Does Your Sparky Use Name Brand Components?

browser on 07/03/2025 - 14:24

A while ago we had some light switches and power points changed to Clipsal Saturn, the electrician was on about the old switches were cheaply made, he would never use them, he only trusts reputable brands. I was happy to hear that.

The next time we called him to change a breaker and to install a 15A power point in the garage (for an air compressor), he took some generic looking GPO from his van but we weren't too fussed as it was in the garage. I didn't think of asking at time, assumed he only use quality components. But later I was curious to find out what are the good brands he was bragging about and he would only use those brands.

Quick Google found out they are AS compliant alright, but cheap cheap cheap, what a hypocrite! He never asked what we wanted nor quoted different prices for generic and name brand parts, he just came with the cheap parts. The first time we specifically wanted the Saturn so he brought those along.

Probably unusual for people to ask specific brands, so it would be up to the sparky to decide, perhaps many would just use generic parts to drive profit. Does your sparky give you an option, do you have to ask? Or you buy the parts?

Home & Garden Electrician

Comments

  • JIMB0 on 07/03/2025 - 14:35
    +15

    Were they driving an LDV ute?

    • browser on 07/03/2025 - 14:37
      +1

      No, HiAce.

      • netjock on 07/03/2025 - 15:15
        +4

        HiAce from the cheap brands installed at normal prices

    • Ozbar Gain on 07/03/2025 - 15:20
      +2

      LOL I had work done just this week and the sparky drove an LDV 🙀

      • pegaxs on 07/03/2025 - 18:23
        +25

        I had a sparky turn up to do a quote on upgrading my solar last week and they arrived in the most kitted out and biggest Dodge RAM I have ever seen. Dude literally needed a fall arrestor, harness and a working at heights ticket just to climb up into it… Then I got his quote and was like… "yep, that's how he pays for that big truck…"

        • reactor-au on 08/03/2025 - 11:11

          He's just maxing those tax deductions

        • AnneThrope on 08/03/2025 - 18:55
          +5

          Very similar experience here.
          Getting quotes for a block retaining wall and most drove knocked-around Toyotas but one rocked up in an immaculate F350 dualie that looked like the largest load it'd ever carried was a KFC family bucket.
          His quote was literally double the highest of all the others.

  • freefall101 on 07/03/2025 - 14:53
    +16

    Are they cheap in price or cheap in quality? Just because something is lower in cost doesn't always mean it's of low quality

    • Dr Phil on 08/03/2025 - 08:53
      -4

      Exactly!

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 07/03/2025 - 14:53
    +1

    cheap cheap cheap

    So what was the brand?

    • Protractor on 07/03/2025 - 14:55

      Dyslexic Chicken brand

    • browser on 07/03/2025 - 16:01

      NLS and CHINT.

      They are less than ideal according to online discussions.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 07/03/2025 - 16:13
        +1

        Nls I have heard of

        Chint though… hmm

      • Darude Sandstorm on 08/03/2025 - 10:59
        +1

        CHINT RCBO's and breakers suck
        NLS are okay, unless they have moving parts, switches fail, GPO's suck as well.
        Mostly just stick with clipsal.

        • gyrex on 08/03/2025 - 11:18
          +1

          Hager is also good.

          I think sparky direct sell a lot of NLS stuff.

  • tenpercent on 07/03/2025 - 15:02

    Was it cheap because they found a deal here on OzBargain?

  • EFC94 on 07/03/2025 - 15:09
    +1

    Do you know what brand he used? How do you know he used a cheap brand? If it's AS compliant the chances are it's made to a reasonable quality.

    • rumblytangara on 07/03/2025 - 16:13

      If it's AS compliant the chances are it's made to a reasonable quality.

      I'm gonna guess that anything electrical sold at Bunnings is 'AS compliant'? Some of that stuff is utter junk- whatever they are doing for the prong springs is very cheap and not long term reliable. I've bought CordTech power boards there and half the sockets are unusable within a couple months.

      • Jackson on 08/03/2025 - 19:55

        I bought a Deta branded combination power point and light switch to replace on in my old fibro house. When the hot water heater packed it in I plugged a 3.3kW 15A ebay instant water heater and used that for a few months before I knocked the house down. People rubbish this brand all the time but considering I overloaded this point for months (albeit for a few minutes at a time) and it worked like new when I left I don't see the problem with them. Switches were all nice and strong too

  • Boioioioi on 07/03/2025 - 15:10
    +4

    Clipsal stuff is not even that good quality. In my opinion they just rely on the brand name. I've had so many clipsal switches die over time, at my house, parents, and in laws. Ironically the cheap deta ones from bunnings are still going strong.

