Today we're looking at metal clad switches and sockets from Hamilton - with Gordon Routledge and Gary Hayers- GSH electrical
so metal clad Gary what's the first thing that comes into your head. Knocking one out Gordon
okay, you mean removing the knockout. Knocking one out Gordon absolutely yeah we take the cover off
and we're faced with all those punch through holes how easy is it gonna be well here we
go so screwdriver and hammer one firm strike on top of the screwdriver it's popped through
gentle wiggle and i've released it from its enclosure okay that's that's that's good and
we we look at a lot of metal clad accessories and it's a fine line between some that end up looking
like a kettle drum and need a spot of panel beating when you're trying to remove the knockout
and others where it just almost accidentally falls out which you wouldn't want happening on your
electrical installation absolutely it's subtle little things like that we're going to see throughout
the Hamilton range and they've got a lot in the range so it's all in front of us here Gordon
there's a lot of stuff to look at isn't there yeah i mean it's everything you'd expect double
sockets we've got some USB sockets we've got some fused spurs but we've got some grid switches we're
going to look at and even our old friend the euro module but there's one that really stood out to
you gary which one's that um the red one okay so let's think what's the thing behind the red one
gordon okay well efixx red possibly trying to mimic a 1980s Argos inspired teenager's bedroom uh no
okay the label gives it away okay let's have a look at that label then gordon
so do not switch off burger alarm nurse call panel or fire alarm okay nurse cool panel you got one in
your place i think you'll need it before me okay but obviously that gives a hint as to what this
is intended for it's obviously this what's not uh you can't accidentally switch off that critical
equipment so it comes with the key switch yes we used to see it on emergency lightning switches
so you do that but also if you look at the end gary it's got this little hook function here yep
which all right turn it over pull in there just to pull the fuse carrier out in there that's a
bit different is it we're normally used to seeing that maybe a slot down the side or a screw yes
remove that price that out with a screwdriver yeah or a screw to remove it so obviously that makes
it completely tamper-proof the last thing you'd want somebody doing on one of those systems is
just yeah levering the fuse holder out you know to stop the fire alarm by letting the batteries wear
down yeah that's not a top tip by the way is it normal to stop it ringing okay so so that that's
good so that that was obviously the easy one but when i'm thinking hamilton i'm probably thinking
decorative sockets for the domestic market i'm props not thinking metal clad no we've looked
at hamilton's range of full range of domestic sockets all those finishers the dimmer switches
the uh extensive range of USB chargers but you think now Gary what's happening into the office
you know what do officers look like now they're probably looking something like this aren't they
we've got bare brick where we've got maybe surface mounted conduits and socket outlets and switches
etc yeah and that trend has followed through into a lot of people's homes you know the other place
that used to be a factory could now be somebody's home and people like the exposed metal conduit and
hence the metal clad range from hamilton still can use these in garages workshops factories
where they were yeah possibly they're intended for they're intended for absolutely so let's go
maybe next let's have sure we have a look at the grid switches yes the grid switch yeah i've got a
vast range of grid switches but it's actually how again you mount the actual frame or yoke onto the
box itself so i've done this so what we generally do then we take the frame we screw it into the box
and if you screw it all the way in you often find that that depth is too deep so i've screwed
this one all the way in i'll put my front cover on and you'll see what i've got now as
an issue is that they're in recess switch yeah so that's obviously not acceptable so what you
end up doing is is trying to guess don't you how far to back these screws back in order that now
the switches actually make the first play it fixes them in place absolutely so and then it's the four
screws on the front that's going to actually keep that frame in place well hamilton have thought
about this they come with some handy little spacers that simply clip onto the side of the
yoke or grid mounting frame whatever you want to call it and when you fix those two on now
you can screw the frame tightly back into the box because you'll have a perfect depth now
so i'll just screw this one on for you so once it's on there we go the perfect depth
in order that we can have those frames so four of those come with them topped it from efix
don't lose them no because they come in they come in the in the box yeah so they're in the
box itself yes so if you're first fixing this and going to decide on those switches later
yeah put them to one side i would suggest yeah don't lose them but yeah that's a great little
adventure it's those subtle little things throughout the range that are really good now when
we're looking in that box we noticed something else didn't we gordon that we thought was really
good because we'd had a painful experience earlier on in the week and we yeah now you wouldn't think
tiny details but some manufacturers put the earth tab on the opposite side so it interferes with the
double entry of those two conduit knockouts there and stops in some instances getting the gland in
yeah yeah we found that don't worry yeah loads of clearance room there but again tiny little feature
but worth mentioning absolutely yeah now another thing on those grid switches okay is obviously
getting them in and out of the frame itself now often you have to sort of take a screwdriver don't
you and sort of lever them in and out no not with not with the hamilton range gordon so here we go
i'll take the green neon one out a little tab at the bottom there just oh just lift
it up pop it out and just lever it back in and just gently press it and it's back in wow that's
easy it is easy yeah i've tried that actually so i found this nice little cord called outlet yeah
just pop it in just pushes in yeah yeah i don't want to get it out again yeah no
effort no really simple and this the grid range comes in everything from from one way
all the way up to all right away version we built up there and with the usual things switches double
pole switches fuse connection units we've got neons we've got red amber green etcetera and we're
going yeah we've got everything yeah and then no end of combinations but it also includes another
module should we suggest we're featured a lot recently would that be the euro or that's the euro
we'd love a euro module don't worry so we've got a euro module frame here
obviously if it's going into residential office spaces data outlets are going to be important usb
charging you know the range comes with some usb chargers but hamilton have a standout product we
looked at in a different video that delivers up to 45 watts of usb charging in a euro module and
having it in this range gives you the versatility done it to have a you know usb and a data point
next to each other maybe even a single socket etcetera because that euro module range also
comes in a vast range of accessories that go in don't they gordon yeah so it seems like hamilton
have got the whole metal clad range covered as well they have as always we're interested in your
feedback are you currently fitting metal cloud accessories have you fitted the ones from hamilton
are you thinking about fitting them in the future is there anything else you'd like to see on the
channel as always leave those comments below and we'll try and get back to as many as we can