On 1/2/21 4:42 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Sat, 2 Jan 2021 15:38:08 -0500, Witherspoon wrote:
On 1/2/21 11:55 AM, Commander Kinsey wrote:
An LED striplight.Â* After 1 month, BANG!Â* A puff of smoke and a hole
blown in the side of it.Â* What I think used to be an inductor has
exploded with enough force to rupture the casing.Â* Funny thing is, it
continued to work for a day, and now works if I tap it.
https://i.imgur.com/U1AxIet.jpg
I no longer trust anything Chinese that has to have power running
through it. I ordered six so-called "20 amp" 12-24 VDC LED dimmers a
month ago. Out of the two I tried, one burned up within minutes at only
5 amps at 12VDC, and the other burned after several days running the
same. The latter actually went without warning, but at least the first
one was running hot so I actually didn't leave the area for fear it was
going to burn. Good thing I have a strong fan to evacuate the fumes,
which would surely be toxic in short order!
None of this Chinese crap is UL listed and thus just about anything can
happen. The ONLY thing I might take a chance on are older ATX power
supplies. At least those have a listing and, although still not UL, it
is better than nothing plus US PC manufacturers don't want to be sued
for their computer burning down a house.
You buy electical or electronic goods from China and they ask "what
stickers do you want on them".
"We need CSA" we reply
"Can you send us a sample?" they reply.
"No thank you, we'll buy somewhere else"
So you find a supplier that knows what CSA is and has the stickers -
and find out the same CSA number ia on 5 different products you order
from them - - -
I admit, some of the electronics being offered online is quite tempting
and at more than reasonable prices. Heck, for a lot of it, Youtubers
have reviews, but seldom have follow ups a month or even a week down the
road, so still hard to trust. Having an actual UL rating would add
quite a bit to the price and the US is so accustomed to these cheaper
rates, that most people will skip and look for the same so-called
Chinese equivalent.
I had a dryer going bad a couple of weeks ago. I blew my budget on the
holidays, however, so decided to opt for a gently used one. Once I
found the one I was looking for, I decided to do online research to see
whether or not it was made in the USA or elsewhere. In my case, it
appears to have been made in the USA... at least I hope so. As time
passes, it gets more difficult to tell. The actual parts may be made in
China, for example, and then assembled here, but will that difference be
mentioned on the tag? Probably not.