Shop for stacked Despard electrical light switch devices - single pole switch, 3 way switch, or power outlets, plus vertical or horizontal mounting straps required for installation. Despard switches flip on and off from left to right and were made by Leviton, Bryant, Sierra, Pass & Seymour and other manufacturers. Now you can find replacement Despard light switches and receptacles for updating these old electrical systems. Please note, some vintage low voltage systems used similar switches and straps, so be sure to see Sierra Despard Low Voltage Lighting if your home has this type of electrical wiring. Despard pilot lights are discontinued.
Interchangeable Despard electrical switches and mounting straps allow for flexibility in tight locations. These stacked or tandem devices fit standard electrical boxes and can be arranged in one, two and three device configurations in a single gang - whether to use with standard switchplates, narrow wallplates, or tall skinny tandem switch plates.
These vintage style plates have one or more 29/32" W x 11/16" H openings for switches or outlets. Plates may be installed horizontally or vertically depending upon on how the box was mounted. Screw holes are 3-13/16" apart center to center (about 3-3/4"). There can be 1, 2, or 3 device openings on a single gang; the spacing between openings on centers is .937 on the triple stack or 1.843" on the double stack. All Despard interchangeable switch plates come with standard 1/4" 6-32 installation screws.
Despard Plate Finishes
Find American-made Despard light switchplates in white, ivory, stainless steel, black, polished brass, satin brass, antique brass, aluminum, bronze, copper, and polished chrome metal finishes - a full range to suit most any decorating style.
If your home has old Despard style Leviton sideways toggle switches as shown here and you need replacement switches - order the replacement Despard switches and outlets above.
If you need a replacement switch plate, purchase the Replacement Nutone Scoville 3-Switch Wall Plate.
This is how your switches will look mounted in the new straps without the cover plate. Note that you may need to adjust which opening is used for mounting in your wall or electrical box.
If using with the new plate (shown below), mount the right-hand switch in the center opening.
Note: Mount the straps into the electrical box using the oval strap holes. If mounted directly into the wall rather than a box, thread the screw through the plate into the strap and into the wall.
You can purchase a switch plate for 3 despard switches (shown at left).
This wall plate is available in ivory, white, stainless steel, satin brass, polished chrome and black.
Depending on the size of the hole in your wall, you may need to patch around this standard 2-gang plate to complete your look. Or, place a plate extender behind your cover.
Looking for another configuration? Shop all Despard switch plate covers.
Create the configuration you need by adding a despard insert to a rocker plate.
Installing a conversion insert behind a rocker plate allows you to add 1, 2 or 3 despard switches to this single plate opening (which is otherwise sized for a decora rocker switch or GFCI outlet).
Inserts can also be used with despard plates to "fill" any unused plate openings.
This home owner had tape over the top middle switch to indicate that it should remain in the down or "off" position.
By removing the unnecessary switch and adding the 2 despard insert, they were able to keep their cover plate and get rid of the extra light switch.
Mounting despard switches in straps is simple when you follow these instructions.
First, locate the curved edge of the strap and note it faces up, not down as you might expect. Note that each device opening on the strap has a narrow protruding tab on one side and double slots on the other.
Next, insert a switch or outlet by first hooking one end of it onto the protruding tab in the strap opening then fully pushing the switch into position.
Use a screwdriver to pinch the double slot edge of the strap in just enough so that the Despard outlet or switch is snugly in place.
Bend the strap inward with a screwdriver to keep Despard device firmly mounted in the metal strap.
Tip: Be sure switches are mounted in a uniform direction with all ON ends on the same side of the strap. Look for the words ON and OFF printed on the device housing.
For low voltage trigger switches PSL-1091, the ends with two terminals should all be on the same side of the strap. When looking at the back of the switch, if the single-terminal end (common) is on the left and the two-terminal end is on the right, the top right terminal is the ON and the bottom right terminal is the OFF. Switches also have ON and OFF embossed on the front housing.
Note that Despard electrical devices may be mounted vertically or horizontally.
Check the orientation of your switches in the plate, as well as the orientation of the plate on the wall to select the correct strap for your needs.
Buy a vertical despard strap. Vertical brackets that fit a single-gang box only hold 1 switch.
Buy a horizontal despard strap. Horizontal brackets for 1-gang boxes hold 1-3 switches.
Note that if the plate is installed horizontally, the direction of the switches in the horizontal or vertical straps changes.
Despard light switches can replace your light, vent and heat switches in NuTone plates.
The center switch shown here is a Despard Eagle toggle light switch.
We don't carry this thicker style of Despard switch, but you can update to a standard despard switch here or find replacement plates here.
Sideways Toggle Switches
Note the difference between the despard toggle switches for sale above and horizontal toggle switches. While similar in the way they look, these 2 types of sideways toggles fit different wall plates.
Below, you can see that the base around a despard toggle switch is smaller than it is on a horizontal toggle switch. At its widest point, the despard base measures under 1 inch, while the horizontal toggle base exceeds 1 inch at its widest measurement.
Another difference is that despard style switches are sold individually and require mounting straps to hold them into place. Horizontal toggles, on the other hand, come as a complete unit with 2 switches and screw directly into your electrical box without any additional mounting hardware.
Despard switches & outlets sold above fit despard wall plates.
Horizontal toggles fit horizontal toggle switchplates.
Pass & Seymour's Bell Push Button Switches (brown and ivory examples).
Arrow-Hart-Hegeman Bell Push Button Light Switches (in brown and ivory).
Pass & Seymour Roto-Glo rotary action switch with glow-in-the-dark knob.
Blank inserts for unused Despard openings.
Made by Pass & Seymour, Leviton and Eagle.
Use 1-switch filler to cover a center cutout or a 2-switch filler to cover 2 unused cutouts.
Despard convenience plug and night light.
Pass & Seymour and Arrow-Hart-Hegeman made despard night lights.
Pass & Seymour Rocker-Glo switch and pilot light.
Sierra/Pass & Seymour low voltage pilot light thumb switch and clear locator switch.
From upper left to lower right:
Examples of Despard Eagle switches
Despard Eagle
Despard switches installed in RV.
Vintage Bryant and Pass & Seymour Despard Convenience Outlets with Slanted Slot
These specialized bakelite electrical receptacles had a pair of blade slots where one was slanted or rotated in relation to the other in order to require a special plug for distinguishing the main and auxiliary contacts. These antique receptacles were often paired with pilot lights and used for electric irons or toasters for indicating they were in use. Sometimes you'll find versions of these unusual sockets with the angled slot marked GROUND and the straight slot ANTENNA; these were likely used for vintage radios. For more information see this original patent by Victor R Despard for this speciatly outlet.
Despard Pilot Switches
These discontinued pilot lighted switches had an internal bulb and were used in conjunction with another stacked Despard switch. For an alternative, we recommend the duplex versions: Duplex Toggle Switch & Pilot Light Combo Devices
4-Way Despard Switches
The old 4 way Despard switches are no longer manufactured. They most likely had 4 screw terminals on them (two on each end). Unlike most current switches, grounding was created through the strap rather than with an additional terminal. The only replacement would be the 3-way Despard switches.
