captkirk

I was at Home Depot today and like always I cant help but strolling through the electrical depart. They had a really nice display of Pass and Semore devices. Some of it looked really cool. Gfci's and outlets with built in night lights. New decora style switches and dimmers. I was pretty impressed with how they looked. I couldnt resist and bought a few lighted gfcis for my house. How do they compare with leviton stuff..? My supply house only stocks leviton and a couple of others. I think i might use some of that stuff for vip customers. Any thoughts...?

480sparky

I make a special trip to the supply houses that sell P&S instead of the one closer to me that sell Leviton.

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In winter, why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

user4818

P&S at Home Depot? Really? All the H.D's near me carry Leviton. I wonder if they are changing over. I can't say that would be a bad thing at all if they did.

I've found the resi grade P&S stuff is no different, quality wise, than the Cooper and Leviton . The only major advantage of P&S is their Trademaster wall plates which are midway nylon and not bakelite. I mean, how much quality can you expect from a 50 cent switch and a 40 cent receptacle?

captkirk

well I dont generally use the cheapo stuff but I was mesmerized with their cool dimmers and lighted GFCI's. Little freebies like that can make a customer really happy. Oh and by freebie I mean a lighted gfci as opposed to a nonlighted. I have some good repeat customers that would like stuff like that.

kbsparky

I prefer the P&S stuff over the Leviton. And I was an avid Leviton user for years.

But Leviton switches (especially 3-ways, wired with #12) had a bad habit of cracking when tightening the terminal screws. I have not had that problem when installing the P&S switches.

The other problem I had with the Levitons was the ground prong hole would crack and break out chunks of the face of the outlets. Again, no problems with the P&S.

As for Eagle/Cooper, I really don't need wire strippers built into the plaster ears. I already have a decent pair of strippers, thank-you-very-much.

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Life is uncertain -- eat dessert first!

captkirk

now that i think of it the lighted gfci that I bought was tamper resistant..! isnt a tamper resistant gfci a bit of a redundancy..? even if a kid stuck a paper clip in the hot side wouldnt it just trip...? why the extra protection...

480sparky

Your car has brakes, doesn't it? Why have anti-lock brakes?

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In winter, why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

InPhase277

I keep a stock of vintage Eagle Electric and Arrow devices. Can't go wrong.

Magnettica

I put those Leviton tamper resistant GFCI's the other day for the first time. It's a good idea if you ask me. Reminds me of that avatar with the kid sticking his whatever in the receptacle.

Safety = Good.

MDShunk

P&S makes superior devices. Simple as that. They don't get any better until you start talking about Hubbell's commercial line.

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waco

I agree.

MDShunk

Nobody makes better plates than P&S. The Trademaster plates are, hand's down, the best plates ever made. They're nylon, but remain flat out of the box (regardless of storage conditions), unlike many other brands of nylon plates. They're a matte finish, which appeals to the modern design eye. They're sized to what we used to call "midway", so that's helpful. If you draw the cover plate screws up extra tight, due to a device set a shade too deep, the corners of the plate actually get tighter to the wall (most other brands, the corners start to lift when you overdraw the cover plate screws). They have a generous "dish area" in the plate, so they'll accommodate thick yokes set on box ears, such as a dimmer switch on an old work box, without holding the plate off the wall.

__________________
One reason not to give DIY advice:
Catch a man a fish and you can sell it to him.
Teach a man to fish and you’ve ruined a good business opportunity.

captkirk

No kidding.......Ill have to give them a shot. That can be very handy when working on plaster and lath.

MF Dagger

A 2 gang trademaster plate will cover a 2 gang mudring. Very helpful to know at times.
Also Home Depot sells Leviton around here. You have to go to Menards for P&S

captkirk

I cant stand those cheap plastic ones that bend when you tighten. I have been using the bakelit ones but it can be a pain trying to align 4 gangs and up.

drsparky

When I need to align multiple devices I make jig out of a cover. For example I took a double duplex nylon cover and set two receptacles on it without the mounting screws. I marked the mounting screw holes location on the inside of the cover and used a 1/4 drill to make holes in the cover. Then I mount the receptacles loosely in the box; place the jig over the receptacles with the finished side toward the receptacles, this makes a shelf to rest a torpedo level on the top edge. Now the mounting screws are accessible with a cover in place so they will be perfectly spaced and plumb when you tighten the screws. Save the jigs they last forever, you can make the same for snap switches or any combinations that you use often.

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MDShunk

I never really have too much trouble with switches. I tighten the yoke screws so that they're pretty snug, but I could move the switch a bit, forcefully, by grabbing the toggle handle through the plate and pushing it left or right.

If it's a plastic box, or a box with a mud ring, if you tighten the yoke screw in the same location on the elongated slot in every yoke, the plate should line right up. It's the ganagable boxes where that trick doesn't work, since they don't always gang tightly together.

__________________
One reason not to give DIY advice:
Catch a man a fish and you can sell it to him.
Teach a man to fish and you’ve ruined a good business opportunity.

480sparky

I just take a 5-gang cover and cut the top and bottom off just above and below the screw holes. Same result with far more accuracy and a lot less time.



(Cut along red lines)

So the jig looks like this:

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In winter, why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

MDShunk

Will your idea work with a 4-gang plate or a 6-gang plate? Just wondering.

__________________
One reason not to give DIY advice:
Catch a man a fish and you can sell it to him.
Teach a man to fish and you’ve ruined a good business opportunity.

480sparky

If you want to buy a 20-gang plate, you certainly can spend the money to do so.

I just use a 5-gang, even with just two switches. The spacing is always the same.

__________________
In winter, why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?