Grid Switches and other modular devices 

0:33 It does look that way but you'll find they're missing the face part if you remove it to install in a grid.

You can't remove it anyway because both the different parts of the module and the face plate/insert are designed so that they only snap on one way during assembly.

Got one for my CH system ;) Must get round to fitting it ! 2 switches per normal wet zones, (5) and a 6th for the immersion heater. I'm planning to make the immersion heater controllable via wet system controls for DHW - so if the boiler fails, I can have DHW on same times. Of the 2 sw per wet zone, one will have neon to show zone is on (i.e. calling for heat). 1 sw for off and the neonned sw for ON. So if the OFF sw is on and the ON sw is off, (i.e. normal operation) the heating to that zone is controlled locally by timer and thermostat.

I've ordered a few different switches from them just to have a look to see if we want to use them in a house we are having built. They have turned up now, the white Mode faceplates are very solid and the small screws holding the switches in go into a threaded brass insert in the faceplate, all in all looks good. I also bought a cma736 double switched socket, I haven't done a JW and pulled it apart, but it feels weighty and solid, if anything the switches are rather heavy to operate. The not so good now, of the 9 3 way retractive switches I bought three didn't work because the switch cap had become unclipped and the metal metal switch leaf which is only held in position by a sprung rod on the cap was now floating around inside the switch body. The cap is held in place by two tiny pivot stubs going into the sides of the switch body, it doesn't take much force for one of these to pop out. There are three springs acting outwards on this cap, two return springs and on on the actuation rod so it is quite happy to jump free. When mounted in a plate I couldn't get the cap to come lose with any reasonable force as the sideways/twisting movement of the cap is constrainted so in use they will likely be OK. The switch leaf is a diamond shape with a few bends in it so it makes approximately a V shape and it just sits into a plastic cup in the base of the switch. The actuating rod from the cap hold it in place so if that comes loose so does the leaf. The good news is that if you take the cap off completely you can get the leaf back into position quite easily and then push the cap back on. It did take a quite a few goes as any off angle force and the leaf is again in the wind. They look nice at least and I intend to use them to control smart dimmers, hence retractive switches, the idea is to pick different caps for different light sets on different floors.

Do a search for: despard switches/devices.

Been around for a long time in USA

Personally I would have fitted the switch after the fuse as the circuit the switch is on could then never see the 30A current even in a fault condition. I wouldn't have a problem fitting something like that as it could just be treated as a fused spur.

Nothing wrong with that, the 3A fuse provides overload protection. Switches only need to be rated for the load they are controlling, not the upstream circuit protection.

The switches in switchsockets and FCUs sure as heck aren't rated at 32A, neither are the DP switches commonly used to switch under-counter appliances.

Not sure about having the fuse before the switch, I don't like the idea of a permanently live fuse carrier. The switch would see the same fault current regardless of the position of the fuse anyway, unless the fault occurred between the fuse and the switch.

@@technic550 Very logical provided any fault was after the fuse and not between it and the switch.

Most dimmer modules will fit into their empty inserts. I've used them a few times for triac and 0-10V LED dimmers from different manufacturers.

I still have a fish key I bought it out to Australia with me back in 93 I don’t know why it was just in the packing box Haven’t use it since of course

I'm in two minds about them. On the one hand being able to mix brands and the availability of a wider variety of modules is nice. On the other hand I worry a little about how safe they are for two reasons. Firstly clipping modules in from the front of the plate does not seem like a very robust retention system and I'm not sure how well it will stand up to use and abuse. A particular form of abuse that concerns me is people opening the shutters and sticking a Europlug into a 13A socket and the Europlug then getting stuck. I fear this could lead to the module getting pulled out of the front plate. Secondly I fear that people will install them without taking account of the fact that mains wiring and data/av wiring need to be kept separate. If you built the arrangement you describe in your post on a normal backbox then it is not compliant. Scolmore do seem to offer some large boxes with dividers to allow a mixture of mains and ELV modules, but I haven't seen anyone offer them for standard sized boxes.

