WARNING: Dangerous counterfeit electrical devices

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WARNING: Dangerous counterfeit electrical devices

Postby Ageless » Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:17 am

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Postby caseydog » Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:04 pm

People often gripe about government regulation, but in countries where the government is weak and often corrupt, and there is little oversight of business, unscrupulous businessmen willing to do this kind of thing prosper.

I often have no choice but to buy items made in China or Mexico, but I am very suspicious of them -- especially if I do not recognize the brand.

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Re: WARNING: Dangerous counterfeit electrical devices

Postby Miriam C. » Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:28 pm

Ageless wrote:http://www.komonews.com/news/consumer/70163377.html



Read the labels; don't cheap out


Thanks so much for posting! I am making this an announcement because the seals are not yet on all products.

Safety first! :thumbsup:
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Postby Shadow Catcher » Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:22 pm

Counterfeit bolts and nuts as well as other fasteners are also very probable, and there is no way to test them other than destructively, do they fail at the correct tension, or metallurgically with a chem test.
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Postby drewstall » Fri Apr 23, 2010 4:45 pm

That reminds me of the chinese made circuit breaker that passed by my desk at work awhile back. It had all the internal components but they didn't know what to do with them so they just put a wire between the terminals that bypassed it all.
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Postby dh » Wed May 19, 2010 5:57 am

I was about to pick up a $3 GFCI at HF and remembered this thread. No brand name, just made in China. I put it back and kept moving. Good post Ageless!
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Postby George Taylor » Sat Aug 21, 2010 7:39 pm

Unless it has a listing from CUL or in the US teh UL listing number I would not trust them at all. As an electrician I can not use or install anything that has not been "listed".
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Postby Trentb » Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:30 am

Years ago I bought a cheap angle grinder (HF type store) after it died I took it apart (hey don't we all want to see how stuff works? :lol: ) anyways I noticed when I took the cord off that there was only two wires comming in from the 3 prong plug. :roll: Further diesection of the plug led me to find that the ground terminal was just cast into the plug and that was it.
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Re: WARNING: Dangerous counterfeit electrical devices

Postby Rubiconcruiser » Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:19 pm

The electrical game is no joke, I applaud all your
Responses to the dangers of foreign and imported junk
Safety is of greatest concern especially when you are on
The road and problems occur. Thanks all and be cautious
With any voltage, it's the unforgiving AMPS that will bite you.
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Re: WARNING: Dangerous counterfeit electrical devices

Postby Bogo » Fri Nov 09, 2012 12:37 am

Thinking of dangerous electrical devices. It was last year I was searching for hot plates on Amazon. I came across a couple sellers selling the old style coil of wire in a grove in a ceramic plate hot plates. Safety standards and product liability had basically banned them decades ago. The coil of wire has 120VAC in it, and there is nothing to keep you from touching it. Place a wet metal pot on it or have a spill over, and ZAP!!! I can find my review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RUMZ4WWFC9 ... r_rdp_perm but it looks like the product is gone. Found a link to it from this review site:http://downdraft-gas-cooktops.blogspot.com/2011/03/coral-compact-110v-mini-cook-top-hot.html and the Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00262 ... ent-fan-20

This is what an antique wire coil in ceramic plate looks like: Image

And here is it still for sale: http://www.excelonlinestore.com/servlet ... ini/Detail :o :shock: http://cheapcooktops.kitchenwaresale.ne ... hot-plate/ :shock: :o
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Re: WARNING: Dangerous counterfeit electrical devices

Postby TigerHawk » Tue May 17, 2016 7:06 pm

Uhhh....this is good to know, but that link is long expired so how can one tell in 2016 whether the unit is counterfeit or not?
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Re: WARNING: Dangerous counterfeit electrical devices

Postby Gladtobehere » Wed May 18, 2016 7:46 am

They also make counterfeit UL labels. So if a deal seems too good to be true it probably is! DON'T buy electrical at the "dollar store"
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Re: WARNING: Dangerous counterfeit electrical devices

Postby cubbyboy57 » Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:05 am

The original link is broken, but I found the article on the way back machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20091221151413/http://www.komonews.com/news/consumer/70163377.html
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