This is where most of the biggest dangers lie (and have done so for as long as I can remember, and most likely well before that too).
No upgrades to the standards themselves (which lately have mostly been minor anyway) can ever fix products which make no attempt to meet them.
Countless counterfeit USB chargers (and other small off-line SMPS)
Risk level: Even
Dire barely does justice to these.
![Help me! :runaway:](./images/smilies/runaway.gif)
(Big Clive has
a song about them.)
Faults: Various, but the worst being that isolation is almost non-existent in many examples (so they would hardly even qualify as Class 0 to be honest, which itself has been strictly forbidden for decades in decent countries although remains common in the
Unbelievably
Stupid
Arseholes for small appliances).
How to avoid: Stick with the original supplies for brand-name devices where possible (as long as the original still works or replacements are reasonably priced), otherwise find a
reputable third-party manufacturer and supplier.
Counterfeit mains cords, marked as “DHT Tech” (among others) (there
is a real DHT, but visual similarity between it and the fakes is non-existent)
Risk level: Dire
Faults: Wires can be as small as
0.08mm² (and in copper-coated aluminium or other junk materials to boot), such that the worse examples are essentially
guaranteed to melt down if loaded to the full rated 10A (or if the connected load goes short-circuit, for that matter).
Remedy: No use trying to salvage something
this horrible. Just destroy it (e.g. by twisting the plug pins out-of-shape with pliers), dispose of it, and obtain a proper cord (which there aren't generally a shortage of anyway) to replace it with.
“Universal” mains sockets (and adapters)
Risk level: Dire
Faults: Attempting to accommodate so many plug types in the same position usually results in unsatisfactory contact, which can lead to overheating (and possible fire) under high load. Schuko and Belgian/French/Czech plugs will usually go unearthed (a minority of these sockets do warn not to insert those plug types, but that's scant mitigation). Even worse, however, are the many misinsertions possible; a particularly scary one being that with many plug types, it's possible to insert the
earth pin into a live contact ![Eek! :eek:](./images/smilies/eek.gif)
, making the whole appliance live to touch. Many common examples also have other construction flaws, as in what Big Clive calls the
death-dapter; an even scarier
form of adapter has multiple sets of plug pins, which are supposed to be disconnected when retracted but can often be
extended simultaneously and therefore exposed and live. (A different type of multi-plug adapter has totally separate plugs, with the socket rotated or shifted to connect to one at a time; this could be made safe, but would anyhow be bulky and unwieldy to use. See examples 6 and 7
here.)
Whitenergy ATX-350W (05749)
Risk level: Dire
Faults: Falsely claims to be a Class II (double-insulated) appliance; improper inlet (may not comply with IEC 60320); inadequate input filtering; obsolete two‑transistor standby supply; sub-standard creepage distance between primary and secondary; improper earth connection; underspecified +5V rectifier; horrible capacitors; exploded at 260W load; bad voltage regulation.
Spire SP-ATX-350WT-PFC
Risk level: Dire
Faults: Uses cheap non-safety-rated ceramic capacitors instead of Y2 class; poor earth connection; obsolete two-transistor standby supply; chloroprene glue; very bad capacitors; underspecified +5V rectifier; bad soldering; overheats at 280W and shuts down at ≈300W; voltages
way out-of-spec under +5V cross-loading.
Linkworld Stability Power LPJ9-25 420 W
Risk level: Dire
Faults: Uses cheap non-safety-rated ceramic capacitors instead of Y2 class; bad capacitors; underspecified +3.3V and +5V rectifiers; hot-melt glue; terrible voltage regulation; overheating PPFC inductor; can't even dream of delivering 420W.
Smoke/fog machines (mis)using an XLR connector for mains-voltage control
Risk level: Dire
Faults: Some (or all) of the XLR pins will be live, enabling electrocution (especially if pin 1 is live) and equipment destruction (if connected to audio or DMX cables). There were also some machines (that somehow got approved) which misused an IEC 60320 outlet for this purpose (abusing the earth terminal).
Examples: Lex Lighting F400 and
these two eBay specials
“Child safety” covers for BS 1363 sockets
Risk levels: High to
Dire, depending on just
how badly the cover designer screwed up.
Problems: They're pointless in the first place, since BS 1363 sockets have had mandatory safety shutters from the beginning (in
1947!). Second, far too many covers are wrongly dimensioned or badly shaped, which can at best cause them to pop-out and at worst
ruin the socket they're plugged into. Some examples are also flexible enough to misuse as a
shutter opener, and the worst of all can actually
enable needles (or similar) to be inserted alongside their pins ![Eek! :eek:](./images/smilies/eek.gif)
.
Remedy: Just destroy the bastards (and if there's political red tape in the way of doing so, then complain
loudly to those imposing it).