    Supposedly their quality went downhill when they sold. I prefer trader brand stuff now, seems good quality. Made by company who used to own Clipsal.

    • browser on 07/03/2025 - 16:00
      +1

      It was more for aesthetic reason, we like the look of Saturn range, especially on tiles and stone bench.

      • Lichen6420 on 09/03/2025 - 10:02

        Clipsal Iconic has some really nice covers and options. The basic cost of iconic is cheap, no different to the Clipsal classic gear.

        The Iconic Styl covers can be purchased changed over by the end user without the assistance of an electrician, they go over any iconic power point / light switch.

    • DoctorCalculon on 07/03/2025 - 20:00
      +2

      What about Voltex?

      • tkboi on 08/03/2025 - 15:49
        +3

        Voltex are expensive but have the best warranty.

        Never used there warranty but all there floodlights have 7 year warranty and if there are any problems,
        they pay for there sparkys to come replace any parts they offer.

        You pay for the quality/service though.

  • onetwothreefour on 07/03/2025 - 15:24
    +6

    I do not have a sparky.

  • MS Paint on 07/03/2025 - 15:43
    +1

    Was the 15amp Powerpoint wired to a dedicated circuit?

    • browser on 07/03/2025 - 15:58

      Yeah, that's why he also put in a new breaker.

  • joka on 07/03/2025 - 15:58
    +2

    All my sparkies are on site, I will wait till they come back and ill ask them.

  • browser on 07/03/2025 - 16:07
    +9

    Given that most of the time labour cost out weighs parts cost, they should factor in the cost of high quality components (quote accordingly) and only use high quality components, not something that's barely compliant.

    Spending $200 to install a $5 GPO doesn't make sense. Rather to spend $20 more for a higher quality GPO that works reliably and lasts a long time.

    From now on I will ask what brand they use and how much extra for name brand.

    • fantombloo on 07/03/2025 - 18:14
      +5

      Yeah not getting the negs, it's very true.

      Corollary: the number of times I've seen / spent hours chasing savings that are incommensurate - but hey, the person with the cheque book insists so 🆗.

  • loropy9 on 07/03/2025 - 16:12
    +2

    Your sparky has lost his spark

  • SBOB on 07/03/2025 - 16:37
    +2

    Everyone knows all the cool sparkies use Voltex

    • browser on 07/03/2025 - 21:50
      +1

      Okay noted.

  • Drakesy on 07/03/2025 - 17:44
    +3

    Temu specials all the way!

    AS compliant is AS compliant.
    How much do you want to pay for a brand to paint on a logo?

  • Wiadro on 07/03/2025 - 19:49
    +10

    If I ask the sparky the question, he will charge me another $320

  • bargaino on 07/03/2025 - 20:52

    Deta is a brand name.

    • browser on 07/03/2025 - 21:54
      -2

      It's a brand, Bunnings home brand.

      Looks more like Clipsal knock off, appearance wise.

  • Benoffie on 07/03/2025 - 21:21

    I had Clipsal Standard used (my choice, 1950s home). Many wont touch HPM. In terms of components etc it's whatever he picks up from the wholesaler (Lawrence and Hanson).

    • Ozbfan on 07/03/2025 - 21:32

      Hpm too costly for them?

      • Benoffie on 07/03/2025 - 21:42

        I dont think so, just breakage rates are higher in their experience (the connection bits at the back of the switches). I was looking at the HPM retro series and after this discussion it's why I opted for the Clipsal Standard (which are about $20 per double GPO)

    • browser on 07/03/2025 - 21:53
      +3

      Are they now Legrand? Or is Legrand the distributor?

      • stewy on 08/03/2025 - 10:32

        Legrand is the parent company. Bit like how Clipsal is owned by Schneider Electric, except Legrand just happens to also market their own 'premium' range.

  • Foggy Fluoride Stare on 07/03/2025 - 21:54

    Labour and Parts are usually separate costs.

    However, if you ask for a certain brand the electrician will ultimately add labour costs of traveling to the local John Turk which may not make it worthwhile unless you want every outlet at the property to look the same.

  • 82norm on 08/03/2025 - 08:07
    -1

    What difference does it make, it’s all made in China, in the same factory.

