Oh thank God! FINALLY someone else who understands it is just bone idle of decorators (and plasterers!) to NOT remove the screws from the socket and the socket from the back box when painting, decorating and or plastering. It's but a moment to isolate the mains or to protect the socket and yourself by simply wrapping around a plastic bag! Thanks JW, you've proven there are people out there who care about doing a proper job, even when it involves other trades!
Our house was also built in 2005 and fitted with these Tenby sockets and whilst the have been generally reliable however the grip on the plugs earth pin is so great it will snap clean off any that are made of plastic meaning of course the shutters are stuck wide open. The sockets have lasted better than the Tenby light switches that didn't seem uv safe and had started to break up after 7 years I suspect from UV exposure.
Many years ago, when I was an electrician, I did an inspection/test on a decent looking installation. The socket outlets were Crabtree, a thoroughly respectable manufacturer. I found open circuit cpcs on several sockets when carrying out earth fault loop tests. Testing direct onto the cpc terminals gave a very good Zs: the pin was simply not connecting in the socket. This installation wasn’t by any means old. Very disconcerting.
I pulled a load of these out of my grandmas kitchen and replaced them with schneider lisse sockets and switches. These tenby ones were dirty and greasy, and had survived at least 25 years and two long lived kitchens.
There are so many dodgy accessory brands out there, usually the ones they sell in packs of 10 at discounted prices and the customer buys them for you to fit! I always insist on fitting my own choice of accessories, usually MK. Thanks for the video.
The green and white Tenby pendant lamp holders that were fitted in my home did not take very long to fail. The hook pieces that hold onto the sides of the lamp distorted into a crumbelly melty mess that no longer held a bulb. This was with 40 or 60 w incandescents . If the brand is that old I guess the housing association will want to mess about rewiring my home again. Wouldn't be surprised if the 2020 wireing regulations deemed electricity a hazard too dangerous for use by anybody.
Hi John, could you do a feature on parallel earth paths and how they pertain to testing. If you were carrying out a zs test on a boiler or heating system would you leave the path connected to achieve the "maximum zs" or remove? For the same circuit would you remove the path for r1+r2 tests?.You can get some false results for ring main end to end tests as well, for instance if the heating was connected via the ring or a spur off of it, or metal boxes touching a metal framed building.
I had a number of double pole switched "Philex" branded sockets to replace due to a similar problems (every socket had failed) these were far worse than this one. as the saying goes by cheap buy twice!
A socket from 2005 ish that has failed after 14 years in service sounds to me like it’s well before expected lifespan. Surely you expect your sockets to last in use at least 30-50 years? Very few of the sockets in this house have been replaced since we moved in in 1991, and I believe only one has actually failed in all that time - I need to replace that some time soon.
The house I grew up in was built in 1886 and wired up for electricity sometime thereafter. It still had many of the original (un-earthed) sockets and light switches, presumably from the very early 1900s.
Yes, that's not a particularly long life. You'd expect longer from a good quality item like this, but I don't imagine many people are going to send in a socket that's still working, so we just get to see the ones that went wrong!
@Jack Marley thanks for replying. I'm going for white subway tiles & may be grey grout. I think the white would look good or brushed metal. I'll go have a look, now that i know they're good. Thanks for the help.
Makes you wonder what the hell the load is getting hauled through these things to start welding. The most questionable 13amp load I've ever seen was a 1970s spin dryer which make the plug warm to the touch after 30mins use, that really was 3kw without a doubt.
Tenby were taken over by legrand, I'm assuming the tenby brand has been retired as a local housing assosiation that used their stuff religiously has switched to legrand over the past 5 years.
@Jack Marley Yeah, apparently named after Tenby Street in Birmingham, not the town in Wales. Which is a good thing. Because otherwise the Welsh Language Police would insist the brand change its name to Dinbych-y-pysgod.
I was puzzling for a bit about what those curious, sculptural curved channels are for, at the bottom of the moulding, but then I realised they are probably for the version with neon indicators.
I'm subscribed to a professional painter on here and even he was slightly angry at me for saying to unscrew the plate. He'd rather cut around it. Which again will rip the paint off if the plate needs to be taken off after the paint has hardened. So called pros.. Charge an arm and a leg for a half arsed job. 2 blimmin screws, 😂😂
Most sockets destined for Australia have like a faceplate which is retained on the actual socket with some plastic clips and can be pulled off to facilitate painting without removing the socket or exposing anything (other than the heads of the actual screws holding the socket on the wall) - is such a design not common in the UK?
