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[Nate Hollow]

opinions on the difference between aluminum wall plates and plastic plates.  decora or punched to fit styles?

[Phil LaDue]

Decora looks much cleaner to my eye.

[Steve Rynbrandt]

For custom plates, I generally prefer metal, custom punched and engraved. Decora size openings can really limit your options and get in the way of labeling especially with multi-gang size plates..

My reasoning for metal is simply the durability. One thing I really hate are the modular plastic systems, especially with connectors such as HD15's, they never seem to hold up through everyday use. We have replaced many plastic modules with those screw termianl HD15's (which I also hate) due to the flex of the insert over time breaking the connections.


Steve Rynbrandt

[Adam Whetham]

Metal all the way. Get a custom fab shop to make up all your standard plates and custome one's. engraved, and punched to your liking. Load at your place. Makes life awsome. Holds up for a long time.

[Brad Weber]

What is the application?  What is being done for the other plates on the project?

In general, I prefer metal plates with engraved, filled labeling.  However, I have had many projects where aesthetics and matching all the other plates were a major consideration.  One option in some cases has been a metal plate with an engraved plastic laminate finish, you can get a variety of finish and engraving color combinations and they are pretty durable.

Many of the Decora and insert style plates seem to be made more for applications where the connection is made and rarely changed rather than for applications where you will be plugging and unplugging regularly.  However, I pretty routinely specify the Extron AAP/MAAP type plates and inserts, but those are metal and much more durable.

[Nate Hollow]

thanks alot for your opinions guys. this wasnt a matter of what application im using them for, i just wanted general opinions from people who work in my field of work daily.

another question i have is:

Has anyone EVER heard of a metal decora insert? powder coated or anodized?  this customer of mine wants to use plastic decora plate with a metal insert..? made me think, well why? he said because in most home installations people want the plastic instead of using powder coated metals, plus some connectors require a grounded lead. long story short i was dumbfounded and had no idea if ive ever heard anything like that. it didnt make any sense to me to use plastic and metal together, but he is a pretty big distributor and thinks the metal insert would be more durable than plastic (of course) but the metal decora plate would cost more than the plastic plate. again (of course).

let me know what you guys think about that because im pretty sure no one has the time or energy to make a metal insert like that. its a waste of time in my eyes.

thanks alot for your time again guys.

[Andrew Welker]

Panelcrafters by Liberty has Decora inserts that are metal that you can use to accomplish this.  

[Don Boone]

I think FSR also has some metal Decora devices.

Don