LongRunner's Mini-review Collection

[LongRunner]

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Superficially, it's your standard 24‑hour rotary time switch with on/off tabs per 15 minutes. They tried to keep me out with yet another weird screw type (with 3 slots in a triangular formation at the perimeter), but my divided‑blade screwdriver (out of which I cut the notch myself) engaged them anyway .

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Switching is double pole using two red microswitches rated for 16(2)A 250V. Their only steel part is the dummy (normally closed) contact, which is OK by me. (You'd think they could have announced double-pole switching as some other brands do, but now you know anyway.) Being two separate switches (with independent snap actions) does theoretically raise a concern that one could switch on some time before the other, but when I tested it they do click on in tandem. These are branded Cixi Yidong Electronic Co., Ltd, which indeed manufactures the whole device (it looks nigh-identical to model TA‑7 here, although searching the approval number instead gives results mostly of the form *TA‑14). The load wires are spot‑welded to their terminals, only the motor and LED connections are soldered here (very shiny solder though). The timer mechanism is unremarkable, using a typical teeny 10-pole (600RPM at 50Hz) synchronous motor of minimalist design (omitting 4 poles from the stator) with a gearbox.

A tad pinched at the LED anode, but I'm still willing to count the screw post as basic insulation and deeply-recessed screw hole as supplementary.

Inside.JPG (540.49 KiB) Viewed 140607 times

The LED series resistor is 100kΩ ±5%, but there's no rectifying diode so it will dissipate 576mW at 240V (typical) or 734mW at 264V and −5% tolerance (worst case); the resistor is accordingly 1W judging by its dimensions (11mm long, 3.6mm diameter), although it will get hotter than comfortable for the (ABS?) housing so would have been more-appropriate with the rectifier. Also, it actually measures 110kΩ so must be mismarked (I've verified my DMM against spare 100kΩ ±1% metal film resistors), not that this relatively-minor error would do any damage. The input measures 54.4kΩ across, which comes from a 51kΩ ±5% 2W (15mm long by 4.8mm diameter) resistor (measures 50kΩ) in series with the motor coil (4.39kΩ cold); this resistor will get moderately warm, dissipating 723mW typical (at 240V assuming the motor is 48V) up to 921mW at 264V and −5% tolerance, but nothing tragic.
59mm wide at the plug/socket portion, the unit won't fit beside a plug in a normal outlet but does fit comfortably in the end socket on Crest's power‑boards, which is more than I can say for some other time switches (Arlec PC844, Kambrook KD84) with large square or rectangular bodies (71mm and 69mm wide respectively).

That just leaves a load test: Since the switches are 16A rated I applied that straight away; it got quite hot, but survived alright so 10A will be fine.

Conclusion
It was close to being decent, but the missing rectifier in the LED circuit lets it down. No worries, I have plenty of 1N4007s which I can add myself…

UPDATE 2023-03-01: Jackson Industries also sell it as the PTT1155 (despite being Crest's competitor otherwise), so you might as well have their lower price.

[LongRunner]

Arlec PB12PP (not listed on Arlec's site)

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This is technically an addendum to my cheap power-board challenge from two months ago, as this model is a bigger sister to the CLKPB4 and CLKPB6 revision shown there (while branded different, the general design and approval number are shared, the cardboard sleeve is done in the same general style and even gives the same customer service numbers). Although not nearly so cheap, at AU$23.79 it's still quite reasonable for 12 outlets (of which 5 are wide‑spaced for bulky plug‑packs). Unfortunately the local Bunnings has run out of the decent CLKPB6 and replaced it with an inferior version (containing ordinary low-life contacts), with the CLKPB4 undoubtedly next to go; but this model remains.

The seven normal sockets are at the usual 45mm intervals, with the five wide sockets at 65mm intervals (so the mid-row sockets are horizontally 5mm apart, and 10mm at the incoming end). Unlike the 4 and 6 outlet models, there's a sleeve at the cord entrance and a surge suppressor as standard equipment.
Strangely, mounting points are absent from the back of this model (the CLKPB4/6 do have them), as a few customer reviews (on Bunnings' page) note.
It's held together with no less than 15 screws. I've also seen an 8 (5+3) outlet + 2 USB variant in Bunnings.

