Just say the end of life notice for the vmb4ry! Seems a bit of a step backwards to be honest, loosing the onboard pb inputs is a big loss! Means the equivalent replacement is a vmb4no plus 2 x vmb6in!!
That means the cost of a 4 relays has gone from 179 euro to 497 euro!!
Even if you could use the vmbp8 which you cannot extend inputs over long distances you are talking significant additional costs!
Would have made me seriously reconsider my velbus install if I had to have these additional costs as well!
Any chance of some review here of the decision, or at least a cheaper alternative solution than what we are left with!
Well, that would tie in with my op, the alternative of a combine vmb4no and 2 x vmbp6in is nearly 400 euro! That’s some change if it is literally the only alternative!
I remember costing my install when I did it first time round at 900 euro, but to do it now would be 1350, a 50% increase!
Can someone from velleman clarify or confirm this ?
The moment we started selling VMB4RYLD and VMB4RYNO, the VMB4RY was no longer bought by our customers.
We are running out of stock now. The needed quantities are very low so the price would increase a lot.
That’s why we decided to stop the production of this module.
PS: the price of the VMB4RY has not been changed (179 EUR)
I can understand low order numbers not allowing refilling stock, but bearing in mind that significant functionality is being lost, could some alternatives not be looked at ?
Perhaps removing the vmb4ryno instead, or upgrading the vmb4ryn0 to have pb inputs as well ? The impact of the removal of the vmb4ry is very significant when considering a new install, but with regards replacements or upgrades etc, it adds a significant amount of redesign into an existing install.
Replacing a vmb4ry does in fact need a vmb4ryno + 2 vmb6in’s, thats quite a significant change, and a huge cost difference.
Any chance of an upgraded vmb4ryno with on board pb inputs ? That would resolve the issue, and mean that old or existing customers still have an alternative solution that fits in with their existing install!
The real problem is “how long a Velbus module would works ?” or what is it MTBF time ?
Is it 10 years ? 5 years ? 20 years ?
It could be a problem for someone who have bought for ~5000€ of Velbus modules and needs to replace it with the solution 1 x vmb4ryno + 2 x vmb6in !
The second part of the problem is : have you enough place in your electric baies ? mine is nearly full
From an enterprise point of view, VMB4RY is more expensive to build than VMB4RYNO because of mecanical part to assemble… so Velleman can create a kit ??? VMB4RY without solded part (connectors, push button…)
[quote=“Golfy”]The real problem is “how long a Velbus module would works ?” or what is it MTBF time ?
Is it 10 years ? 5 years ? 20 years ?[/quote]
even apart from mtbf, we all expect that at times, things go wrong, and when they do, it should be easy enough to rectify, by a simple replacement product! This does not seem to be the case in this scenario!
At 50% higher cost than initial cost of vmb4ry!
Again, signifcantly increasing the cost for what should be a standard replacement, an now turns into a significant electrical change to your house, requiring new fuse board, change fo 220v wiring, labor costs etc! And this type of thing is bound to happen.
Even in a case where there is no need for additional din space, the replacement of a vmb4ry to vmb4ry + 2 vmb6in is a singificant amount of work! This type of issue will happen to all users eventually, everything goes faulty at some stage, the issue is not the failure, but how easy it is to rectify/replace!
VMB4RY and VMB4NO are same price on velbus website (179 euro), perhaps the offset is due to quantity, or the removal of the mechanical configuration wheels etc on the vmb4no. I think a single hybrid solution would be the optimum solution here.
Please velleman, if you are removing the vmb4ry, leave us with some form of roadmap for like for like product, even if it is in the longer term. Would it be possible to have a vmb4no with onboard pb inputs on a product roadmap ?
Please note that we are able to service the VMB4RY. We stock spare parts and boards to make sure that all customers can be helped should there be a problem. By law, we have to be able to supply spare parts for 7 years after final production. We believe that we will be able to service those modules for a longer time than required. Basically, the relays are the only parts that ‘wear’ and they can be replaced, even by the user. In general, the electronics do not fail, if used within the specs and should they do, they can also be replaced, as they are fairly standard components.
Thanks for the reply! It is reassuring regarding repairs etc noted above, thankyou! I really appreciate the fact that low order and similar functionality result in the end of life of a product, I fully understand that, and this sort of thing must happen in order for velleman to keep producing velbus products, which I absolutely love and rave about on a regular basis! One of the best things I have done to my house is install velbus!
I recommend velbus to lots of people and demo it to friends and associates in my house, I’m such an enthusiast! However, the removal of the vmb4ry is a really significant event, it literally changes the entire design of an install, and increases the costs significantly! I’m sorry to go on about it and I won’t anymore, but It’s really a significant change!
I have a colleague for example who I have taken through my install and helped design an install for his house based on my own install! This is now completely redundant from a design and cost perspective and may well push him away from a velbus solution towards an alternative such as idratek ( which he had been looking at), this change is that significant!!
From my own perspective I had planned on adding some additional channels to my install, but the removal of vmb4ry will make this too costly! I had planned on two more sets of vmb4ry at a cost of 360 euro, but now will need 2x vmb4no plus 2 vmb6in costing 578 euro!!
So, let’s take it that the vmb4ry is in fact gone and look at existing or other potential alternatives, perhaps there is something that could be done by velleman instead from the perspective of new installations or upgrades!
vmb4no plus 2 x vmb6in! A workable but cumbersome and expensive alternative
vmb4no plus local vmb8pb! Workable but significant costs at 50 euro per switch location!
A hybrid new product to replace both vmb4no and vmb4ry with on board pb inputs! Not available but possible ?
Cheaper vmb6in modules to reduce cost of current vmb4no solution ?
a new vmb8in or vmb16in module to allow add multiple pb inputs to an install at better price?