@@LeeRyman I'm in Ireland but regs are pretty much the same. New screwless faceplates are becoming common now which can be popped off like you mention. Although it's 35 EUR for one schneider double screwless socket! Cheaper ones are available as well.
That's where the US setup with a separate cover plate is a bit more convenient. You can take the cover plate off for painting without disturbing the wiring. Of course, you still get the odd paint smear on the switch lever or the socket faces.
@@PaulSteMarie I think we're coming round to those with these screwless design. It looks really smart. I don't even know how paint would get on them switches even. A little bit of masking tape. 3 second job.
@@LeeRyman yes we have had various styles of those for decades, but people chose different styles to suit their own tastes. Also it depends on how well the socket has been wired as to how well the cables are protected from probing. The covers are also prone to being easily knocked off.
JW, can you do a quick look at the screwless schneider sockets. They're like 35 EUR each. I'm curious as to why they're so expensive.. That is if you get your hands on one. :)
Decorating, 😂! Accessories in the US win the day on that one. About time UK had the same, or at least a clip on front where the connections and guts stay fixed. Works both ways though, the standard of some installs, and cheap nasty back boxes with awful threads and monkey metal screws, decorators heading for a world of pain if they start removing things. I can see why they don’t. Anyone for masking tape, or at least wiping things clean before paint dries?
Nice ... I just opened the one in my apartment ... And removed some crappy paint that had dried inside the socket. Not sure who painted but must have been a really bad painter
I bought a Barrats house in 2004 and all the sockets and switches were Tenby. I had multiple sockets fail in this way and replaced for MK. Would never ever buy a Tenby product because of this.
Ugh. Those switch contacts look really dubious. It looks like the contact arm just has a stamped dimple for a contact point. The sleeved ground pin on the dodgy lead isn't significant-the figure 8 connector doesn't have a ground. I'm guessing someone was playing with the switch and holding it half closed. That would account for the arguing.
Ha ...the comment about the paint made me laugh and cringe at the same time ...I'm an Electrician I too moan about sockets 'welded' to the wall with layers of paint .....however I'm also crap at painting so am my own worst enemy....DOH
Yeah, wonder why? Just bone idle, unprofessional, bodgers that can't be arsed doing a job properly. That's why, much as I'd like to, I'll NEVER engage a so called decorator to paint anywhere in my house! They only want to slap paint on the wall and skedaddle! They can't even be arsed to prep walls properly before painting. The best you'll likely get is if they wash the walls with sugar soap first!
heh, I'da kept using that thing for quite a while. I don't see any faults here that would make it an unsafe device. Switch failed closed? Fine by me I'd never turn them off anyway. Shutter stuck open? Fine by me don't need shutters in the first place.
@@johnburns4017 Fully code compliant outlets in perfect working order here dont have shutters or switches 🤷 Sorry if Americans being smart enough to not stick their dicks in a wall outlet on their own is hard to fathom...
Those outlets look cheap. The plastic is thin and hollow and there is not much holding it together. American receptacles are built a lot different. Most of the one in the states can survive being run over by a car. They are built like a brick.
american sockets take a lot less power, 10a and 110v, UK sockets manage 240v at 13a, thinner doesnt mean worse, its better design than any america junk sockets, ive seen both, our design is infinitely better, not a comparision, might as well compare trump to...a hamster, i know which is better
I love your disgust of the paint, just as much as I enjoy failed/dodgy product videos!
Oh thank God! FINALLY someone else who understands it is just bone idle of decorators (and plasterers!) to NOT remove the screws from the socket and the socket from the back box when painting, decorating and or plastering. It's but a moment to isolate the mains or to protect the socket and yourself by simply wrapping around a plastic bag!
Thanks JW, you've proven there are people out there who care about doing a proper job, even when it involves other trades!
Tenby was no 1 mark in iraq for a long time and still work in iraqy houses until now
My grandson house used tenby and still work now in iraq. Its very good
Our house was also built in 2005 and fitted with these Tenby sockets and whilst the have been generally reliable however the grip on the plugs earth pin is so great it will snap clean off any that are made of plastic meaning of course the shutters are stuck wide open. The sockets have lasted better than the Tenby light switches that didn't seem uv safe and had started to break up after 7 years I suspect from UV exposure.
Many years ago, when I was an electrician, I did an inspection/test on a decent looking installation. The socket outlets were Crabtree, a thoroughly respectable manufacturer. I found open circuit cpcs on several sockets when carrying out earth fault loop tests. Testing direct onto the cpc terminals gave a very good Zs: the pin was simply not connecting in the socket. This installation wasn’t by any means old. Very disconcerting.
