Battery Isolater......again!er!

[John Mason]

I have used the green screw down type for years without any problem. However I do not know if the newer ones are of an inferior quality. As the price of these can be between £3 & £8 there maybe a chance that the cheaper ones are less well made.

John Mason.

[David.H]

I had three "green screw" isolators...two worked, the other not! All around £7.00 Different containers out of China?

[Tony Press]

After a search - the green knob (and other colours) switches all look very alike with prices from A$6 to A$20 . One was marked Taiwan and described as brass coated zinc.

My three are up to ten years old and still in good condition but if zinc (mazac or similar) I would think not that strong. 

As far as I could see all were for the negative earth battery post- as are most early sevens.

[Ferg3]

Interestingly (?), Green Spark have two versions with a branded "Durite" version being twice the price of the unbranded one. I have ordered two of the Durites (my other old nail being a 1943 Dodge WC 54, which is a lot like an Austin Seven......well, it also has four wheels).

[Tony Press]

If you look both the Green Spark Pug green knob isolating switches, dear and cheap show the manufacturer as Durite- and they both look very like the 'no brand' ones !

Be very interested if someone buys a Durite isolating switch and reports on the metal- is it zinc.

[Paul N-M]

At these kind of prices how can you expect quality materials. Also bearing in mind the supply chain how many times is profit being taken along the way. The fact its branded Durite is no guarantee its better quality than any other for the same price. Look at so called Lucas items. I've had multiple failures of control boxes, condensors and coils.

Paul N-M

[Ferg3]

One can only hope that Green Spark cares about its reputation!

[Tony Griffiths]

I just bought one of those battery isolaters that clamps to the negative battery post.  The earth cable attaches to a post on the isolater.  Screwing a plastic knob in or out isolates the battery.  Simple and neat?  However on connecting mine, I had a bit of a struggle tightening the clamp on the battery post and the thing just snapped in two.  See the photos.  As you can see, there is very little "metal" where it snapped.  About 1.5 mm thick joining the teo halves.  Mechanically useless.  Electrically dangerous??  I shall not buy another.

And we thought that Lucas "King of Darkness" was bad - this stuff hits a new low. However, possibly a tad above the rubbish produced by Wipac as used on some Britsh motorcycles of the 1950s and 1960s (and even the headlights on the Mk.1 Discovery - they really were pathetic). The trouble is, some items appear OK but as there are so many knock-offs, it can be confusing. For example, want to buy a pair of those oh-so-useful-and-easy-to-use digital calipers? (go on, you know you want a pair). Top-class ones are made by Mitutoyo, but the market is flooded with horrid, Chinese-made copies. However, thanks to the web some digging will usually find the answer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtV-tT8I-5I  And, rather more more amusing (I defy you not to laugh): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnDype-j3hk

[Frank Stoll]

Hello,
I am constantly removing the battery cables when parking the car... something I have wanted to change for ages. I was only a few clicks away from ordering the gadget that is now shown as "broken error". I always thought about a solution that is easy to use, easy to install and  - most important - does not need additional holes in the body. So I went through the different options and found the following gadget. It can be mounted on a piece of plywood (painted black) that fits into the compartment below the driver's seat, the battery cables go into the box and the switch is closed. Seems to be pretty save and easy to handle. The knob can be removed.... not really a key but a simple way to avoid misuse.
Regards
Frank 

https://www.conrad.de/de/p/tru-component...1663!!!g!!

https://produktinfo.conrad.com/datenblae...OFF_TC.pdf

[Nick Malone]

Hello everyone,
I too have  a "Green Spark Plug Special" which has been on the Nippy for several years. It works fine and hasn't caused any issues and saves repeatedly fiddling about disconnecting the battery whenever I parked the car up.

A friend of mine in Sheffield had one of his Austin 7's catch fire through an electrical fault years ago. It destroyed this car plus his other Austin 7 plus his garage. I know it's a long shot but it made me a bit wary of leaving things to chance after that.

Hopefully, you'll find something which does the job and proves durable like mine has.
Best wishes,
Nick