If you happen to have a socket with broken or malfunctioning shutters, then just get it replaced (well, if
really old more stuff may have to go too).
Uni-T UT230B plug-in power meter (at least the UK version)
Risk level: Severe?
Fault: Badly designed neutral connection which is impossible to tighten properly.
While mentioning Uni-T, some of their multimeters (especially
the UT71E) also qualify due to improper input protection.
Euroflex Monster SC3X1 steam cleaner
Risk level: High
Faults: Steam valve may get stuck open, posing danger of scalding (while my own skin doesn't burn
that easily, I can imagine it being a serious threat to small children or other people with a skin disease/disorder); thermal fuse seems to be counterfeit with an abnormally high cut-off temperature.
So yet another badly-engineered (and manufactured with parts of unknown provenance) piece of consumer junk (and not even an excusably cheap one); consumer magazines fail us yet again.
Suggested substitute: Kärcher seems to make
decent models, although you must take care not to end up with the wrong plug if you order them from Amazon (to get it with an Australian plug, the order number is 1.513-1
42.0) and the somewhat short (4m) cord may compel you to use an extension cord with it (and this house isn't even a big one overall).
Solutions AS2601 6-outlet power-board (and no doubt other store brands made by the same manufacturer)
Risk level: High
Faults: Poorly aligned busbars which can short active to neutral when even casually bumped.
(And given that the circuit breaker has
only UL approval, I don't trust it very much either for the reason mentioned in the 'low standards' section below.)
Recommended substitute: Kaifeng KF-MSD-6A aka BizLine BIZ 390527/BIZPB0005 (
available at Rexel)
Jaycar “PowerTech” MS4040 (Original Model No: WH-4-3) 4-outlet power-board (and no doubt its relatives)
Risk level: High
Faults: Cord has copper-clad aluminium cores, also with poor-quality insulation; dubious method of wire termination inside (the wire ends are solder-coated, then the brass busbars are folded over them to crimp
![WTF :wtf:](./images/smilies/wtf.gif)
); when overloaded, the circuit breaker arcs before snapping into the tripped state.
Recommended substitute: Kaifeng KF-MSD-4A aka BizLine BIZ 390525/BIZPB0001 (
available at Rexel)
Generic fan heater, model FH-07A (sold under Celsius, Goldair, Number8 and possibly other brands; with only slightly varying pseudonyms)
Risk level: High
Faults: Violates double-insulation requirements at least once (and probably twice); thermal protection barely works (and the casing melts); damaged (and poorly terminated) internal wiring.
Remedy: Nothing that can really be done to fix this unit; even if you disable the heat altogether, it won't make a good stand-alone fan.
(You might be able to salvage some parts, at least.)
Suggested substitute: Kambrook KFH700 (hopefully little-changed from the
KFH600 and KFH660); or better yet (if you can afford it),
DēLonghi HVS3032(Kambrook recently priced-up the KFH770 to AU$100, at which point you may as well go all the way to the DēLonghi instead.
Also, you may want to avoid using the oscillation motor in the KFH660/KFH770 or similar heaters, and even disable that if untrained people will use it:
I haven't
personally seen the internal wiring broken by stress; but it's plausible given that at 2.5RPM, even the mere 1,000 hours Kambrook use as their endurance test will rack up 150,000 flexing cycles. Scale that up to a more sensible
10,000 hours, and you could get 1.5 million cycles. I'm not sure if oscillation is even a good idea in stand-alone fans, really, observing
this example.)
Sunair 838 hair-dryer
Risk level: High
Faults: Cord is clamped only on the inner cores, not outer sheath (and squashed quite hard in there); wire ends were solder-dipped before insertion into terminal block, and cord neutral in my unit even had its insulation trapped on the underside.
Remedy: Take out the terminal block (there isn't really space for it), remove the wires originally going from terminal block to switch, cut off the pinched part of the cores, re-strip the cord, solder cord wires into the switch terminals, mount the switch and clamp the cord sheath (turning the clamp the right way up).
It also has no RFI suppression, so I suggest adding an X capacitor (as big as you can get with 10mm lead pitch) and bleed resistor.
You'll need one with
long leads to mount it past the switch mounting post (even they may
barely reach), and be sure to insulate its active lead.
(Decent hair-dryers also include ceramic caps across the motor and from its terminals to body, but that'd be cumbersome to add now.)
CordTech CPC4-W (see customer reviews on
Bunnings' page)
Risk level: Medium–High
Fault: Socket contacts can hardly be reached by the plug pins (causing pop-out), as the socket design fails to account for the casing thickness.
