good discount.






--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Wylex, Volex & MK, these seem to be the main choices on EBay and
screwfix for consumer units. I have always perceived that MK are the
best. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

I wasn't much impressed with the Volex. Not enough room inside the case.
However, I thought my Contactum was very good indeed. I bought it because it
had the cheapest RCBOs at the time.

Christian.

I'd rate them:
MK=best, Wylex=ok, Volex=budget
I've used the Wylex split load kits from Screwfix and they are a doddle
to install.
The MK kits are not much more

In message ,
Andy Hall wrote:

On 26 Jul 2005 00:35:16 -0700, "Rob" wrote:

Wylex, Volex & MK, these seem to be the main choices on EBay and
screwfix for consumer units. I have always perceived that MK are the
best. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

Thanks


I think that MK are the best of these, having fitted five of them.
Same thing with the wiring accessories.


If you are going to use a fair amount of their stuff, as I have, it's
worth going along to an electrical wholesaler like WF and negotiating
a good discount.


I'm not so sure. The main thing against the Volex is that the internal
wiring space is smaller than the other two (I'm looking at the three
that Screwfix do). The MK has slightly nicer plastic which is easier to
punch through for cable entry, but other than that I don't think there's
a lot to choose. If you're fitting RCBOs then the Volex really only has
room for the two-module variety while the others should be able to
handle the single-module type which is taller than a normal MCB.

The Volex has power entry at left with RCD at far right.

The MK has power entry at left with RCD in the middle.

The Wylex has power entry at right with RCD in the middle.

Main entry to left or right might sway you, depending on existing
configuration of meter etc.

For the Screwfix kits, the RCD on the Volex and Wylex is 63A while that
on the MK is 80A. The supplied mix of MCBs is identical to all three.

The busbar on the Wylex clamps under the *screws* of the MCBs while the
Volex and the MK clamp into the cable entry. Wylex's method means that
you need to be very careful about buying additional MCBs as not all have
a suitable slot for the busbar.

The busbar cover on the Wylex and the MK is a flimsy bit of plastic held
in place by friction. That on the Volex clips directly onto the busbar
itself. While this can leave the ends of the Volex busbar exposed, it
does mean that it is possible to isolate the RCD side of the Volex and
remove the busbar in order to swap an MCB without exposing the (live)
busbar on the non-RCD side.

The split load kit on the Volex is enamelled solid copper bars. They can
get in the way sometimes, particularly if you're trying to get 2x25mm2
incomers into the main switch. It's also not so easy to feel that you
have tightened the screws sufficiently. The other two use flexible
insulated cables with crimped "bootlace" ends.

At Screwfix at the moment, the Volex kit (with MCBs) is £12.50 cheaper
than the Wylex, and £17 cheaper than the MK.

As for the wiring accessories, the biggest difference I have noticed
with the premium brands (MK) over cheaper ones (apart from the standard
of "finish") is that the part of the accessory behind the faceplate is
often smaller. This is particularly true of light switches. You may find
that this helps you to fit the cables more easily in to the back box.

HTH

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Two free issues: http://www.livtech.co.uk/ Living With Technology
.... If this were an actual tagline, it would be funny.

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 11:47:04 +0100, Martin Angove
wrote:



As for the wiring accessories, the biggest difference I have noticed
with the premium brands (MK) over cheaper ones (apart from the standard
of "finish") is that the part of the accessory behind the faceplate is
often smaller. This is particularly true of light switches. You may find
that this helps you to fit the cables more easily in to the back box.

Also on most if not all of MK's ranges, the terminals and entry angle
for the wires allows them to be dressed neatly inside the box and
avoiding sharp bends




--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On 26 Jul 2005 00:35:16 -0700, Rob wrote:

Wylex, Volex & MK, these seem to be the main choices on EBay and
screwfix for consumer units. I have always perceived that MK are the
best. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

MK have a habit of subtly changing the design so that in 10 years time
a new MK MCB won't fit your now 10 year old MK CU... With Wylex on the
otherhand you can get MCBs that will fit Wylex CUs that where
orginally fitted with wired fuses... I've used Wylex without bother.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In article om,
"Dave Liquorice" writes:

MK have a habit of subtly changing the design so that in 10 years time
a new MK MCB won't fit your now 10 year old MK CU...

Yes, I've been stung by that. I think the problem is that MK
don't actually make the CU parts -- they are bought in to
complement MK's other products. The current plastic CU cases
aren't up to the same quality as most other MK products IMO;
that's not to say there's anything wrong with them, but I
generally buy MK because I want high quality, not average.

