Consumer reporter Mitch Lipka, who buys and tests products for WalletPop, managed to get a Target Halloween flashlight yanked off shelves earlier this month when his caught fire. Then his Handy Switch was recalled for similar reasons. Luckily, it wasn't in use in his home because the thing didn't work in the first place.
I admit that I did like the idea of it — giving consumers a cheap way out of solving the problem of not having a light switch in the right place. But my wife — who has already expressed her concern over the probability that nearly anything I bring into the house is capable of causing some kind of property damage — made me feel bad about testing it in one of the kids' rooms.
Luckily, my Handy Switch didn't work at all. If it was still on that bedroom wall today before I learned of the recall, I would have been guilt-ridden.
See, cheap Chinese-made crap saves us all from its dangerousness by its own poor quality.
Can a guy just avoid a burning product for like a month? This time it's Handy Switch [WalletPop]
]]>When a light switch controls a receptical. It is usually just 1/2 (1 outlet)of the plug. The other half of the plug is always live.
]]>He did a job, and he did it very well. Just becasue you didnt like it doesnt mean he was a bad person.
]]>Because in mass production of products like this, material costs are a lot more than labor...
]]>True and true. Well put. I was referencing the fact that UL is a privately financed , independent testing organization that has no government backing. They are far and away the best known.
]]>"They have already been caught using the UL symbol without approval."
That's news to me. And as the son of a 40 years master electrician ,its sad , disturbing news. A couple of things that I learned working with my dad :
1) There are few really good things in life , but UL is one of them. No shortcuts. They are about safety ,period. They are not perfect ,(who is ? ) but they have saved countless lives. To hear that this has occurred is depressing.
2) Installing inferior products costs the same (in labor) as installing the best there is. Why cut corners ?
I would be apoplectic if I thought that there was a factory in my town that made shoddy ,dangerous products and shipped them to China to incinerate innocent people. Its too damn bad that the feeling doesn't run the other way.
]]>@wickedpixel: Do they still sell those? I totally forgot about the clapper. I think my son will enjoy the excitement of the lights turning on in his room every time he coughs in the middle of the night. I'm getting one!
@Homerjay is utterly alone.: Thanks. My house is still standing.
]]>@groale: The snap on cap has a higher flame rating (meaning that it won't burn, or is very difficult to burn) By placing a plastic cap over the original, you keep the flame (if any) when it overheats inside the enclosure so it does not spread and catch curtains of bed sheets on fire. Product safety standards are strange when you read them. They don't care if the product works as intended, they don't care if a blazing fire errupts inside the enclosure, they only care if the fire or other hazzard leaves the enclosure, at that point, the product fails to comply with the standard.
]]>Someone above said the phone number isn't working: it is now. However, the form on the website is not working, so you have to call to register for your replacement.
]]>Crap with icing!
]]>Don't throw it away! Then "they" win if you just accept the craptastic merchandise.
Return it to the store where you bought it with a printout of the recall. Talk them into accepting a refund sans reciept.
]]>I read the "zombie" Billie Mays referred to recently as "the late beloved Billie Mays". Can someone explain to me why a guy who hustled such worthless and potentially dangerous garbage would have been considered "beloved"? Perhaps compared to such contemporary media creatures as Jon Gosselin and Balloon Boy's dad...
]]>Y'know I still have almost the same thing, purchased from "The Shack" about 15 years ago, that still works fine. I pull it out during Xmas so I can plug the tree lights into it.
Never had a problem.
Of course I didn't buy mine from a Zombie.
]]>Woohoo! So now I'm just giving the gift of smoke! That makes it all better now. :)
]]>@arguewithme: Better yet, a Clapper FTW. Used and abused for over 20 years.
@Snarkysnake: Safety Certification is voluntary ONLY for consumer products. Products in the workplace are required by federal law to be certified. [www.osha.gov] UL and their 14 other competitors are called "Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL)
Most major retail outlets require the products they sell to be certified by an NRTL before they will place the product on their shelves, but this is for liability issues.
]]>@shepd: Haha, this reminds me of some amusing automotive recall fixes. Without pointing and namecalling... A vehicle is built with coil springs that shatter after a couple years, and the jagged spring end punctures the tire causing a blowout, their solution, a steel basket that will catch the shattered spring. Or a car made with faulty valve cover gaskets, when the brakes are applied the leak is so large that oil sloshes out of the top of the engine onto the exhaust manifold, causing a fire. The solution? A piece of metal to redirect the stream of oil...
