Are all brands of flex more or less the same?

Cinquestelle

Are all brands of flex more or less the same?

I was shopping around for flex yesterday (I need to buy 13 metres of 1.5mm 3 core flex to customize the length of a 3 gang extension socket) and I was surprised by the huge variation in price:

Ryness £2.30 per metre
Leylands £1.37 per metre
Hardware DIY £1.27 per metre
Local independent 0.99p per metere

All stores are within 15 mins walk of each other in London.

Is price an indication of quality here do you think? What is so special about Ryness or are they just an expensive place to shop? Is 99p per metre too cheap? Are all the brands more or less the same assuming they all conform to British Standards? Am I getting paranoid?

vaio

All pretty much the same (unless maybe you buy some dodgy Chinese stuff off a market stall)

phill99

It is all made to the same specification. There will be no difference in quality.

The only difference is how much each store is wanting to make in profit.

espresso

You could get approx twice the length for an extra £6 here - works out at 76p per metre.

phill99

espresso wrote: »

You could get approx twice the length for an extra £6 here - works out at 76p per metre.

But that isn't cost effective if you have no use for the other 12 metres and it just sits in your garage. That would be a waste of money.

espresso

phill99 wrote: »

But that isn't cost effective if you have no use for the other 12 metres and it just sits in your garage. That would be a waste of money.

It depends how you look at it - that is a good quality cable to BS6500 at a good price. The required 13M works out at £1.47 per meter delivered, even if the extra is binned. However I would have thought that most people would have a use for the surplus. Is the 99p stuff made to BS6500?

iamcornholio

All the cables should be marked with the relevant BASEC approvals denoting what standard they conform to

Hintza

All I know is that I went to B&Q the other day for some flex for a Standard Lamp and was horrified at the cost of it.

ormus

that how shops like BQ make their profits. huge mark ups on small fiddly items. (nearly all of it made in china).
same stuff in the pound shop cost a quid.
ie
homebase sell some led light strips for about 20 quid. my mate imports a similar product.
they cost him 76p in china.

macman

Hintza wrote: »

All I know is that I went to B&Q the other day for some flex for a Standard Lamp and was horrified at the cost of it.

That's because the cost of copper is at an all-time high. Which is why signal cable is being nicked on a daily basis.

Cinquestelle

espresso wrote: »

It depends how you look at it - that is a good quality cable to BS6500 at a good price. The required 13M works out at £1.47 per meter delivered, even if the extra is binned. However I would have thought that most people would have a use for the surplus. Is the 99p stuff made to BS6500?

I would have to ask at the shop to have that confirmed. I also think I should be able to see from the imprints on the pvc.