Alternatives: I'd generally go with a normal power-board and separate USB supply; however if you insist on a cubic combination device, the
Jackson Power Block is a reasonable option (especially if you're prepared to recap and poly-mod it) albeit with only 2 ports (2.1A total).
Pseudo-C7 cordset included with old (1970s/1980s?) Remington shavers in Australia
Risk level: Medium–High
Fault: Socket end was shortened to 8.5mm (from the 10.5mm minimum in IEC 60320), resulting in unreliable contact in proper C8 inlets.
Observing the 1.0A rating on both ends, I'm surprised the cable appears to be (then-)normal H03VH‑H2X0.75 and not tinsel-cored H03VH‑Y.
Management: If you still have the original shaver, you can continue using it there. If you don't, then destroy and dispose of the cord (or you can cut the ends off and reuse the cable for something else; though I don't think H03VH‑H/equivalent is approved here for
mains anymore, now being suggested for ELV only).
This is among several then-approved items which have soured me on Australian electrical standards; for the most part, stuff got safer as we did
less of our own thing and followed the European/IEC standards more (although with some newer standards, we're getting our act together a bit).
I can forgive truly
ancient items (like our obsolete 7.5A appliance coupler having apertures large enough to insert the plug pins, including earth, into), but not semi‑modern stupidity like this. (What was wrong with just using the C1/C2 couple there, for crying out loud? Did any mains shaver draw more than its 0.2A?)
Another (Ronson) shaver cord I've seen has a tiny socket (much smaller than even the IEC C1), with contacts close to the surface and soft material which I can
press down to the contact level with only my thumbnail ![Eek! :eek:](./images/smilies/eek.gif)
; you can count it in as a “bonus”.
Laser PW-4ADAPT travel adapter set
Risk level: Medium
Faults: No fuse in the adapter for BS 1363 outlets; earth contacts sit below L+N in the adapter for US/UK plugs to Australian outlets.
My recommended alternatives: You could:
- Search for an adapter that's actually safe (if you can find a review by a knowledgeable person, which may be a crapshoot)
In particular, if you want to adapt to BS 1363 outlets, you'll be better off buying the adapter in the UK (where their fuse requirement is actually enforced). - Obtain a (good-quality) plug and socket of the types required, and connect them with a suitable piece of flexible cord
(Provided you're electrically competent, or willing to pay an electrician to do it) - If the appliance(s) you want to import or travel with have IEC 60320 inlets, then just find the appropriate cordsets locally
- Replace the plug, if importing an appliance for permanent use in your country (provided it's compatible with the local mains supply)
Other unfused “BS 1363” adapters: Crest PWA05292 (also included in the 3-pack PWA05160), Korjo 'KA UK' (and 2-socket variant 'KA UK DA')
Jackson Industries (another Australian-owned company) provide some with fuses (not sure if all are BS 1362 though) and some without.
Go Travel 095 Schuko to AS/NZS 3112 adapter (discontinued, I don't know if the replacement model is better)
Risk level: MediumFault: Earth clips in the Schuko socket (CEE 7/3) come up short, so may only make contact at about the same time the power pins do (or with such a small margin that it comes down to the dimensional tolerances). Of course you can work around this by fitting it to the Schuko (CEE 7/4) or CEE 7/7 plug
before plugging it into the Australian socket, but being strict about it, recalled it must be. I also got the casing to burn for 11+ minutes, once ignited.
Recommended alternatives: The same as listed in the entry for the Laser set.
Dimplex 3088T convector/fan heater (fortunately discontinued)
Risk level: Medium
Faults: Power is over the limit for Australia, due to incorrect choice of heating elements (although the nameplate said the normal 240V 2400W, it actually used an element assembly totaling
2500W at 230V which scales to 2722W at 240V (that's 11.3A instead of the legal 10A, causing 29% greater-than-normal dissipation in the conductors)). It also has quite a few other
![Facepalm :facepalm:](./images/smilies/facepalm.gif)
-worthy design flaws, including that the two elements are equal halves despite the switch suggesting 3 power settings
![Lol Sign :lol2:](./images/smilies/lol2.gif)
. Overall, if this is at all representative of Dimplex's stuff, then they're
not a reputable brand despite popular opinion.
This shouldn't have passed safety approval, at any rate.
Recommended substitute: DēLonghi HSX3324FTS is basically an equivalent (plus on/off timer and tip-over switch, and with the ability to run fanless at full power), but built properly (I'd go so far as to liken the construction to that of Japanese electronics
![Cool :cool:](./images/smilies/cool.gif)
). Or if you're on a budget and 2000W fanless is satisfactory, then you can try the
HCM2030; that model does have the usual lightweight casing (albeit with some reinforcing stampings) on modern convectors, and the foot mounting arrangement is notably insecure (with just a single screw each side which easily comes loose with movement, which once caused a foot to fall off the unit my sibling used and consequently tripped the thermal cut-out), but at least it's wired correctly.