]]>What's funny about it all, is that the Chinese have their own certification that is more strict than some. If youre familiar with the CE mark used for European certification, imagine 3 of that C closely meshed. I've seen it on everything from computer mice to car windshields. They're ok exporting the dangerous stuff, but they couldn't be having it brought in! Somehow I find it less likely that PPG and Saint-Gobain are sending dangerous windows to China than that they're sending dangerous Christmas lights here.
]]>@GitEmSteveDave_IsStrongInTheSnark: or, the initial product can pass during the ul test (been through the process many times). the initial design &/or component specs may be good/safe. subsequent shitty manufacturing (i.e. manufactuer substituting cheap "equivalent" parts in production) cause unintended issues.
]]>@codepage9: That's an interesting question.
What happens if you keep a recalled product like this installed after the recall, and your house burns down because of it? Does insurance have to pay out?
]]>No and yes. These things are not UL approved . (I have one in my hands as I type). But if they had been tested and approved by Underwriters Laboratories ,they would have been deemed safe and received the UL symbol. UL is a VOLUNTARY certification (actually started by insurers to weed out the shoddy electrical goods in the early days of electrification). They are not a government agency and as such ,have no power to force testing.(Yet another shortcut that the chinese crap coming into the country uses to keep the price low).They charge manufacturers for a batetry of tests that determine safety. If you think that the chinese are going to pay for the testing ,guess again.
Always look for the UL symbol. It's copyrighted and its use by an uncertified product is a crime.
Look for the chinese (and their American enablers) to do the following:
1) Just blatantly put the symbol on millions of lamps ,toasters and other plug-in goods. They can't catch 'em all...
2) Found some sham "testing" organization that will approve anything that they ship over here. (Like the Handy Switch !)
]]>@GitEmSteveDave_IsStrongInTheSnark: Not really. The UL mark (and the marks of their competitors) is only LEGALLY required for products used in the workplace that fall under OSHA's jurisdiction. As this is clearly a consumer product, it falls under CPSC jurisdiction, certification of products is not a requirement. Most manufacturers as they are concerned about liability have the products certified.
While I don't know the exact situation, my guess would be that if it was certified, the manufacturer changed the plastic that was used for the night light lens without UL's (or whatever test lab certified the product) authorization or approval. This change was dicovered during a factory inspection which prompted the recall.
I did check the certification directiories that I have access to however, and could not locate where it had been certified.
(I base this on 15 years in testing electric products for safety and the information in the press release)
]]>@shepd: Well actually it will solve the problem. In looking at the recall notice (as someone who evaluates electrical products for safety) it seems like the manufacturer changed the plastic for the nightlight lens without getting it properly tested for flammability. It was likely later discovered and a corrective action of installing a cap over the lens was devised. This cap is made of plastic that meets the flammability rating of the safety test standard and therefore, the product now fully complies with the standard. Is it a half @$$ed/cheezy correction, sure, but it does get the job done and prevents the spread of fire.
]]>"The number you have reached is not in service"
That's quality right there. I love the solution. Here's a cap that will contain the fire when the product sets on fire.
Seriously, that's what it is:
They offer another solution, labelled as "Free Wireless Remote Light Switch", but I have no clue what that is, and I can't call to find out. :^(
And this was to be a Christmas gift. This sucks. I don't want to give the gift of this kind of fire.
]]>@Omali: That has to be one of the most unfortunately-named products in existence. Still, the irony is funny.
]]>Thank you Consumerist! I bought one recently for my 4 year old son's bedroom. The builder somehow thought it was a good idea to use a switch to control the outlet that was within arm's distance from walking into his room. I loved the idea of this switch, plus the fact that I was able to easily mount it on the wall low enough for him to use it.
Of course, upon returning home today from work tonight, it will be removed and thrown in the garbage. Then, I'll have to put my electrical knowledge to the test and control this outlet the right way.
]]>@Omali: OMG, you win the Internet. I'm dying here.
]]>Thank You for shoping at china-mart. 100% Percet Made in China. Our creaters dream.
]]>"Initiating auto-destruct sequence in 3...2...1..."
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