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Unlike in the CLKPB4/6, the breaker connections actually are welded in this one (although both A+N go through soldering on the surge suppressor anyway).

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One earth contact was half-stuck, but it still made some contact with the pin; the same socket's neutral contact was somewhat mis-seated (the bar wasn't aligned in its proper guide slot, instead being pressed in hard enough to dig another slot), but both defects were easy enough for me to fix.

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The contact supports are actually box sections rather than the “L” pieces in CLKPB4/6, and the breaker reset button isn't awkwardly recessed inside.

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The surge suppressor is reasonably well thought-out (for an MOV one), with both thermal and overcurrent fuses like in the Crest models (although the load stays on, so in a surge severe enough to blow the fuse, it won't save your devices). The red LED is fed half-wave through a 200kΩ ±1% metal film resistor, which may be 0.25W or 0.5W based on its size; either rating is quite sufficient (144mW typical at 240V, 176mW maximum at 264V and −1% tolerance), and the epoxy-fiberglass PCB will be fairly heat-resistant (they're usually rated to 130°C, and my calculations suggest 100°C worst-case in a 40°C ambient).
The incoming neutral wasn't fully inserted and had 4 stray strands (by my count), but it should still survive the load test.

Speaking of which…

Crest PW4PBS10

PW4PBS10 front end.JPG (129.06 KiB) Viewed 140606 times

This model seems to be a replacement for the PWA04984; observing the full-wiper contacts and general similarity to the KF‑MSD‑4A, I spent the AU$19.50 at Woolworths today (although Crest put it at AU$16, versus AU$20 for the PWA04984). Will it buck the trend of reduced quality in replacement products?
Unlike Handy Hardware's packaging claim for my KF‑MSD‑4A, the stated 1m length is correct here; and it's more flexible than the PWA04984/5's Conghao cord.

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Maybe they'll add the approval number here later.

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PW4PBS10 inside.JPG (395.24 KiB) Viewed 140606 times

For some reason, it's held together with only 5 screws (versus 7 on the KF‑MSD‑4A), so twists a bit more; unlike the CLKPB4/6 and PB12PP, the native Kaifeng branding is present on its plug and cord. Inside, it's reasonably similar, with marginally narrower busbars (3.8mm neutral and 4.4mm earth) but the same thicknesses (0.6mm A+N, 0.5mm E), and a cord-clamp bar instead of casing-integral ridges.

PW4PBS10 contacts out.JPG (202.79 KiB) Viewed 140606 times

The earth contacts have different geometry from the KF‑MSD‑4A, but are still about 2mm taller than the active and neutral parts (for extra safety).

KF-SG-32 solder side.JPG (139.33 KiB) Viewed 140606 times

The surge suppressor has a different PCB layout, but the same circuit as in the PB12PP (except that the LED resistor is 220kΩ).
This time the overcurrent fuse has no heatshrink sleeve, so I can see that it's T6.3AH 250V. (Which is perhaps better than the PWA04984/5's F3.15A.)
There's one stray strand on the active wire, but that's no big deal.

Load testing
Since incoming active in the PB12PP goes to the 5 wide sockets (with incoming neutral and earth to the 7 narrow sockets), I've made an even scarier shorting lead:

Don't worry, I disbanded it after the test

Dangerous test lead.JPG (125.47 KiB) Viewed 140606 times

Overloaded to 20A, the two boards tripped in 12 and 13 seconds respectively; at 25A, 6 seconds each; and at 30A, 4 seconds each.

I did the sustained load test (11A) for both boards (plus two spares while I'm at it ) in series to save time; no trip in well over an hour.

Conclusions
The PB12PP cuts fewer design corners than in the CLKPB4/6, but my unit had a few more QC niggles so gets a C− again (if the quality control was remedied, it could get a C+). While you can buy more-expensive models, I'm not so sure you can get better; so it's still decent value overall.
The surge suppressor also gets a C− from me (C+ being the highest grade I'll give to an MOV suppressor, given a 20mm+ MOV and fireproofing).

