A shocking reminder (excuse the pun)

[kalee20]

Originally Posted by MichaelR

CE marking by the way is meeting generally emission and immunity standards not necessarily meeting safety standards.

Mike

Originally Posted by Herald1360

Isn't CE marked stuff supposed to meet the requirements of all the directives relevant to the product, in this case the Low Voltage Directive as well as the EMC directive?

Herald 1360 is right - CE marking is a declaration that all directives relevant to a product have been met. EMC and Low Voltage Directives are two directives relevant to electrical products - there are many more, for many other product types.

[Welsh Anorak]

Hi
Referring back to the original article, it seems amazing - and alarming if true - that out of a survey of 2000 internet shoppers buying electrical goods, 8% buying from the EU (which presumably includes Britain) and 12% outside reported the item catching fire. Can this be accurate? That implies one in ten electrical items purchased over the internet will catch fire. This might be good news for reputable high street stores, but even they can be led astray with bogus (or simply shoddy) goods.
Glyn

[MichaelR]

Originally Posted by kalee20

Herald 1360 is right - CE marking is a declaration that all directives relevant to a product have been met. EMC and Low Voltage Directives are two directives relevant to electrical products - there are many more, for many other product types.

Not to a battery charger intended to be powered by a 12V battery! This is an example of a product not covered by the Low Voltage Directive. This same battery charger using inverter technology could be developing voltages upto 100V and capable of charging power upto 1KW.

Mike

[twocvbloke]

Only problem is, because we're now so reliant on imported goods, thanks to cheaper working conditions abroad, we have to put our trust in the foreign manufacturers to provide us with safe and reliable equipment, and gradually that trust is being abused...

I remember a few years ago working at a local computer shop, we got a shipment of computer power supplies and they came with power cables with those moulded plugs that had no way of holding a fuse, we could have just cut them off and fitted proper british plugs, but for safety's sake, we binned the lot...

A couple of years back, I got something of my own with a cable that had a plug like that too, and I thought I'd save myself hassle in finding a properly wired replacement and went to rewire it with a proper plug, and what I found inside the plastic sheathing was a brown wire, a brown wire, and a brown wire, suffice to say, that found it's way into the nearest bin too...

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by twocvbloke

Only problem is, because we're now so reliant on imported goods, thanks to cheaper working conditions abroad, we have to put our trust in the foreign manufacturers to provide us with safe and reliable equipment, and gradually that trust is being abused...

There's a little more to it than that. We are 'obliged' to "put our trust" in said foreign manufacturers simply because the whole concept of CE marking in inadequately policed & enforced: a point clearly made by MichaelR and myself in previous postings.

Al.

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by Welsh Anorak

Referring back to the original article, it seems amazing - and alarming if true - that out of a survey of 2000 internet shoppers buying electrical goods, 8% buying from the EU (which presumably includes Britain) and 12% outside reported the item catching fire.
Can this be accurate?

What was that about "there are lies, damnable lies - and then there are statistics" ? However, if indeed 'true', then yes, very alarming!

Al.

[McMurdo]

I recently had to find a replacement power adapter for a laptop. Having heard alarming stories about some of the shoddy products directly imported, for example poor primary-secondary isolation or general reliability, I browsed ebay for a suitable unit and eventually had one from a UK company with 100% feedback. But looking at some of the cheaper ones (for example from Hong-Kong or China 'direct ship') there were many sellers with many negative feedbacks, and many of those because the item had failed soon after trying it, had caught fire, smoked, gone bang, melted, blown up the laptop, fallen apart or been DOA.

Remember the story of the child in the news who died a while back after his mother bought him a cheap replacement gameboy power adapter and the pri-sec insulation failed and electrocuted him.

[Dave Moll]

A risk assessment has determined that it is time to disconnect this thread from the mains.

"Off" switch pressed.