Ebay Consumer unit (new) thoughts

[Pat H]

Looking to upgrade my onw CCU
Looking at:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=162069397926#ht_687wt_1169

Gives me 12 usable ways after the 2 RCD spaces taken.
Its metal so current. What do people think? Not used that brand before.

 

[westward10]

Maybe the eBay one comes with a free fire extinguisher.

 

[Pat H]

Need at least 12 way so that would work. Cheaper than the hagar but I'm tempted by the hagar unit. Okd one is hagar and has been solid.

 

[Pat H]

Local supplier has quoted £370 inc vat for Wylex enclosure with 12 RCBOs
Not so bad.

 

[hightower]

I've just fitted my first Hager board and I'm very impressed. Think Hager is going to be my go to board from now on. Only other makes I've fitted are Europa (own house, RCBOs, not bad on a budget) and BG (terrible, had to beg and plead with it to get the cover on (both times). Hager - everything just clicked in exactly as it should, and when the final part of putting the lid on came everything just sat perfectly square. It was something dreams are made of.

 

[unconditional]

I've just fitted my first Hager board and I'm very impressed. Think Hager is going to be my go to board from now on. Only other makes I've fitted are Europa (own house, RCBOs, not bad on a budget) and BG (terrible, had to beg and plead with it to get the cover on (both times). Hager - everything just clicked in exactly as it should, and when the final part of putting the lid on came everything just sat perfectly square. It was something dreams are made of.

Hagars my go-to. Seems to be the only brand that can make a board where rcbo's/mcbs dont "twist" when you tighten it all up nicely. Less fails-out-the-box on rcbo's too. Unless client wont stump for RCBO's in which case whatever MK/wylex bundle is cheap today, won't install anything other than "big brands" though, good luck explaining to a customer why they need a whole new board because the RCD is out of spec after 18 months and whatever shed's mickey mouse brand value con unit bundle has changed to a different label and they were the sole importer.

Ebay stuff, been a bit wary of it myself since the fake mcb's, use it uneasily for discontinued parts. Traceable quality standards track and all that.

 

[Pat H]

I'm waiting on a quote from a local supplier for a Hagar board but it looks to be nearly twice the price. But likely the route I'll go.
I must say I've used ebay a lot over 1300 transactions over the years and I've had few problems. I always use sellers with high seller ratings and a trading history. They value their reputation too much to have issues. Its only buying direct from China I ever have issues and I'm normally taking a gamble on a low price so its only on non safety critical things.

 

[Nickj]

I'm an ex programmer and I had a successful computing business and I too bought almost entirely from online sources. I too bought from people with good feedback.

I had good discounts and most of the time everything went smoothly.

However, if one of the parts I bought was dodgy (rarely happened and I bought a lot) then I didn't risk anyone's life, I just lost that persons ability to work until I replaced the part.

I buy electrical stuff from screwfix, tlc etc and not from ebay.

Those companies have a reputation to hold and so they do all th due diligence in making sure the parts are safe for use.

If I ever got sued for dangerous parts (copies, not properly tested at manufacture) then I can pass the blame directly to them. they have massive insurance polices and systems in place to deal with it...do ebay users have such insurance? or will they run away when something major goes wrong?

That's my 2 cents. pay the extra and feel safe in knowledge that it's genuine

 

[Pat H]

Yes I agree. For a costumer of course. For yourself things can be slightly different.
But even then for some things like cable clips I'm less worried.

 

[hightower]

Yes I agree. For a costumer of course. For yourself things can be slightly different.

Not sure about you, but I definitely don't value my life, and especially my families life, any less than that of a customer.

 

[Pat H]

I'll take the risk on the cable clips.

 

[hightower]

I'll take the risk on the cable clips.

Pretty sure the title of the thread is about an ebay consumer unit - how this got on to cable clips....

 

[Pat H]

I asked options on the eBay item and that then evolved into a wider consideration.
Valid and interesting opinions have been offered which I've taken on board for the most part but specifically re ebay my extensive experience leaves me less worried as long as the use of the item isn't safety compromised.

 

[westward10]

Pretty sure the title of the thread is about an ebay consumer unit - how this got on to cable clips....

Clips.
Chips, oops wrong thread.

 

[charlie76]

I've been installing the MK boards and found them to be spot on. I certainly wouldn't buy anything off eBay branded or not. It could well be fake. What come back have you got if you buy a board from fakeelectricalfareast2001 and someone dies in 10 years time because the RCD is actually just a nail welded between the feed and load contacts... Steer clear...
In any case you can get an MK board from Screwfix for a fiver more than that.

 

[westward10]

Is MK an improvement then ?