Things I Don't Like

[roys]

I'm not a fan

I used to like Massey Fergusons, but I am an extractor fan.

 

[Rob_the_rich]

I like very minor tv celebrities, I am an extra actor fan.

 

[binky]

Deere, Deere me, these puns are bad :^O

 

[Badger]

Is it the CCTV cameras or the Christmas lights?

prob both!

 

[sprocketflup]

those enormous wind turbines are just as bad, not a big fan

 

[ProDave]

Thing's I don't like.

Hager CU's

Yep, never thought I would say that.  the last one I installed was in my own new house just before Amd 3, it was an "old" one with a metal back and a plastic front. It was brilliant. A continuous row of round 20mm knock outs all along the top and bottom plus a few larger ones. Perfect for terminating SWA cable direct into the CU, and for ordinary cables there's nothing wrong with a round hole and a grommet. So yes I USED to like Hager CU's.

Yesterday I installed a new Amd 3 Hager CU, the first one I have seen.  Oh my god, this is a lesson in how to take a good product and ruin it.

Gone are all the round knock outs, so when I come to install a couple of SWA cables I will have to terminate them in an adaptable box.

In the bottom of the CU there are only 5 small rectangular knock outs. By the time you have farted around with the silly bit of grommet strip, there is just, and I mean only just, enough room to get two 25mm tails and a 16mm earth through one.  The top has a row of much larger knock outs, but why do you want much larger on the top when IP ratings will be an issue if you use them?

As I say a perfect example of "it ain't broke, so we will fix it and ruin it"

All the "old" one wanted was a metal front with no changes to the back part of the box, but of course that would have been far to simple.

 

 

[Sidewinder]

Funnily enough ProDave, I asked Hager about the knockout thing @ Elex just yesterday.

You can get plain boxes rather than ones containing knockouts.

One thing that is drawing me to Hager at the moment is that the breakers & RCBO's are common across the range.

 

[kerching]

Well I am pricing a job at moment....3 phase board, only a little one 8 ways.

always used to use Merlin G

looked in Schneider book....now there are TWO!

i know one is the old Square D and the Other is the MG one with the sliders BUT I could have made a complete Keith Vaz of my pricing if I had not noticed

so I Nominate Schneider

 

[ProDave]

Funnily enough ProDave, I asked Hager about the knockout thing @ Elex just yesterday.

You can get plain boxes rather than ones containing knockouts.

One thing that is drawing me to Hager at the moment is that the breakers & RCBO's are common across the range.

Yes I always liked Hager because they kept the design of their switchgear constant, so you could fit a new MCB into an old box and it would still match, unlike the likes of MK, Wylex, Craptree etc.

I don't want a plain box, then you have the ballache of drilling holes, I just want 20mm round knock outs, like they used to do, and like BG still do.

Biggest complaint is none of the wholesalers actually bother to advertise how many, what size and what shape knock outs a particular box has. Isn't that kind of important to know?
 

 

[Blue Duck]

I'm wondering if we should ditch BS7671 and start building control panels instead, yeah I know the same reg is covered but if we started building the things from scratch at least they wouldn't be ****.

 

[Sidewinder]

I don't drill 20/25/32/40 mm holes in DB's these days, I drill 10mm & hole punch.

So, much better & easier.

 

[Andy™]

I don't drill 20/25/32/40 mm holes in DB's these days, I drill 10mm & hole punch.

So, much better & easier.

same here, although i will sometimes use a step drill instead

 

[Tony S]

I'm wondering if we should ditch BS7671 and start building control panels instead, yeah I know the same reg is covered but if we started building the things from scratch at least they wouldn't be ****.

As an alternative I can let you have a copy of NFPA-NEC. Side by side BS7671 almost appears logical.

At least they keep sections in sequence with each new edition. 250 is earthing grounding bonding plonking a bit of wire between electrical bits.