Although the PW4PBS10 superficially looks worse than the PWA04984, its socket contacts are actually an upgrade and surge suppression remains equally decent (another C−). It isn't quite as well-made as the plain KF‑MSD‑4A, but the contacts are still up to par so it earns an overall C.
The only real losses are the cord length (arguably compensated by its better flexibility), and that one wide-spaced socket on the PWA04984/5.
(And a less-efficient indicator, but that's rather trivial.)

[LongRunner]

Mirabella I002295: A 1.2W E14 LED lamp, which being warm-white outputs much the same light as the 15W incandescent it's meant to replace (only flickery, given the lack of smoothing). Internally, it has five 10-chip 2835 LEDs (which should be more-or-less OK at 0.24W each), a 220nF ceramic dropper capacitor (4532 size, so hopefully rated for 630V) with 1MΩ (3216 size) bleeder, and UM10B bridge rectifier on an ordinary FR4 board (not aluminium-cored), with a 47Ω fusible resistor inline with the center contact. So it'll do the job, but don't rush out to get it.
Pullman AS5 Evolution: Our (circa 2007) Pullman CB15 Janitor's hose mount broke off, so I finally get to replace it with something less loud
This model (being Italian‑made) has a PATELEC cord (10m of H05V2V2-F2X1.0); as normal on commercial vacuum cleaners it doesn't retract, but I don't mind (retraction mechanisms probably put more stress on the cord, and also add a pair of sliding contacts which may go bad). Maximum power draw is stated as 900W, typical around 750W by my measurement; I measured the motor's DC resistance around 10Ω cold, so resistive losses calculate slightly above 100W.
There's a wiring oddity in that the X2 capacitor (220nF) is after the accessory socket fuse (F1.6AL), so if that fuse is blown, make sure to replace it for EMC (even if you can do without powered accessories); it's in an internal 2-part bayonet-together holder.
In any case, it both sucks an ample air volume and exerts a satisfying negative pressure.

I suppose if commercial vacuum cleaners are too heavy for you to carry, or speed control is really important to you, then you can go with the residential types; but here in Australia, the power (consumption) fetishism is still at large there, so count me out.
(If the AEG VX82‑1‑ÖKO was available here, I would have considered it.) Let me know if you find any commercial vacuum cleaners with a speed control…

[LongRunner]

BizLine BIZ 390527/BIZPB0005: A rebranded Kaifeng KF‑MSD‑6A, available at Rexel (AU$13.15 each) so I bought two.
(The KF‑MSD‑4A is also rebranded as BIZ 390525/BIZPB0001, but only one was in stock at the time.)
There are several small revisional differences between these (made February 2022) and my KF‑MSD‑4A (April 2019), notably that only two pairs of ridges actually clamp the cord now (the inner ridges now have a larger ID so appear to just support it against flexing, although one unit had the sheath again positioned short of the innermost ridge which suggests that maybe it's just meant as a positioning cue). The earth contacts have also been revised as in the Crest PW4PBS10, and the busbars marginally narrower as well; but at least these are held together with 10 screws (versus 7 on the KF‑MSD‑4A).
Contact alignment in the slots still isn't fabulous, but I guess it's acceptable; another nice feature is that the mounting points are 135mm apart on both models.

Zuru X-Shot Fast-Fill Epic Water Blaster: While visiting my cousins in Melbourne, I went swimming with one of them but soon got bored of the laps; so after getting back, I went for the biggest water gun in the local toy store. Unlike the one shown on their site, mine has a blue stock and green forend; there are four nozzles (thin stream, wide spray, thick stream or 3 streams) which can be selected by rotating the endpiece.
Although the packaging shows it being filled from a pool, text on the back warns to only use tap water ; but it seems to be made of polypropylene (not POM which is vulnerable to chlorine) so hopefully will survive anyway. The screws are zinc-plated steel which doesn't seem ideal, but stainless-steel is also reportedly prone to chlorine attack (I've seen rusty bolts and nuts supposedly of 316 in the pool changing rooms) so I'm not sure if it would hold up better here.
(Titanium would appear to be best from a quick search, but probably out-of-budget for this application )