I don't have any major complaints about their breakers though,
other than the incompatible design changes over time.
Sometimes they don't do a particular breaker rating I want,
which rules their product out in that case.

--
Andrew Gabriel

In article .com,
Rob wrote:
Wylex, Volex & MK, these seem to be the main choices on EBay and
screwfix for consumer units. I have always perceived that MK are the
best. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

I bought a Crabtree off Ebay, and was very pleased - very easy to wire.
Depending on where you are in the country, extra MCBs etc might be
difficult to get off the shelf, so make sure you get all you need from the
seller.

--
*I don't have a solution, but I admire your problem. *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
Rob wrote:
Wylex, Volex & MK, these seem to be the main choices on EBay and
screwfix for consumer units. I have always perceived that MK are the
best. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

I bought a Crabtree off Ebay, and was very pleased - very easy to wire.
Depending on where you are in the country, extra MCBs etc might be
difficult to get off the shelf, so make sure you get all you need from the
seller.

More stupidity. You buy electrical equipment that you can easily get parts
fro locally. Boy are some real dumb!

In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
I bought a Crabtree off Ebay, and was very pleased - very easy to
wire. Depending on where you are in the country, extra MCBs etc might
be difficult to get off the shelf, so make sure you get all you need
from the seller.

More stupidity. You buy electrical equipment that you can easily get
parts fro locally.

You're very unlikely to *ever* need spare parts for a consumer unit. Or
not a decent make. Unless, of course, you've attacked it with your hacksaw.

Boy are some real dumb!

Just back from the pub again? Be nice if you could post here when sober
and in right mind, once in a while. As if.

--
*Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Christian McArdle wrote:

I wasn't much impressed with the Volex. Not enough room inside the case.
However, I thought my Contactum was very good indeed. I bought it because it
had the cheapest RCBOs at the time.

Yup, I have done a few contactum ones. As you say loads of space. The
plastic is a tad perhaps not as nice as some but it does the job.

(The Hager insulated CUs are OK as well - (the metalclad may be but I
have not used on of them)).


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
More stupidity. You buy electrical equipment that you can easily get
parts fro locally.

Given that you'd break near anything when installing a new CU I can see
your point.

Hint 1. You really don't need a hacksaw for this.

Hint 2. You need to know what you're doing.

Hint 3. Probably everyone reading here already knows this.

--
*How much deeper would the oceans be without sponges? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:

More stupidity. You buy electrical equipment that you can easily get
parts for locally.

Given that

He doesn't want to buy products available locally. This is true. Where do
you buy your electric cabers? From mail order caber shops? Internet caber
shops?

"John Rumm" wrote in message
...
Christian McArdle wrote:

I wasn't much impressed with the Volex. Not enough room inside the case.
However, I thought my Contactum was very good indeed. I bought it because
it
had the cheapest RCBOs at the time.

Yup, I have done a few contactum ones. As you say loads of space. The
plastic is a tad perhaps not as nice as some but it does the job.

(The Hager insulated CUs are OK as well - (the metalclad may be but I have
not used on of them)).


--
Cheers,

John.

I have fitted a few Click CUs in the last month and found them to be superb
for space although I still prefer Crabtree if price is not an option.

Adam

In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
More stupidity. You buy electrical equipment that you can easily get
parts for locally.

He doesn't want to buy products available locally.

Of course the obvious question would be to ask about when and where you
last installed - or changed - a CU, so we'd know where to send the fire
brigade since you seem to think they protect the feeder cable, given your
posts on another thread.

Crabtree have always been a company who design their products well. Unlike
many others. And I was very pleased with their design of their CU - easy
to wire with plenty of space.

But you simply buy the most heavily advertised and discounted anything.
What a fool.

--
*Just remember...if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
ARWadsworth wrote:
I have fitted a few Click CUs in the last month and found them to be
superb for space although I still prefer Crabtree if price is not an
option.

Years ago when I was doing lots of electrical installations I really
preferred Crabtree for everything. And it was readily available 'down sauf'
But now, few wholesalers here stock their full range.

I've often wondered why.

--
*Change is inevitable ... except from vending machines *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
More stupidity. You buy electrical equipment that you can easily
get
parts for locally.

He doesn't want to buy products available locally.

Of course the obvious

He still doesn't want to buy electrical products available locally.

snip babble