What is all this clutter nonsense about. You still have a wire and a phone taking up space when charging, how does a small plug make any difference?

The consumer unit mcb/fuse would likely still be intact even if the socket is on fire.
These things are a fire waiting to happen with a transformer that is hidden behind a wall or a timber framed partition and permanently switched on.

Yes, but if in doubt don't.

straight swap guide..


:wink:

A) this is to be fitted by anyone 'competent' - does not need to be a leccy as long as not in a special area (i.e. bathroom or kitchen) - and even then they have to have the relevant qual to sign off on it.

B) The fact is this is always going to be more dangerous than a normal socket - A) its inside your wall, if that happens to be a plastic box in a stud wall (plasterboard), and you have the filter capacitor (likely cheap or unbranded) fail close circuit, then things will go poof - sure it does not happen often - but then it still happens. Enough mobile phone chargers go up every year for people to know about it - when these are in every home it may become more apparent.



Agreed me too - I really want some of these - just give me a SWITCH!!! FFS...




Exactly...





Oh dear... :disappointed: - seriously these COULD break your phone and may well of done if the voltage supplied (5v) was out of spec or very noisy... but the battery charging itself is determined by YOUR PHONE itself - a charger is always on... even if it happens to be made by a company whose logo happens to be a piece of fruit whom claim to be green and ethical while charging the earth for a fashion item produced by slave labour... :wink:

great price!
was going to put these in my place but USB charging is rapidly migrating to quickcharge 2.0 / 3.0 which is much faster.

Are these any good fir iPod or iphone chargers

You need to remember, these need a deep pattress. Wilkos doo switches and sockets and pattress cheaper than screwfix and better quality for the price. The USB sockets are more expensive though.

do these sockets draw and electricity.. even when nothing charging?

These dont need deep knock out boxes, we fitted these in the kitchen to de-clutter and they work a charm, all within a normal back box.
They basically transform the power down to 5v 2.1amp so as with any transformer there is some heat gain.
The neigh sayers will point to old non CE marked units that could have been considered a risk according to some report from back in the 2000s, but modern stuff like this is CE marked and tested so it's all gravy baby.

50:50 you need relatively modern boxes, our house has older metal boxes and for us the mounts the sockets bolt into protrude a few mm more than newer boxes and so they will not fit.

taken from blurb.

I know that ours was very well moulded to ensure that it fitted in a 25 knock out without any issue at all and these are the horrible galv boxes not your fancy new dryline boxes :wink:

Fantastic. Was talking to someone in the construction industry recently who was saying that these are the "in thing" for new houses to "spec up" and compared to normal double sockets they are pretty expensive at c. £25 a go (from a quick search I found them on Screwfix for £12.50 or so).

Was going to have a search around the trade counters for them at a cheaper price but will just order a couple of these. Perfect for removing the plugs that are lying around the place.

Mind, could do with a single socket one as well really.

is this straight forward to fit yourself?

That's disappointing

Good Price

What is all this clutter nonsense about. You still have a wire and a phone taking up space when charging, how does a small plug make any difference?

be careful i replaced the double socket thought the wires would go like for like in the same location - glad i checked first.

Aren't these still dangerous or at best a bit dodgy?

http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/electrical-professionals/product-safety-unit/usb-socket-outlets/

I had a think, but I don't see how.
1st, they would not be sold if this were the case and these have been around for a long time now. reviews, watchdog, home insurance etc would all point at them if this had caused issues.
yes, it may get warmer due to the transformer, but at the end of the day this is to be installed by a professional and so it will be will be fused and upon failed or burn out the fuse stop/will trip.

Wouldn't it be an easy fix to shorten the screws?, or buy shorter ones? Easier than buying a new recess box, digging the old one out, making the hole bigger & refitting it surely

This doesn't have USB type C.

Any single ones ?

Suspect you haven't understood the issue.

No way I'd fit this cheap, suspect stuff in my house; lots of reviews supporting that view. At first glance they seem like a neat idea but actually they don't offer enough benefit to offset the risks. If you really want one then go and find a proper branded one (MK or similar perhaps? Will be much more expensive - for a reason).

