Din Rail Enclosure

[davesparks]

Yes, I would still think it was a bit suspect if I encountered it in an installation.

It looks like a DIY effort at achieving something which could have been simpler.

Does the cost of the MK board, the Perspex and your time to put it together equal less than a plastic dappy box with din rail?

 

[uksparks]

Well as I had am empty cu box as above, I already had a load of Perspex, it only took a few mins to cut it out then stick it in, this way it's not cost me anything. At the end of the day I think it will look fine with two of these on the wall, you only need to open the flap and you can see what's in it.

i don't think it looks messy, or DIYish particularly, it shuts with a matching lid so it all looks like an enclosure .

 

[uksparks]

If the customer doesn't want to pay for a proper box then he gets this, it's the only way I could get the price down, I am not making a total of £165 profit on the job.

 

[Adam W]

I kind of get the idea of the CU - have 2 CUs next to each other instead of a CU and an adaptable box, but a CU is meant primarily for safety isolation devices, not exclusively for wagos with a bit of perspex over the front.
I agree with Dave - I reckon an adaptable box would be cheaper, possibly better suited, and even look more professional because it wouldn't look like something it isn't. If you're going to stick with the CU, at least take the ident stickers off.

 

[davesparks]

If the customer won't pay to have the job done properly then walk away, don't lower your standards to account for them wanting a cheaper job. If you know they are going to try and knock your prices down then add a bit on to your price so that you can 'do them a favour and round it down a bit' when they ask.

Are you saying that the empty box and the Perspex were free when you originally got them?

 

[uksparks]

I totally accept that it would be better to use a proper enclosure but this had cost nothing where an adaptable box big enough inc postage will set me back £30 which the customer does not want to pay. Yes usually use wago enclosures, but if they don't want to pay for it I'm not going to turn the job down.

this enclosure is perfectly safe and acceptable, not compromised it at all in terms of ip rating.

 

[uksparks]

Well the Perspex I think my neighbour gave me if I remember, and the cu that was purchased my a customer as his rcd had gone and I charged him £50 for a new one when screwfix had the boxes on offer at £50 and I gutted it and was left with a shell, I've got a couple more empty ones.

I accept what you are saying and that I shouldn't lower my standards, but is rather have the money, and I don't think it's lowering my standards as such as it's not messy, ok it wasn't designed for it, but it will be a neat tidy job, when I do it in a week or so I'll take plenty of photos and then you can see yourself.

 

[uksparks]

I've already come down from £397 to £300 to get the job.

 

[davesparks]

Postage? What's wrong with your local wholesaler?
Where and how did you get that mk box for free?

I just don't get this whole the customer doesn't want to pay for that malarkey. you submit an honest price for what it costs to do the job properly, they either accept it or they don't.

 

[uksparks]

Eddies said they don't do one of the size I need, they said they are the only ones. I refuse to uses neweys and cef.

the box was paid for by another customer as they paid for an rcd and I kept the rest.

You are clearly in the position to turn work down for the sake of £30 then, I'd rather get the job, take the money and move on.

 

[Silly Sausage]

It was the bit 'I'm going to glue a bit of plastic on' that did it for me!

uksparks, you're either a wind up merchant, or an out & out cowboy!

 

[uksparks]

I'm not a cowboy, please clearly state what is wrong with using this enclosure...? other than it physically having a different look to it, what is the problem?

 

[davesparks]

When you get to the point where you have to glue a bit of plastic left over from another job into a spare CU you have in the shed in order to actually make a job worthwhile then I think you need to take a serious look at your pricing structure.

If when I visit a property to do a quote for a job and they are genuinely hard-up but the work is necessary for safety or whatever then I will put materials in at cost and put the labour in at my 'regular customer' rate, But otherwise the price is what it is and if they don't like it they can go elsewhere.
9 times out of 10 when i've said no to reducing a price when they turn around and accept the original price anyway.
And then quite often they use the 'the other quote was £50 cheaper can you match that?' approach, I advise them to accept the 'other quote' and they turn around and accept my price anyway (Hint, often there isn't another quote).

It is easy to loose sight of the fact that a self employed person will always come in cheaper than a company quoting for the same job, they have much higher overheads to meet.

I'm running a business not a charity!

 

[Silly Sausage]

Because it will look like a hatchet job!!!

For the sake an extra Tenner, do it right.

 

[davesparks]

I'm not a cowboy, please clearly state what is wrong with using this enclosure...? other than it physically having a different look to it, what is the problem?

It was not designed for the purpose.

It has not been type tested or approved for the purpose.

The manufacturer did not intend for it to be used this way.

The perspex is unlikely to have undergone the necessary flamability tests to be used as an electrical enclosure

The glue may fail and the perspex fall out.

Adaptable boxes cost less than a tenner

Adapting an existing CU to become a joint box is sometimes necessary if it cant be removed for whatever reason (eg, flush mounted) but generally speaking you'd make up a complete new cover out of a metal sheet or suitable insulating sheet (eg, paxolin)
To be perfectly honest you'd probably come under less flak if you'd riveted a bit of plastic trunking lid inside the hole rather than the clear perspex.