Both of these DēLonghi models are also Class II if that's worth anything, whereas the Dimplex was Class I (which is required on the oil-filled column heaters but probably doesn't cost noticeably less to implement on these vented-box types).
Auriga “Multi-Media Speaker System”, circa early 2000s (unknown model, but black and has about 34mm midrange and 13mm tweeter drivers)
Risk level: Medium
Fault: The mains transformer (6V 0.2A) has no thermal fuse and if its output is shorted, gets too hot (about 167°C on the secondary in my test, where the official UL limit is 150°C; its working temperature class is probably no more than 130°C, and even that's a stretch observing that the secondary leads are
UL AWM 1007 rated for only 80°C) to pass impedance-protection criteria (it might only qualify in an open-frame application, not inside a sealed plastic box).
Indeed the transformer bobbin is almost melting at that temperature (and things would get even worse in a hot summer).
To top it off, the speaker enclosures are not self-extinguishing.
Mitigation: Add a secondary fuse (200mA or 250mA slow-blow) if you
have to keep using it. Otherwise just get some better speakers
Emporium “Beckett” table luminaire (model CWTLE1412 according to box, or C1312TLE27 on the label)
Risk level: Low–Medium
Faults: Only a single-pole cord-line switch (which
is implicated in
an official recall of other such lamps), so if wiring upstream is transposed or faulty, then a shock hazard exists when changing the bulb (even with the switch off).
The cord itself has copper-clad aluminium (or whatever) cores in a non-standard strand size and count (not quite 0.75mm²).
Remedy: If you're
that fond of the style, you could replace the cord with a proper copper one (and double-pole switch).
Alternatives: I have not found
any properly-made equivalent sold nowadays, unfortunately. Perhaps it's time to move on to native LED luminaires?
Some TaoTronics models, at least, seem
half-decent (apart from the USB charging port generating TV interference when loaded) in design and construction, and they run from small plug-pack SMPS (easy to replace if failed).
E27 and B22 have long-outlived their usefulness (and “safety” level) anyway; if you insist on keeping them, just accept that
you'll have to wire them properly.
Although this doesn't explain why single-pole switches seem to be normal on desk lamps…
Stylux T-869 “Trax” desk luminaire
Risk level: Low–Medium
Faults: Only borderline compliance with double-insulation requirements; plug pins are out-of-tolerance at the short end.
Remedy: Replace the plug (or even the whole cord if you're up to the task), and check the insulation on the internal wiring.
Again, the switch is single-pole; I don't see any sensible reason why the rule would differ based on the switch placement, so your guess is as good as mine.
Connected Switchgear B22 lampholders/battenholders (BH, BHC, LH01)
Risk level: Low for mains voltage, but becomes
High if you use them in an extra-low voltage lighting application (given the higher current).
Fault: Although rated for 3A (typical for B22 holders), they're actually only safe up to 2A or so (the springs will overheat and anneal fairly quickly at 3A, and within seconds under the 3.75A overload test); while this will rarely be a problem with mains lamps (2A at 240V is already 480W into a resistive load, with the lampholders typically only rated to endure the heat of 250W-at-most lamps anyway), be careful if you're using ELV lighting or connecting any other (Class II, and not dependent on A/N polarity) loads to the lampholder. (There is nothing wrong with their B22 plug, model BCA; which is just as well since the Clipsal 466 was discontinued.)
Replacements (if you insist on keeping B22): Clipsal 2530SS (battenholder) and 501 (pendant lampholder)
If you have any self-respect, choose a protected battenholder (2530SS or old-stock 530SS) for mains use; unfortunately Clipsal don't make a 501SS.
(Obviously, if using for extra-low voltage it doesn't matter whether you choose the protected or unprotected variants.)
PEC PLS012 B22 lampholder (found in Westinghouse RS662V*7 side-by-side fridge/freezer and presumably related models)
Risk level: Depends on the lamp rating (40W maximum in the mentioned fridge) and physical stress; probably
Low–Medium in this situation.
Fault: The springs (strangely stainless-steel) get nearly red-hot at the rated 3A, and don't seem to endure physical stress very well either (I had difficulty removing the bulb, because the B22 pins suffered
severe arc damage from bad contact).
Replacement: I used a spare Clipsal 501 (which has a flange to go in place of the PLS012's tabs).
Note that there's little room behind the lampholder in this fridge, so if you use ferrules on the wire ends, their insulation collars (if any) must be cut off to fit.
Deta (Arlec) DET190 downlight
Risk level: Low–Medium
Fault: Ineffective cord grip, on top of generally poor quality (par for the course from Arlec).