Ask yourself: would you go off on your holidays with your usual phone chargers, etc. still running? If not why would you use these when the only way of turning them off is to turn off the whole circuit at the fuseboard?

The consumer unit mcb/fuse would likely still be intact even if the socket is on fire.
These things are a fire waiting to happen with a transformer that is hidden behind a wall or a timber framed partition and permanently switched on.

my Chromecast was overheating on TV USB socket, using supplied plug (~600mAh) I think with no bother, so be careful!

Will need USB c type socket as I've got a nexus 6p :disappointed: I'm sure these will soon become USB c

Two for £18 at wicked. Good quality and 20 year warranty. twin usb wall socket

no good for iPad etc you need min 2.1a fit a lot of these I use ones from toolstation one socket is 2.4 a and other is 1.2a never have any problems and works with all tablets phones even ipads

I electrocuted myself 4 times trying to install this

Thought of that, its the lugs that protrude out of the back box side walls that the screws go into that are the issue, and its 1960's cast metal so cutting them out is possible, but a PITA without power tools..

A) this is to be fitted by anyone 'competent' - does not need to be a leccy as long as not in a special area (i.e. bathroom or kitchen) - and even then they have to have the relevant qual to sign off on it.

B) The fact is this is always going to be more dangerous than a normal socket - A) its inside your wall, if that happens to be a plastic box in a stud wall (plasterboard), and you have the filter capacitor (likely cheap or unbranded) fail close circuit, then things will go poof - sure it does not happen often - but then it still happens. Enough mobile phone chargers go up every year for people to know about it - when these are in every home it may become more apparent.



Agreed me too - I really want some of these - just give me a SWITCH!!! FFS...




Exactly...





Oh dear... :disappointed: - seriously these COULD break your phone and may well of done if the voltage supplied (5v) was out of spec or very noisy... but the battery charging itself is determined by YOUR PHONE itself - a charger is always on... even if it happens to be made by a company whose logo happens to be a piece of fruit whom claim to be green and ethical while charging the earth for a fashion item produced by slave labour... :wink:

bought one from Wilkes a while back.........Still aint fitted it though so many conflicting comments make me nervous to do it

I agree, if there's no way of turning off the USB charging element at the socket then it's bound to pose more of a risk.

Phone chargers are a huge cause of fires...and a sensible person wouldn't leave a phone charger switched on, especially say at night. If these are on 24/7 and may use cheap components, then the odds stack up against it greatly for me.

If it could be turned off then great...if not, I would seriously avoid.

On the face of it , it seems hard to **** up fitting these - please ensure you isolate and check the circuit before changing the socket , tighten the screws hard with the correct size screwdriver and pull the cables to ensure they`re secure .

I won`t be fitting one , getting warm is generally a sign of a fault in my experience , mixing in a transformer can only go wrong in a Michael Bay style

Everything has a risk.... you don't turn off your house alarm, fridge do you?

Would be nice to have a separate on/off switch I agree, that 0.5watt lost a year bugs me!

But anyhow, this is still a great deal if I may say so myself.


theratedone has pointed out a another good deal here:
2 gang twin USB Masterplug 2for£18


single plug option here:
Single Gang + dual usb socket two for £18

They could put the USB on one of the switched sockets so it would be isolated when off

Been eying these up for a few years now.

Concluded its better buying one of these type of devices and a "normal" double socket and using one of the sockets to power it as and when you need it.



Just one example shown above but there are lots of different combinations of number of sockets and power output around if you want more or less sockets of varying power outputs.

Just mu opinion but it seems cheaper and better solution to replace these devices as technology upgrades to faster outputs than keep swapping over wall sockets or sticking with lower/ slower power options. OK, you drop from 2 x 3pin power outlets to just one, but gain 4 more usb sockets than the wall option which can intelligently share upto (12 amps total) 2.4amps per socket. Can unplug and transport to other locations too or just to free up the socket.

