MK consumer units going out of business?

[spynage]

I was told this in my local YESS electrical supplies. Is it true? I've been fitting MK as standard for years thinking they would always be around!

 

[nicebutdim]

It was announced some time back that they were to cease production of CUs.

Here's a bit of information about this.

 

[pc1966]

It is sad, but typical of what happens when a business is bought out.

 

[Andy78]

Yes they announced their withdrawal from the consumer unit market a while back. Plenty of other cheap low quality brands about though.

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

They are awful consumer units with the left side main switch so not surprise they have been pulled

 

[nicebutdim]

They are awful consumer units with the left side main switch so not surprise they have been pulled

Other issues aside; why would a left side main switch be a problem? That's the same way Crabtree's Starbreaker boards are set up, but I've never read complaints about those.

Surely some installations would benefit from left side main switch.

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

Other issues aside; why would a left side main switch be a problem? That's the same way Crabtree's Starbreaker boards are set up, but I've never read complaints about those.

Surely some installations would benefit from left side main switch.

Tightening the breakers always pulls then right. Doesn’t on a star breaker because there push in bus bars and much better fixed. Never seen a fully straight MK board.

 

[nicebutdim]

Tightening the breakers always pulls then right. Doesn’t on a star breaker because there push in bus bars and much better fixed. Never seen a fully straight MK board.

I never realised that was the cause of slanting breakers, but see the logic. Funnily enough the board in this house has a slant, but mainswitch is on the right. Maybe floating bus bars are more of an issue than main switch position? Just speculating - I don't have any direct experience from which to comment.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I must have fitted 200 MK boards and just accepted the ‘slant’ on the mcbs as a feature.
I only Started fitting MK because I worked a company doing rewires and they got em dirt cheap off Eddies , and I ended up with loads of spares in my van So made sense to just fit the same.Also when I changed companies they used to send us to WF to get supplies and at that time they only stocked MK & Alto which was basically Wylex relabelled.
sad to think the only way I can get MK now is second hand off eBay...

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

I never realised that was the cause of slanting breakers, but see the logic. Funnily enough the board in this house has a slant, but mainswitch is on the right. Maybe floating bus bars are more of an issue than main switch position? Just speculating - I don't have any direct experience from which to comment.

Decent quality like Hager, Schneider EZ9 or evening the cheaper Fusebox all with right handed switches are easy to get in line. The Loadstars and the MKs are a bloody nightmare.
BG Boards I come across are right hands and slant like Pisa, but I think that’s just cause mainly the people who fit them are DIYers.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

plenty of spares for mk about still. denmans are selling the parts from inside the boards seperate.
personally i tend to use steeple/lewden, does the job, decent build quality and adaptable with each install for left or right main switch

 

[nicebutdim]

Decent quality like Hager, Schneider EZ9 or evening the cheaper Fusebox all with right handed switches are easy to get in line. The Loadstars and the MKs are a bloody nightmare.
BG Boards I come across are right hands and slant like Pisa, but I think that’s just cause mainly the people who fit them are DIYers.

I'd initially asked because the only board I've ever fitted was a Starbreaker and I couldn't see why left side main switch would be an issue - I'd actually suspected you hated this layout because everything was back to front to that which you were used to fitting

I initially decided on Starbreaker specifically because it provided the only option (that I could find) for 2 pole RCBOs with a left side main switch. It made sense at the time, but there's no reason why those tails couldn't have been brought in the same way to feed a main switch on the other side. By the time I'd got to that way of thinking, the plug in bus bar seemed like a nice touch and I stuck with plan A.


Edit: The slanting board I have is Contactum. To be fair the slant is slight, but those breakers definitely aren't at right angles.