[LongRunner]

Audeeo Velocity gaming mouse (AOVELO): Coles had it on clearance at AU$6.62 (originally AU$18.something) last month, so why not?
By “gaming” standards it's tasteful enough (the two color-changing LEDs are diffused and not too bright), and its conventional shape is more comfortable than the Logitech MX Master 3 (which I think attempts to fit an “average” hand too exactly, so adapts poorly to large hands like mine). Resolutions are supposedly 1200/1800/2400/3600DPI (cycled through with a button, no software shambles like Logitech does), although the higher modes are noticeably jerky so probably faked-out (the sensor is a plain optical observing the visible red light). Its cable has a woven covering, but is relatively short (1.36m).
Strangely, the instructions claim DPI up/down buttons (which would be nice) but the lower DPI button cycles through, upper button does nothing I can see.
The left/right buttons use Huano microswitches (white plunger, black shell), the others are from ZDN (blue plunger, black shell).
It uses a microswitch even under the scroll wheel, but with a cheap electromechanical scroll encoder (which is already flaky); I've squirted some CRC 2.26 into the encoder so will see if that makes it better (EDIT: No, it's only getting worse ), but as is it's only so-so value for money.

Granted, the MX Master 3 has a laser sensor and more-advanced scrolling (electromagnetic, horizontal barrel), but for its price everything should be superior.
What can I say; when Logitech's marketroids dropped the “tech” as meaningless, I'm amazed they didn't discard their entire name

Despite all that, the AOVELO's ailing scroll means I'll go back to the Logitech until someone can recommend a genuinely good mouse…

CABAC TEL1TLV2: A socket wiring tester which may or may not be better than the Jaycar one I started the thread with (it probably is, though, given my general bad experience with Jaycar/Electus Distribution's modern stuff), since its casing is sealed shut so I can't get inside without breaking it.
It has the usual three neon lights, but this time the RCD tester has six settings (10mA to 35mA in 5mA increments) for more detail. The selector's metal body and shaft (which the knob is too small to cover) might be of concern (being a polarity tester, earthing those parts isn't an option), however.

Jackson PTAMULTI2: Another inbound travel adapter, supporting the same plug types as the Jack Hammer but here the socket positions are swapped (European on top, UK/US on front). Not as handy with UK or straight European plugs (as the cord will go up when plugged into a normal Australian outlet), but at least US plugs fit without extreme force. However, imprecise internal alignment puts the UK earth about 1mm behind the active/neutral; not bad enough for an outright recall, but I rate it as a close call. Having separate UK and US earth contacts will probably make the contact more solid when it's in, though.
Oddly, all the internal socket contacts are nickel-plated but the exposed Schuko earth clips aren't (those are at least phosphor-bronze for more spring than brass).
It also has no shutters (so isn't fully compliant with BS 1363), but this isn't that big of a deal when they're not mandatory on Australian outlets anyway…

[LongRunner]

Energizer LCM2A5: An aluminium-bodied LED torch/flashlight which runs on 2×AA and is rated to output 90 lumens (there's also a chunkier model rated for 270 lumens); these are much brighter than plastic models of similar size, presumably because the aluminium body provides much better heatsinking.
I'm sure you could find cheaper Chinese/Taiwanese equivalents if you hunt around, but I ain't got the time for that
UPDATE: After some months of poor contact, it's dead. I'd probably have been better off buying one of the Chinese/Taiwanese models than this…

LEDvance LDV-SSDL-10W-GMB-4K: I bought two of these (being what the local Rexel has) to replace old MR16 downlights in the kitchen of my new unit; if they'll last the rated 50,000 hours is debatable (given a 120μF 100V CapXon FC; a series I can't find on CapXon's site so tell me if you receive any data, anyway it's green with black print and 10mm diameter by 20mm long) and I'd rather have fiberglass sleeving than heatshrink around the fusible resistor, but the light output looks nice enough. I'll probably recap and add the omitted MOV before mounting them (since MR16/equivalent downlights are a PITA to remove), though…
Given the plastic casing, they will get quite hot in operation (even the earlier finned-heatsink retrofit lamps get too warm to comfortably hold onto).