If you're after a wall socket though, the CPC socket is a good price (but I think quickly becoming outdated from a power output point of view, which might be why they're dropping in price)

External plug in ones, you mean. Can you point to any report of a fire caused by one of these? The electronics are enclosed, in a box with no air flow and nothing to burn. A plug in charger that explodes under the drapes will probably start a fire, but there is much less chance of it with one of these.

Pro elec is a recognised brand and is distributed by several nation electric product distributors, may not be as well known as MK but widely used in the trade.

Why is it that you can as an owner occupier none qualified electrician change a wall plug in your front room but not in your kitchen and bathroom? And where is the boundary in a kitchen/diner/lounge open plan arrangement?

Go and buy I have 2 of these type of chargers. And you can purchase a continental plug lead for when you travel abroad, so win win.

I've looked at the site and don't see where it says that the USB voltage will halve if you connect 2 USB devices. Personally, I find this highly unlikely. Electrical items like this normally use a common 5V rail wired in parallel so the voltage will stay more or less at 5V; however, the total output current will be limited to 2.1A between the 2 sockets so your devices will charge more slowly if you have 2 plugged in but 2.1A is more than adequate unless you want a really fast charge.

Regarding question about current usage when nothing is plugged in: Yes, there will be current losses of milli-amps unless the USB power switches off when the plug switches are off (unlikely). If anyone has one installed, would be interested to hear if they do turn on and off

Avionics
The voltage will not half, as 5v is USB spec and would damage various devices if it were the case. But yes the total ampage will drop...potentially half.

sorry if my description mislead '2x Type A, USB sockets - 2.1A Total output, 5V ( connect two and it will be split) '

Just a quick one guys, good deal but be a little wary. There is currently no British standard for USB sockets. Therefore any Chinese import is currently sale able. Just be forewarned that buying cheap sometimes has serious implications (knock off parts and fire risks). I work for City Electrical Factors.

Probably because Darwin's law came into play and some stupid people decided to kill themselves after fitting a UK 3 pin in their bathroom and making toast while sitting in the bath... :smirk:

But more seriously, it has been since they over-regulated things with all the part P regulation stuff. Outside is also a special area - as far as I can tell it seems to be wherever water may come into contact with electrics.

I'm not a leccy but I deal with upwards of 20KV in my job on occasion - constantly dealing with voltages, DC voltages at that and 3-phase stuff far in excess of my home electrics and yet I find it bizarre they can somehow on one hand state that it must be a 'competent person' - but on the other insist that I have a piece of paper that requires you to sit through a £-4-figure 'course' for dummies (not even related to the real electrician quals) by private companies where I cant even just sit the exam for say £100 or something.

My godfather has been a leccy for 30+ years and yet he cant sign off a kitchen install but the kitchen fitter is the one that does final connection in his firm and signs it off - not the 12 leccy's that work for the co! lol

Know what you mean, I was an HGV driver for over 50 years but if I want to carry on I now have to sit a 35 hour CPC training course every 5 year period if I wish to be able to carry on. The stupidity is their is no pass or fail mark.

Just set mine up - easy 5 minute job, but wow, that blue LED is annoying!

Does the blue LED light come from behind the USB sockets?

The actual LED is behind the white plastic, but the light leaks out through both the USB ports.

You have hit the nail on the head with that comment. If you have been driving for 50 years and lets say you started at 21 years old (legal minimum) you are a minimum of 71 years old. None of us like to admit to getting old and say "we feel as young as the day I was born" or "its how old we feel not physical age". I myself have a LGV license and yes it isn't being administered properly but at least it is getting rid of a lot of dead wood and a lot elder drivers are now admitting they should't be driving a 40ton monster with their slower than average reactions. In a way it's a get out excuse for a lot of older hgv drivers who won't admit they are ready to retire. No personal offense intended this is just my view but not one I would share with my driver mates. :man:

Legal minimum age yes except I was in the Army which meant I could drive HGV at an earlier age. Having said that at 73 I'll challenge you to a reaction test both physical and mental. No offence given or taken.

OoS - expiring.