  • ukulele on 08/03/2025 - 08:08

    a touch off topic. My sparky uses gen3 stuff for 3 phase stuff, i gave it little thought.

    I recently bought a 3phase to 4 x 15amp adapter/powerboard and the price was 574 bucks using GEN3 switchgear. On the drop down I changed the switch gear to clipsal/hager price went to 1019. Is clipsal 93% better? I have used electrotraders before and quality has been fine.

    I got quoted up $775.50 from eventpower here in port melbourne but i don't know what switch gear they are using.

    • WhyAmICommenting on 08/03/2025 - 11:18

      What are you using all that power for?

      • ukulele on 09/03/2025 - 11:49
        +1

        we tack weld reinforcement (I own a precast concrete company). The original owner had a few 10amp circuits throughout the factory but because they are physically so far away from the board I think there are too much losses, then I put a 10amp extension lead onto it and start welding, i've melted a few extension leads. The 15amp solution should fix it.

    • eug on 08/03/2025 - 11:59

      I have used electrotraders before and quality has been fine.

      The 3P power boards I bought from them work fine but the screw holding the handle on two of them fell off after one event. At least the nut that's rattling around inside is plastic. I hope the terminal screws are torqued down properly.

      That said, if I were renting them out, I would probably pay more for Clipsal as I'd expect them to last longer with repeated plugging cycles.

      • ukulele on 09/03/2025 - 11:49

        once i get the adapter i'm screwing it on to the wall next to the 3Phase outlet. It's not moving after that.

  • saltypete on 08/03/2025 - 08:26
    +3

    It cuts both ways. A couple of years back we got a sparky to install some downlights. I'm usually happy to put whatever's at Bunnings. Sparky insisted that as he was warranty-ing the work he needed to supply the 'high quality' brand he uses. They wern't cheap - but didnt look any different….
    Has had to come back twice now to replace faulty units.
    Meanwhile my cheap Bunnings ones are fine.

    • eug on 08/03/2025 - 12:01

      How many units did he install, and how many cheap Bunnings ones do you have?

  • SteveD on 08/03/2025 - 10:38
    +5

    Many in the trade world are like that—they talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I've encountered numerous situations where they blame the work done by the previous person, claiming they would never do it that way, only to produce nearly the same results, if not worse. Lately, I have noticed they don't have the pride in their workmanship. By saying that, I had few you were outstanding and went up and beyond and did a great job by using brand parts and even fixing previous persons mess and not charging.

  • Darude Sandstorm on 08/03/2025 - 11:00
    +5

    Completely normal, shittalk someone elses work and gear, install different gear that's shit but new, someone will pay, it'll fail years later and by then it's too late.

  • browser on 08/03/2025 - 12:21
    +1

    Guess it will be tricky if you supply the parts then later things stop working then they blame the parts rather than how they were installed.

    Shops would probably happy to swap a new one, but who's covering the labour, not too straight forward.

    • saltypete on 09/03/2025 - 09:25

      My sparky was pretty clear about it - If I supply he wouldnt be doing the replacing. And I think this is fair enough.

  • Purp on 08/03/2025 - 16:28
    -1

    For a light switch you want something that's quality and will last especially if it's in use multiple times per day. For a breaker as long as it's rated to the proper standard it doesn't matter.

    It's really not that hard to understand…..for most people….

    • butter on 08/03/2025 - 17:21

      i beg to differ. The breaker is probably more important than the light switch, especially in the case of the RCBO/RCD.

      • outlander on 09/03/2025 - 12:39
        -1

        Yeah, breakers aren't what people think. A 16a breaker doesn't always trip at 16a. I tested some once, and while they would trip immediately at 30a, some would run for several minutes at 20 or even 25a

        Which is okay if you have extra redundancy built in to your house, but the thing about the drive to lower costs is that it chops into all those redundancies, so that when things don't work 100% as they are supposed to the whole system fails.

        • AccuracyAdvocate on 09/03/2025 - 13:17
          +1

          Your first paragraph is correct (well close enough). Your second paragraph however is wrong. Breakers are not meant to trip instantly at the current rating. The current rating of a breaker is its continuous current rating. Cabling can carry in excess of its rating for a period of time before it's damaged by heat.

          • outlander on 09/03/2025 - 15:55

            @AccuracyAdvocate: What was wrong about it? You seem to be arguing against an assertion I didn't make.

