8-gang individually switched power strips hard to come by?

Perhaps speak to Olson...

https://olsondirect.co.uk/8-way-13a-individually-switched-neon-fused-pdu.html?___SID=U

they can do bespoke.

Alternatively swap the plug for a surge protected plug-cap

That's the ticket.  Let me just have a word with the Bank Manager !  I might have to hold out for something cheaper if I'm honest, but that's pretty much a spec of what I'm after.  Thanks Dave.

Hi Andrew,

Does it have to be a ready made product i.e. because you need many of them to incorporate into a design or it needs to be certifiable for use in public places/education establishments etc. If not then you could buy four double socket outlets Iindividually switched) and mount them in a line using dual gang surface mount boxes - you'd need to add internal wiring/ gromets between the boxes and find something suitable to mount them to (personally a nice peice of plywood would be my choice but again would likely fall foul of any electrical inspection for non-combustible backing board ).

I think the Ebay companies you mention are often owned by international operators but they have already imported stock to key locations in other countries (in your case the UK), from experience they do normally deliver quite quickly (make sure you confirm from the delivery dates in Ebay).

Rod

Here is a bespoke one they made for me some time ago. There's just never enough outlets these days...

To be honest Rod, I don't want to mess around with mains voltage/current at the moment. 

I want 2 for different purposes.  One of them will be used to plug in my iMac, MacBook, printer, phone, disk drive, Sonos bridge, router with one to spare - perhaps a second monitor.  That can sit at one end of my work area, out of the way and, to be fair, that doesn't need to be individually switchable as I never turn any of that stuff off currently anyway.  The second will be for a fibre modem (because of location!), daylight lighting and other stuff I start playing with such as power supply, oscilloscope etc.  At the moment, I'm continuously plugging/unplugging a 9v/12v power supply that I use for experiments, because it doesn't have a power switch, and an earthing plug and it would be easier if the former could just be switched on/off as needed.  It also made me think that if the other sockets were switchable, I could ensure that I didn't exceed power limits on the supply by accident, even given that most of those types of devices have a power switch, if that makes sense.

Perhaps I'm being ambitious in that?  Possible - I wouldn't want to do anything dangerous, so general advice might be for that type of equipment get something like the Olsen ones Dave has linked to.  Although those look ideal and are undoubtedly high quality, £240+ for power strips is a bit more than I wanted to spend.  I could probably get one of those and a more bog-standard non-switchable one for the 'potaahs, drives and stuff, although even one is pushing what I want to spend.  The eBay one's look like they might do but, as I say, I've heard a fair few horror stories about non-branded Chinese power supplies so I'm a bit wary.

Hi Andrew,

For a friend's lab, I got someone to do Rod's suggestion, and line up a load of sockets, just above desk height. As Rod says, grommets are used. We got them fitted on the wall surface.  There was also another earth connection in parallel too. Overall it looks awesome and 'industrial' but that was the look we were going for in that lab.

For home use I got surge-protected strips from CPC, but they only have one switch.

In a similar vein to Dave's suggestion, perhaps an individually-switched 6-way such as this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-Individually-Switched-Mains-Power-White/dp/B002MEZ7UU

in combination with a 4-way surge-protected one may help, with the advantage that now you have a way to switch off six of them in one go.

This IEC socket style may be handy too, since a lot of equipment comes with IEC connectors:

https://cpc.farnell.com/schurter/r47403100/5-way-in-line-filter/dp/FT00702?ost=FT00702&ddkey=https%3Aen-CPC%2FCPC_United…

I prepend it with a surge protector though, and plug-in RCD.

In summary at low cost I've not found an all-in-one solution, but I guess there is some more flexibility with the mix, and it's inexpensive. I went mainly with CPC for most of the stuff, so that there is a single 'throat to choke' : )

The eBay one's look like they might do but, as I say, I've heard a fair few horror stories about non-branded Chinese power supplies so I'm a bit wary.

Yes, be aware that a lot of those cheap deals on the likes of eBay / Marketplace contain counterfeit products which can be very dangerous.

BS 1363 Plugs and Sockets

That's the type of stuff I'm always very wary about!  I tend to buy either well known brands or reputable sources when it comes to plugging stuff in!

Actually, perhaps getting a qualified electrician in to put in some surface mount sockets in the right place might be an answer - would be a tidy job. 

I have one 2-gang wall socket which these extension leads would come from in more-or-less the right place.  6+4 along with an 8 would mean I'd have to plug the 6 into the wall and the 4 into the 6 - I didn't think that was recommended (if all remaining sockets are to be used.)  An electrician could, of course, spur off both of these and provide the right amount of sockets where needed.

Perhaps once I end up down the path of paying for an electrician's time or spending £120 on a strip, it may be simpler to just buy a 4x4 rectangular strip at a quarter of the price.  I'll have to give it some thought....I honestly didn't think it would be that hard to find a reasonably priced, domestic extension lead with 8 sockets individually switched in-a-line!

I've found  6way switched with 2m lead from a reputable seller of quality items to the electrical trade:

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TACS924N.html

Rod