4 ms·

What brand was the charger, for reference?

madengr 7y ago
They exact ones (Vojo 12W USB charger) are no longer sold (huh, wonder why), but these are similar: https://www.amazon.com/VOJO-Charger-Adaptive-Charging-QUALCOMM/dp/B01LVY1FWI/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=vojo+12W+usb+charger&qid=1557162881&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/VOJO-Charger-Adaptive-Charging-QUALCO... The Belkin ones are UL certified, and I bought several of those with no issues after 2 years. Problem is Amazon does not list NRTL certification, so it’s a crap shoot. The NRTL certification is a big deal at my employer. We can't buy anything over 48 VDC that isn't certified, or we will lose our insurance for the facility. I'm surprised home insurers are not cracking down on this stuff. I'd like to know the statistics of house fires caused by cheap electronics. These are a good example. CE, FCC, RoHS have nothing to do with safety (I'm I'll bet those are fake markings too too). You are plugging in the cheapest Chinesium into a 120V, 15A circuit https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Colorful-Adapter-Replacement-Motorola/dp/B01N68AMCU/ref=pd_day0_hl_107_4/137-4629799-8996504?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01N68AMCU&pd_rd_r=c374b57a-7024-11e9-9381-ffdfe42e5ee6&pd_rd_w=4kbdo&pd_rd_wg=2s9U8&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=YD1JH502ZK22JV0G2BST&psc=1&refRID=YD1JH502ZK22JV0G2BST https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Colorful-Adapter-Replacement-.... This "Amazon Basics" one is pretty funny. "Note: product is certified according to a UL standard (not by UL)." Does this mean Amazon is liable when your house burns down? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0773BHCVD/ref=psdc_2407761011_t1_B071YMZ4LD https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0773BHCVD/ref=psdc_2407761011_t1_... The "safety info" for the above is worthless: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91IWSM8gvRL.pdf https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91IWSM8gvRL... FWIW, here are the actual NRTL makrings https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/nrtllist.html https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/nrtllist.html
- mindslight 7y ago
  IMHO brands like Belkin are past the sweet spot, heading into the territory where the brand itself is too long-term trusted, so they can start skimping on quality for what you're paying. Take apart a consumer APC power strip for a good WTF. (And sure, I get that stamped metal strips still meet UL. But UL is like the bare minimum) I feel bad pumping specific brands, but I've become an Anker fan for chargers. I was a fan of Aukey, but that's since faded from having one physically break (obviously then taking it apart), and their lackluster USB C implementation that feels too close to rebadged Chineseum. Monoprice is still good for cables, but has unfortunately gone down the high-overhead free-shipping path.
  - madengr 7y ago
    Yeah, I bought an Anker one for work. I had to go to Microcenter, and start opening packages to find one that was UL listed.

They exact ones (Vojo 12W USB charger) are no longer sold (huh, wonder why), but these are similar: https://www.amazon.com/VOJO-Charger-Adaptive-Charging-QUALCOMM/dp/B01LVY1FWI/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=vojo+12W+usb+charger&qid=1557162881&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/VOJO-Charger-Adaptive-Charging-QUALCO... The Belkin ones are UL certified, and I bought several of those with no issues after 2 years. Problem is Amazon does not list NRTL certification, so it’s a crap shoot. The NRTL certification is a big deal at my employer. We can't buy anything over 48 VDC that isn't certified, or we will lose our insurance for the facility. I'm surprised home insurers are not cracking down on this stuff. I'd like to know the statistics of house fires caused by cheap electronics. These are a good example. CE, FCC, RoHS have nothing to do with safety (I'm I'll bet those are fake markings too too). You are plugging in the cheapest Chinesium into a 120V, 15A circuit https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Colorful-Adapter-Replacement-Motorola/dp/B01N68AMCU/ref=pd_day0_hl_107_4/137-4629799-8996504?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01N68AMCU&pd_rd_r=c374b57a-7024-11e9-9381-ffdfe42e5ee6&pd_rd_w=4kbdo&pd_rd_wg=2s9U8&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=YD1JH502ZK22JV0G2BST&psc=1&refRID=YD1JH502ZK22JV0G2BST https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Colorful-Adapter-Replacement-.... This "Amazon Basics" one is pretty funny. "Note: product is certified according to a UL standard (not by UL)." Does this mean Amazon is liable when your house burns down? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0773BHCVD/ref=psdc_2407761011_t1_B071YMZ4LD https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0773BHCVD/ref=psdc_2407761011_t1_... The "safety info" for the above is worthless: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91IWSM8gvRL.pdf https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91IWSM8gvRL... FWIW, here are the actual NRTL makrings https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/nrtllist.html https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/nrtllist.html

mindslight 7y ago
IMHO brands like Belkin are past the sweet spot, heading into the territory where the brand itself is too long-term trusted, so they can start skimping on quality for what you're paying. Take apart a consumer APC power strip for a good WTF. (And sure, I get that stamped metal strips still meet UL. But UL is like the bare minimum) I feel bad pumping specific brands, but I've become an Anker fan for chargers. I was a fan of Aukey, but that's since faded from having one physically break (obviously then taking it apart), and their lackluster USB C implementation that feels too close to rebadged Chineseum. Monoprice is still good for cables, but has unfortunately gone down the high-overhead free-shipping path.
- madengr 7y ago
  Yeah, I bought an Anker one for work. I had to go to Microcenter, and start opening packages to find one that was UL listed.