[LongRunner]

Despite planning to close by the end of January, that local second-hand shop has hung on for some more months; so I gathered another hoard, among which are:

Auriga “Multi-Media Speaker System” (no model number): Yes, the same Auriga brand we saw on PSUs in the early 2000s (made by Casing Macron, some were the “proper” Macrons with others being gutless wonders) with this being from the same era (black, but uninsulated plug pins); they're rather weedy, but do have real tweeters (unlike many Logitech speakers ) albeit with only a 4.7μF bipolar cap for “crossover”, so the treble is there (no bass though).
The amplifier (TDA2822 based) is quite noisy and the transformer does not have adequate short-circuit protection, though, so it ends up with a recall.

Sunair 838: Another 1200W 'travel' hair-dryer but differently designed from the Maxim (and presumably older), with a fold-down handle (and cord entrance in the back); unfortunately the cord is clamped only on the inner cores, not outer sheath. (Evidently because the terminal block barely squeezes in, I'll probably solder the cord directly to the switch to recover the space. It may well be originally designed to use H03VH‑H or equivalent figure‑8 cord.)
The circuit design is arguably better, using element taps rather than half-wave rectification for low; low power is roughly 800W and medium 1000W. The air temperature actually remains almost constant, as the speed (and airflow rate) changes largely in proportion to power.
This model has a thermal fuse (unlike the Maxim with only a bimetal cut-out; it's an SEFUSE SF139U with the pre-1992 NEC logo, while the bimetal cut-out is marked 105°C), but the element runs quite close to it; the fiberglass string seems taut enough, but this may vary from unit to unit so overall, the Maxim seems more trustworthy from the two (at least its cord is properly clamped). They also left a protective film (now bubbled up) over the switch setting decal, despite parts of it being covered by the slider at all times (fortunately it has enough give to flex outward and dig the film out with a sewing needle); the slider itself has a dimensional miscalculation so doesn't fully engage the high setting (unless you remove the excess, which I did using a shaped hot-wire loop) and there's no RFI suppression for the brushed motor (decent hair-dryers normally have both an X2 capacitor at the input, and ceramics on the motor itself).

Removing the terminal block clarified my decision to recall this too, as the wire ends were solder dipped and cord neutral also had the insulation trapped in.
Certainly from their “reputation” (and heater recalls) this brand is more like Scumair than sunny, so I don't buy any of the GAF Control brands new.
Anyway, I've now soldered the cord to switch (just try not to break the internal wires, as they're hard to resolder; nickel plated?) and properly clamped the sheath.
I've also added a 100nF X2 capacitor (must have long leads at 10mm pitch, sleeving the active lead) and series 2×1MΩ bleeder in heatshrink.

Tornado PC speakers (also no model number): Bigger than the Auriga set, but with no tweeters (and I'd also rather have no bass than bad bass as these produce); this looks a bit older being in (now yellowed) beige. It has a more-powerful amplifier and its (bigger) transformer does have a thermal fuse, at least.
They come with a handy-looking C13/C14 passthrough plug (which you can put in the back of your PC or monitor, or indeed an old PSU's passthrough outlet; or just use a separate C13 cord if you want to unplug these separately), but its pin tips are thick enough to jam on the contacts in many C13 ends; it does pass 10A OK though. The underlying manufacturer may be the same as the Auriga set (and both have a microphone passthrough, though only for mono).

I'll add photos of these “mystery” speakers when I feel like taking them; for something worth getting I might have been more punctual…

I also found a nice sturdy 1994 power-board (with a Swiss-made circuit breaker, no less ); two C13 cords of 38–40cm long (originally included with external PSUs for HP inkjet printers, I have a similar-length C7 from a different model), ideal* for using the rice cooker in my unit kitchen corner; an old PALA cord (93cm long) with the best-made C13 end I've seen (hard plastic body, full wiper contacts); two C1 cords (a leftover from the era of mains shavers), the obsolete Australian appliance couplers (7.5A, reversible A/N, earth spring clips) among others; and a few counterfeits (two C13, one C7) to blow up .