I pulled a load of these out of my grandmas kitchen and replaced them with schneider lisse sockets and switches. These tenby ones were dirty and greasy, and had survived at least 25 years and two long lived kitchens.
I remember buying up all the discontinued Tenby stock from the local electrical factor. It was good stuff and at a good price!
There are so many dodgy accessory brands out there, usually the ones they sell in packs of 10 at discounted prices and the customer buys them for you to fit! I always insist on fitting my own choice of accessories, usually MK. Thanks for the video.
I wonder if you can make a short video discussing the use of 300ma rcds (not a typo) and how they are intended to be used.
The green and white Tenby pendant lamp holders that were fitted in my home did not take very long to fail. The hook pieces that hold onto the sides of the lamp distorted into a crumbelly melty mess that no longer held a bulb. This was with 40 or 60 w incandescents .
If the brand is that old I guess the housing association will want to mess about rewiring my home again. Wouldn't be surprised if the 2020 wireing regulations deemed electricity a hazard too dangerous for use by anybody.
Up voted for the audible loathing in your voice of painted sockets. It's beyond frustrating when I come across that sort of workmanship.
Hi John, could you do a feature on parallel earth paths and how they pertain to testing. If you were carrying out a zs test on a boiler or heating system would you leave the path connected to achieve the "maximum zs" or remove? For the same circuit would you remove the path for r1+r2 tests?.You can get some false results for ring main end to end tests as well, for instance if the heating was connected via the ring or a spur off of it, or metal boxes touching a metal framed building.
I had a number of double pole switched "Philex" branded sockets to replace due to a similar problems (every socket had failed) these were far worse than this one. as the saying goes by cheap buy twice!
how close is the live strip on the left socket to the neutral strip where it crosses over ? , it looks less than 1 mm :-)
I thought the same thing mate!!
I also saw that and thought they looked really close. Hard to determine the depth of the neutral strip from the video.
@@LAnonHubbard
have a look just when he gets the screwdriver tip up to the crossover , it doesnt look like it would go into the gap :-)
@@YTANDY100 At 5:22 yeah, there's not much room there!
Lots of brass on the terminals, remarkable. The cord looks like will not last very long :P
A socket from 2005 ish that has failed after 14 years in service sounds to me like it’s well before expected lifespan. Surely you expect your sockets to last in use at least 30-50 years? Very few of the sockets in this house have been replaced since we moved in in 1991, and I believe only one has actually failed in all that time - I need to replace that some time soon.
Heavily used or high loaded such as your kettle socket
The house I grew up in was built in 1886 and wired up for electricity sometime thereafter. It still had many of the original (un-earthed) sockets and light switches, presumably from the very early 1900s.
Yes, that's not a particularly long life. You'd expect longer from a good quality item like this, but I don't imagine many people are going to send in a socket that's still working, so we just get to see the ones that went wrong!
When I grew up we had to get up four hours before we went to bed.
Been overloaded on the left side.
Sorry for changing the subject, but could make a video about Extra Low Voltage, that is FELV, SELV og PELV??
I have to buy new wall sockets can you recommend which kind? Uk sockets. Kitchen & hallways. I haven't a clue what to buy! Thanks
@Jack Marley thanks for replying. I'm going for white subway tiles & may be grey grout. I think the white would look good or brushed metal. I'll go have a look, now that i know they're good. Thanks for the help.
Crabbtree are the best I've used
Makes you wonder what the hell the load is getting hauled through these things to start welding. The most questionable 13amp load I've ever seen was a 1970s spin dryer which make the plug warm to the touch after 30mins use, that really was 3kw without a doubt.
Kettles can be 3400 Watts
A 3kW spin drier!? That's some damn motor.
@@gillywild may have had shorted turns!
The socket may not have been grabbing the plug's prongs tightly enough.
Tenby were taken over by legrand, I'm assuming the tenby brand has been retired as a local housing assosiation that used their stuff religiously has switched to legrand over the past 5 years.
www.cdme.com.cy/tenby.html
@Jack Marley
Yeah, apparently named after Tenby Street in Birmingham, not the town in Wales. Which is a good thing. Because otherwise the Welsh Language Police would insist the brand change its name to Dinbych-y-pysgod.
I was puzzling for a bit about what those curious, sculptural curved channels are for, at the bottom of the moulding, but then I realised they are probably for the version with neon indicators.
