Comment on Do you trust this power strip?
cynar@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I’ve seen a lot worse working safely.
A couple of concerns however.
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Those Chinese universal sockets work, but are quite dangerous. They lack a lot of the safety features of sockets like the BS1363 (UK type G socket). They also can fail in nasty ways, due to wear and tear. Loose contact being the nastiest.
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Those wires also look a bit thin. If the plug is properly fused on the other end, it should be fine. They don’t look rated for sustained large loads however. Even if they are fine initially, any damage e.g. a bit of furniture pinching them, could push them over the edge. A hotspot can easily become a melty cable, which is a fire risk.
*Internally, it looks safe, but not amazing. Solder joints aren’t the best option, but they aren’t subject to motion either, so should hold up fine. There’s a bit of a lack of isolation, but again, it’s fine so long as it’s not damaged internally.
In conclusion, I have a hard veto No on the Chinese universal sockets. Other than that it looks acceptable for light loads. So long as it’s not treated like it will withstand anything and keep working safely.
For reference, I’m UK based. Our plugs are some of the safest in the world, at the cost of being big and bulky.
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 23 hours ago
Why use wire for sustained large loads, it’s a power bar with a fuse. Solder joints don’t arc or get loose.
cynar@lemmy.world 23 hours ago
Solder joints are use case dependent. If done badly they can become a weak point that can fail. Either from heat, or from mechanical stress.
Ideally, you want a crimp connector, or a proper terminal. However, in this context, I would not have an issue with it. You can also see it’s been done well on this version.
As for the wire, I was referring to the incoming cable. Power strips should be designed for the worst case scenario. In the UK, that would be a sustained 13A 240VAC load. The wire cores look a little under spec for that load. There might be a fused plug upstream, that de-rates it to a safe load. We can’t tell from the photo.