*Or so they would have been if not for the wooden shelf in the corner, onto which the steam condensed and dripped down brown…
In the end I moved the rice cooker away from the corner (instead putting the toaster there) and used one of the kettle-origin cords.

[LongRunner]

Now that we're comfortable in the new house, time for some more large appliances:

• Ariston LFO3C22 dishwasher: Like their tumble dryer (mentioned in round 10), is made in Poland with a PATELEC cord (though H05V2V2-F3G1.0 this time) and 5-year warranty; unfortunately I've already broken one of these things (it always pisses me off when they make a relatively large and substantial piece, only to anchor it with the weediest pegs they think they can get away with):
  

  

  Broken piece.JPG (508.4 KiB) Viewed 138743 times

  The cutlery basket also has significant flash in some of the bottom holes.
  Its door also feels lighter than on the LG, but hopefully the electronics will hold up better…
• Hisense HRTF424 fridge: (also available in silver with an S appended to the model number, but that's just the usual modern fake-stainless with a clear coating on ordinary steel; what do you expect for the same price )
  While the inverter drive (which all the big fridges now seem to use) surely won't help with reliability or lifespan, it does make for very quiet operation (which is pretty important to me, especially in my small unit with the bedroom-to-kitchen door removed). That aside, it works OK and seems physically better-built than their previous HR6AF243 (now yellowed, so left at the old house); at least its hinges are secure.
• Whirlpool FDLR10250 washing machine: Italian-made (including the Baldassari Lucca cord), I haven't seen enough else to comment on technically.
  It's pretty dumb for the manual to show a spanner for undoing the shipping bolts when a ratchet and hex socket work far easier, though

And I'll throw in a few housewares:

• Avanti 3 piece scissor set: Yes, they committed the cardinal sin of blister-packaging them (I suppose I could hot-wire cut it if I didn't already have scissors, but that's no excuse). But they look alright otherwise and I got them for AU$11 (retail), so how hard can I really complain?
  The stated blade lengths are exaggerated (measured along the entirety of visible blade, not just the actual cutting part) with about two-thirds usable.
  The kitchen scissors will separate (for cleaning) when opened all the way, while the craft and general-purpose scissors have a screwed pivot.
• Wiltshire classic 16cm saucepan: Solid enough, except that the handle mounting nut is non-stainless steel (and a square nut at that, so hard to replace). Guess I'll have to bring my stack of circular magnets next time I shop for pans (so that their field can reach the nut and not just the screw)…
  The lid knob is also prone to filling with water when washed (they didn't bother sealing between knob and lid, only at the mounting screw inside).
  Their non-stick baking trays also have a weak point where the rolled-over edge (not fully coated) can rust (despite being supposedly dishwasher-safe).

[LongRunner]

Atom AT9012/WH/TRI downlight: There are still some lights with proper finned heatsinks The LEDs inside are usual 2835 package, each set (warm-white and daylight; both sets operated in parallel for cool-white mode) has 27 LEDs arranged in 3 parallel strings of 9 in series (<0.5W each, downright conservative by today's standards). The (external) driver has a parallel trio of 470μF 50V 10mm (although only 20mm tall instead of the documented 30mm) SamXon GTs, which at the 350mA output experience very little stress at all; its primary controller has a 47μF 50V 6.3mm GT (being dimmable, there's no primary bulk capacitor).
However the input filter has a mere 10nF Dain X2 capacitor (which I'll upgrade to a 47nF, branded Illinois Capacitor although I'm not sure who really makes them; these are leftovers from elsewhere, if I was buying for this application I'd just get a reputable 100nF), which I wouldn't expect to retain any useful capacitance after a few years (the use of Dain X-caps seems to be in vain ). There are two MOVs though (one shortly after the fuse, another just before the bridge rectifier).
(Since the manual claims TRIAC dimmer compatibility the tiny X2 capacitance may be deliberate, but I use trailing-edge dimmers so it won't matter…)

Still, it's overall as good as you'll probably find, and reasonably priced too (AU$35.94 before GST at Rexel). The finned heatsink makes for much cooler operation than other plastic-bodied models (not too hot to hold onto); warranty is 3 years, and unlike many (most?) lights I can believe the stated 50,000 hour lifespan.

