Quieter bathroom pull switch

[alexp78]

It seems that new 6A ceiling pull switches are cheaper and louder than old. Threw away one during a refit just because it was old, but it had a much easier and quieter action than the nasty CLUNK of the new one. Not interested in electronic dimmer switches, or PIRs, etc. Has anyone done a comparison of the basic mechanical switches currently on the market. Found the following:

Volex, Marbo, Crabtree, MK, Telco, Contactum, BG, PMS.

Of course I could just try the most expensive, but there's no guarantee this will be the quietest.

Alternatively buy one of each..

 

[castlon11]

To my knowledge and experience and being generally intrigued by opening things up and seeing how things work, i've found that the loudest ones tend to have a bigger and better structured switching mechanism. The switch that have smaller mechanism's and less quiet usually brake down quicker.

So dont buy most expensive as more than likely will be clunky !!

Obviously the better the make of the switch the better quality of materials inside.

Go for MK or CRABTREE for long lasting, but clucky
Go into C.E.F and buy M2 for quiet one, but it will break down in a few days

sorry never tried the other makes

 

[alexp78]

Hmmm interesting.

Ordinary wall switches have a much softer spring and are quieter, so why not the same thing with a string on it?

You should be able to get both quiet and reliable at the expense of some other factor, i.e. price. The trouble with well-known makes is that you are paying partially to maintain the brand - all that expensive advertising - so choosing just on price cannot be done. And from what you've said Chris, the well-known makes spend the money on (a) brand (b) reliablility (or rather mandatory conformance to functional and safety standards), and then there's nothing left for the user experience.

Brings us back to trying them all. A long time ago, Jim would have fixed it for me.

 

[Darkwood]

Its just a balancing act between having a noisy but fast make and break contact which will last longer be more durable and getting a quieter pull switch with slower make and break which is prone to electrical wear and tear on the contacts especially with inductive loads which can flash across a slower moving breaking contact.
Unless your hearing is just better at picking up certain frequencies than others so the question is are you always headbanging on the ipod.

 

[castlon11]

This type is the quietest pull switches i've ever installed, they look like dimmable ones but are not. not sure the actual make but these are quiet dude.

White Bathroom Pull Switch 108 2W