Can't wait for the flames.......roll on the next video :D
I'm subscribed to a professional painter on here and even he was slightly angry at me for saying to unscrew the plate. He'd rather cut around it. Which again will rip the paint off if the plate needs to be taken off after the paint has hardened. So called pros.. Charge an arm and a leg for a half arsed job. 2 blimmin screws, 😂😂
Most sockets destined for Australia have like a faceplate which is retained on the actual socket with some plastic clips and can be pulled off to facilitate painting without removing the socket or exposing anything (other than the heads of the actual screws holding the socket on the wall) - is such a design not common in the UK?
@@LeeRyman I'm in Ireland but regs are pretty much the same. New screwless faceplates are becoming common now which can be popped off like you mention. Although it's 35 EUR for one schneider double screwless socket! Cheaper ones are available as well.
That's where the US setup with a separate cover plate is a bit more convenient. You can take the cover plate off for painting without disturbing the wiring. Of course, you still get the odd paint smear on the switch lever or the socket faces.
@@PaulSteMarie I think we're coming round to those with these screwless design. It looks really smart. I don't even know how paint would get on them switches even. A little bit of masking tape. 3 second job.
@@LeeRyman yes we have had various styles of those for decades, but people chose different styles to suit their own tastes. Also it depends on how well the socket has been wired as to how well the cables are protected from probing.
The covers are also prone to being easily knocked off.
The paint is deliberate, makes the socket blend in.
JW, can you do a quick look at the screwless schneider sockets. They're like 35 EUR each. I'm curious as to why they're so expensive.. That is if you get your hands on one. :)
Decorating, 😂! Accessories in the US win the day on that one. About time UK had the same, or at least a clip on front where the connections and guts stay fixed. Works both ways though, the standard of some installs, and cheap nasty back boxes with awful threads and monkey metal screws, decorators heading for a world of pain if they start removing things. I can see why they don’t. Anyone for masking tape, or at least wiping things clean before paint dries?
Nice ... I just opened the one in my apartment ... And removed some crappy paint that had dried inside the socket. Not sure who painted but must have been a really bad painter
I bought a Barrats house in 2004 and all the sockets and switches were Tenby. I had multiple sockets fail in this way and replaced for MK.
Would never ever buy a Tenby product because of this.
"Disposing" ... Might there be fire? One thinks there might.
Ugh. Those switch contacts look really dubious. It looks like the contact arm just has a stamped dimple for a contact point.
The sleeved ground pin on the dodgy lead isn't significant-the figure 8 connector doesn't have a ground.
I'm guessing someone was playing with the switch and holding it half closed. That would account for the arguing.
Tenby.. another brand that used to be good.... 🤷🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
@PDGamer2012 Huh. Legrand is usually decent quality.
Tenby sold to a lot to new build housing contractors. They were difficult to source. Single pole in this day and age. Glad they went bust.
Ha ...the comment about the paint made me laugh and cringe at the same time ...I'm an Electrician I too moan about sockets 'welded' to the wall with layers of paint .....however I'm also crap at painting so am my own worst enemy....DOH
We seem to 4 painter and decorators voting this video down.
Yeah, wonder why? Just bone idle, unprofessional, bodgers that can't be arsed doing a job properly. That's why, much as I'd like to, I'll NEVER engage a so called decorator to paint anywhere in my house! They only want to slap paint on the wall and skedaddle! They can't even be arsed to prep walls properly before painting. The best you'll likely get is if they wash the walls with sugar soap first!
heh, I'da kept using that thing for quite a while. I don't see any faults here that would make it an unsafe device. Switch failed closed? Fine by me I'd never turn them off anyway. Shutter stuck open? Fine by me don't need shutters in the first place.
Do you have death wish?
@@johnburns4017 Fully code compliant outlets in perfect working order here dont have shutters or switches 🤷 Sorry if Americans being smart enough to not stick their dicks in a wall outlet on their own is hard to fathom...
I guess that pic in background is of your subscribers lol
tenby have always been rubbish and of low quality
tenby was a cheap brand ...10p
Those outlets look cheap.
The plastic is thin and hollow and there is not much holding it together.
American receptacles are built a lot different.
Most of the one in the states can survive being run over by a car. They are built like a brick.
You must be joking. American sockets are flimsy as fuck.
The only place we use 110v is on building site so we don't eletrocute the brick layers walking in a puddle of mud and power cables.
american sockets take a lot less power, 10a and 110v, UK sockets manage 240v at 13a, thinner doesnt mean worse, its better design than any america junk sockets, ive seen both, our design is infinitely better, not a comparision, might as well compare trump to...a hamster, i know which is better
The MK UK sockets are miles better than American sockets. The UK sockets are safer and have switches.
@@Xenon777_ Yes, because million of people die everyday from American sockets.
Rubbish horse swaggle.