[LongRunner]

Trent & Steele TS12: A rice cooker of similar general design to the Sunbeam RC5600, but better thought-out in some ways (the condensation collector is polypropylene rather than whatever clear plastic Sunbeam used, and has a ledge beneath it so won't fall off as easily; the lid handle is more ergonomic rather than being recessed for “style”, and the open button doesn't require as much force; a drip guard exists above the C14 inlet). It's also bigger (10-cup) and draws 700W nominal (implied to be at 230V, although I measured the element as close to 80Ω so that might well end up being the case at 240V).
Here they used a microswitch internally (normally-closed as the lever presses it in the off position), rather than the crude open-frame switches in the other rice cookers; the keep-warm function uses a low-power heater like in the TS5, although slightly more-powerful here (nominally 45W, rather than 40W, at 230V).
And this time around, the inlet appears to be properly-dimensioned (although I can't say the same for the TS8; but T&S appear to be rebranders anyway).

IXL Turbo 73053E: One of the last (2004) Australian-made heaters, although on closer examination its design is a bit strange – it's a fan heater using a fairly normal-sized cross-flow (tangential) fan and element assembly, but they put it in an unnecessarily large casing (almost big enough for a convector, even).
Like their physically-smaller (i.e. more-appropriately sized) “Nipper” 73040 (of which the unit I saw was too-battered to really keep), the thermostat (mechanically damaged on this one) changes between low (800W) and high (2400W) power settings, so medium (1600W) or fan-only modes can only be obtained if you modify the wiring. I guess an arguable reliability advantage (which the Nipper doesn't share) is that the second‑stage thermal cut‑off is a self-holding bimetal type (which won't age‑out like a thermal fuse could); the first‑stage cut‑out is a Klixon 1NT15 (manual reset button with free-trip mechanism) in the output duct.
However (and like the Nipper IIRC), it contains foam padding strips which are now disintegrating (so you'll need to clean them out).
It's marginally quieter than the DēLonghi HVS3032 (excluding its 900W setting), but the airflow gets much hotter (120K above ambient) so it's not impressive.
And while the Nipper had a tip-over switch, this model doesn't (they were readily available in fan heaters by 2004, though weren't yet compulsory in Australia).
(To be fair, the geometry is such that there's some room for air circulation even when tipped over; but some floors might still be damaged by the heat.)

So I'll give it a new “award”:

For products which are technically passable, but still have misleading or generally unjustified design aspects.

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I've not been overly impressed by late Australian-made products in general – Vulcan oil-filled heaters as late as 1993 (maybe even the mid-'90s) with no thermal cut‑outs, the Westinghouse RS662V*7 fridge in my mother/sibling's kitchen has already had a ghetto repair to its door handle and I've now had to replace its lampholder (and their Westinghouse DSP635S stove has a busted timer), the provided fixing covers for my HMR cabinet (recently purchased to support the Technics SL‑Q200 and store small items inside) didn't fit into the fixings, Australian Protective Electronics' overvoltage/undervoltage protector (although not so recent) had an under-rated dropper capacitor; and more flaws could surely be named. So (at least for appliances) there can come a point where even if you technically can still get an Australian model, you may be better-off going with one or another European (etc.) make (the majority of bigger appliances we've bought recently are European made).

Still, I only paid AU$20 second-hand (which would only buy a cheapo new) so I can't say I didn't get my money's worth…

Update: On the upside, I finally got to reuse the GSFH110's thermostat; I had to enlarge the panel holes for its M4 mounting screws, but then it was easy.
Having a metal structure, it shouldn't break again. Its electrical rating is lower (250V 10A, where the original was 16A at 400V) so would be borderline if it switched the entire 2400W, but since it just controls the upper 1600W (6.67A) it should be fine (indeed, easier than its original application at 2000W/8.33A).
I actually managed afterwards to fix the original thermostat's mechanical fault, but I still don't trust it…