We have a whole bunch of old style switches around our place - they look like Feller Standard classical range - they are quite old, they were fitted around the 90s I think
Are the front plates/switches interchangeable with the newer Feller Edizio (due?) versions?
The modern ones look much better of course, and it seems to me you can buy just the front plates and push buttons separately - but obviously these would have to fit over the old inner switch mechanism and the wall box. Anyone had any luck replacing these plates without replacing/rewiring the inner switch?
No. The screws which secure the front plate to the back plate have different spacings for Edizio and Standard.
All is not lost though Feller is pushing the old standard design as a “classic” loved by architects and designers and has re-vamped the range to include all switch types. Here. Basically, your current switches are now trendy!
Yeah, I saw that but I honestly I started hating the classic design. We have now a mixed setup in our place due to renovations and the new plates are much more comfortable to use as all the push buttons are bigger… like the double switch in the old design is very fiddly to use in the middle of the night…
I’m going to take back what I wrote before and change the No to a Possible.
I looked at the Feller website and the actual switch mechanisms appear to be the same for both Edizio and the standard range - which would suggest that they are interchangeable.
I have a Edizio switch not mounted so I had a look and it appears to have two additional unused mounting screw holes which are vertical (like the Standard range), as well as the Edizio horizontal ones.
However, they have re-vamped the Standard range and it may only be the new versions of the Standard which are interchangeable (it would make sense to Feller to have one type of mechanism for various styles of face plate.
So, you may be in luck. I would ask Feller directly as then you’ll get a definitive answer.
Yes, I saw that their current ranges have interchangeable plates but our switches are quite old so it’s not a given…
Feller doesn’t seem to provide customer service to individuals, their go to response is “ask your electrician”… I’m looking for a low cost solution, it’s not bothering me that much
You could buy a switch cover set (and the white frame bit) and see whether it fits.
(or as you say, you have a mix already - just remove one from an existing one and try that).
Doesn’t look very promising… the side screws in the new one are set quite a bit back compared to the old one, and it looks like it may need replacing the metal frame fixed to the wall as well. The old box might also not be deep enough… It doesn’t look like a straightforward swap.
If a new style button clips in the same receptacle as the old style button then this may work:
Take the edging plate of the new one (two black screws), turn it round 90 degrees and
see if the holes with the two screws on the old switch holding the switch mechanism in place line up.
If so then you could put the new plate on this way and replace the countersunk screws with suitable pan head screws.
That’s the only way I can see it working. I hope that’s a clear explanation.
It was even easier than what you said - I had to unclip the old push button cover and then the new cover screws align correctly with the old holes
Now I have to try with a few combination plates…
Just an addition to say that I got to a set of switches that looked pretty much identical to the first one but were not compatible with the newer plates. The internal switch looked much older and had a non-detacheable push button and I could not replace the plates. So it doesn’t work in all cases…
Hornbach is definitely the lowest cost retail for Feller products…even cheaper than Galaxus.
Some of their stuff is ridiculously expensive…I think a powerpoint with both USB-A and USB-C is around 150-170chf!
Switzerland probably has more unique building component standards than the US that serve well to protecting the market here. Even mechanical lock cylinders are different than the EU…
The Feller rotary, rheostat-based lamp dimmers in our place were around 300 CHF each to replace.
When they invariably died, I replaced them with cheap Feller push switches and zigbee based dimmers behind so they can be controlled locally or with automation.
And to add to what has been said, the 30+ year old plastics I replaced, while some of them were cracked and brittle from time, felt still far more solid than the new ones I just put in. The new plastics are much thinner, and while they feel just OK now I doubt they’ll last more than 10 years.
I don’t know much about how the internals rate in terms of durability but I do question whether the overall quality matches the prices asked…