            The point I was making (if any) was that cheaper gear is likely to have larger tolerance

        • eug on 09/03/2025 - 18:59
          +1

          Yeah, breakers aren't what people think. A 16a breaker doesn't always trip at 16a. I tested some once, and while they would trip immediately at 30a, some would run for several minutes at 20 or even 25a

          A 16A breaker should never trip at 16A, it should pass through 16A indefinitely.

          Circuit breakers follow a tripping curve, e.g. this one for hager on page 3.

          It shows that it will run indefinitely at In (the rated current), let's say 16A.

          At In x 1.13 (18A) it will run for at least ~2,000 seconds before tripping.
          At 20A it'll run for at least ~100 seconds before tripping.
          At 24A it'll run for at least ~40 seconds.
          At 75A it'll run for at least ~1.5 seconds.
          Only when it hits 96A (6x the rated capacity) will it trip in 0.01 seconds.

          Being mechanical devices there is a margin of error as shown in the trip curve graph. That hager breaker will only trip instantly anywhere between 5 - 10x the rated current.

          This is normal behaviour for all circuit breakers (the example above being a standard C type) and is specifically designed that way to avoid nuisance tripping from devices with high inrush current like an appliance with a large motor.

  • butter on 08/03/2025 - 17:19

    I always specify what brands ill let him use. Clipsal, Hager, Schneider etc. If he can't do it, he's not going to get the job.

    Thats how it works for the really large RFP/RFQ's i've worked on as well. We specify exactly what brands and where. If you don't do this, you end up with Clipso and Schnitty.

    • rogerwilko on 09/03/2025 - 08:27

      I thought Schneider owned clipsal.

      • butter on 09/03/2025 - 20:06

        yeh they do, but they still sell under each name.

  • Nebargains on 09/03/2025 - 11:59
    +1

    Expected I reckon. We had some electrical work done as part of a reno and I said I wanted to supply specific switches and power points,.just from Bunnings. Was told no because he couldn't vouch for the quality of the product if he didn't supply it, ok I'm not losing sleep over it and it wasn't that important to me, anyway off the electrician goes to get quality parts he could vouch for… Literally just the cheapest stuff he could get at Bunnings and I'm ok with it, but it did make me laugh.

  • outlander on 09/03/2025 - 12:46

    People like to talk a big game, but when it comes down to it most put more value on their wallet than anything.

    Which is very stupid. The difference between a solid part and a cheap part might be $10. If you're charging out at $100 per hour, that's 6 minutes worth of time, about what it would take to listen to the customer call you up, let alone actually go back and fix it. I mean it's one thing if you do it at your own house - it fails, you swap it out. But a customer, you gotta drive there, plan, do the work etc etc. It's at least 45min. So he's gambling $75 for a (75+10) return

    I'd say he's banking on the fact that if it does fail he can fob you off, and that there's so much work out there that the hit to his reputation isn't likely to be felt.

  • 2esc on 09/03/2025 - 13:52

    As long as its AS compliant whats the problem?

    If you wanted Clipsal Saturn you should have said so before he came like you did on his first visit.

    He could of had a hundred customers since he was at your place last time and unlikely to remember your preferences.

    All tradies are like this you have to be clear about what you want. I stuffed up when I last got a electrician in to put a light on a verandah post common sense I thought would be to have the wiring on the back of the verandah post instead he put it on the side which you can see as you come towards the main entrance.

  • OzRealityBites on 09/03/2025 - 19:37

    The last two sparkies we used refused to use what fittings we had, they insisted on using what they got from their wholesale supplier, Middys being the nearest. Clipsal, Legrand and Trader are pretty typical. They said something about getting warranty on the parts if they source them, so if something breaks during install they might have to spend more of their own time to fix it.

  • Dollar Dreamer on 09/03/2025 - 20:20

    Not a sparkie story but similar. I ordered with a plumber a $220 shower head. Installation extra. All good. After he left, I came home from work, looked good, good clean installation. On closer inspection, it was a different brand, it was some cheapo from bunnings that cost $50. Looked exactly as the more expensive brand I paid for. Called him back, his face was plum red, he apologised for the whole time he was replacing the unit saying it was a mixup with another job. I can see now how these 28 yo plumbers afford a $90k Ford Raptor for the wifey and another Ranger Raptor for themselves with a holiday house in Byron all before the age of 30. It's as if it's programmed in their head to rip off people. They cannot help it. They actually feel like a failure tradie if they don't ripoff someone.

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