If you were going to do that, I'd not use spur outlets but fit 13A sockets as appliances would then plug straight in. It is usual though to have remote switches for under-counter or built-in appliances - for ease of turning off - and in your case, checking the fuse. If I was you' I'd stick with what you have !

@@millomweb Makes perfect sense, thanks.

It needs to connect to the switches as well, there will be a terminal on the metal frame and also on the front plate and box if they are metal. CPC must be taken to every point in a wiring system.

@@jwflame Thanks JW. There must have been a CPC connection to the yolk which was not visible with the modules in place. Happy new year to you and yours; thank you for the content this year.

At some point yes - I have several others as well.

John Ward looking forward to that. Thanks for the videos John, really enjoyable content.

Get an MK euro module faceplate an euro modules for your A/V. Don’t put that in the same enclosure/backbox/trunking as your mains wiring and sockets as that’s contrary to BS7671

No. There are too many variables making it somewhat a specialist scenario. Most likely for new installs - which now would be LED, not fluorescent.

That reminds me. I must get in touch with the local council and tell them that the lights have been on in my local primary school since the lockdown started!

Only 2 comments really to say about this: was there anybody in ? Maybe they thought the neons would work in a power failure ? But in fact, they'd show live fittings with duff bulbs.

@@millomweb this is what went wrong with Chernobyl. They had a light on the control panel to indicate the vent, but it actually only indicates power supply not confirmation of the vent working (which it wasn’t!)

It can be, you would need a fuse module for each switch. Modules can be arranged in any combination.

@@jwflame so to run 4 appliances each with it’s own fuse you need an 8 gang grid, 4 switches top 4 fuses bottom and run from switch through fuse to the appliance? Thanks for your help JW

"How does that comply with the regulations of the one spur off a single point on a ring circuit?" there is no such regulation, there is however a requirement that rings should be designed such that sustained overloading is unlikely, so you would want to keep a grid switch assembly running lots of appliances somewhere in the center-third of the ring and you would want to wire the grid switch assembly itself so that the ring went to all the switches. "Maybe acceptable on a radial but where would the true end of line be?" there is no requirement for a "true end of line".

Thanks I see ive never put one in. So Make each switch a point on the ring- wire in to the first switch common then jump between commons and out the last one to continue the ring, with individual outgoing cables to each load. i bet that back box is rammed with t&e. On radials i was always taught onsite to loop in and out and any new items where wired from the end leaving a definitive end of line.

@@Weaselspleen75 Normally for kitchens you would use the DP switch modules, so both the live and neutral would loop to all the switches. The earths would need to go somwhere, iirc there is usually an earth terminal on the grid but i'm not sure what capacity it has. I bet the box does get crowded though this can probablly be reduced by installing the modules in the grid before installing the grid in the box and keeping the link wires between modules short.

A ring for a set of switches is total nonsense, but it's usually done that way because a 32A radial would require at least 4mm² cable, and that won't physically fit into most grid switches. The whole concept of a rack of switches for all of the kitchen appliances is a poor design and totally unnecessary.

@@jwflame Agreed. Unnecessary new build Kitchen clutter

Are you sure he said that ? At what time in the video. It seems unlikely he said it and I suspect you've misinterpreted him.

do you mean the gas safe register or the gas safety regulations? They're different things

When 24 Oxo cubes are cheaper than 12, I totally agree - make all sw 20A. But 1 way, 2 way, double throw is adding more components while majority of switching is 1 way - so seems reasonable to provide economical switches rather than over-engineer everything.

No compatibility between ranges, other than some dimmers which are supplied with adaptors for various different systems.

@@jwflame Thanks for that quick and useful response. Grid modules are not standard. But are Euro modules? I thought that was a standard. eg. I could put a rj45 socket from MK into a surround from BG?

Toggle switches went out of fashion by manufacturers ages ago but I prefer them !

Click do one

Yeah, click minigrid is the only range I have seen that covers that combination. Assuming you want normal white plastic the parts you need are CMA403+MD020WH+MD047WH

@@ashbashbaby2 that's the one I've used