Shop Dangerous shop lights

[jcdammeyer]

The part I can't wrap my head around is that if I design say a new luminary that is well designed to all applicable standards hence is safe, not only can I not sell it, I can't even power it up at a trade show without a CSA inspection or I'm breaking the law and am fully liable, yet big box stores are selling countless unapproved unsafe products by the thousands.

I'm not sure CSA is required in that instance. I believe you can get an inspection certificate from someone that allows it to be used for say a trade show. I'll ask a friend.

The problem is a lot of people don't understand that say a ventilation hole/slot cannot be set so that a screw driver inserted into that touches live power. Etc. Etc. Etc. So it's also knowing all the rules.

 

[jcdammeyer]

I'm not sure CSA is required in that instance. I believe you can get an inspection certificate from someone that allows it to be used for say a trade show. I'll ask a friend.

The problem is a lot of people don't understand that say a ventilation hole/slot cannot be set so that a screw driver inserted into that touches live power. Etc. Etc. Etc. So it's also knowing all the rules.

These and the others scattered around Vancouver were all CSA approved. Taken to the CSA office in Richmond for High Pot testing. (I had to ask what is High Pot). It's High Potential testing. They put 2kV AC on the input and test for leaks to ground. Apparently they all passed.

 

[slow-poke]

I'm not sure CSA is required in that instance. I believe you can get an inspection certificate from someone that allows it to be used for say a trade show. I'll ask a friend.

The problem is a lot of people don't understand that say a ventilation hole/slot cannot be set so that a screw driver inserted into that touches live power. Etc. Etc. Etc. So it's also knowing all the rules.

Correct, you get a special inspection for a few hundred dollars for the visit and a nominal fee per item. There is supposed to be a maximum quantity of IIRC 100 items total. A special inspection is pretty basic but does cover the most blatant safety issues. They almost always do:
1) A HI-POT test to prove the isolation barrier
2) A flammability test
3) Inspection of fuse and grounds

Trust me when I say the utter crap that blew up my PC would have failed all three above.

 

[Mike R]

I don't know how Busybee does it nowadays, but back 15 or more years ago they had the CSA special inspection done on the metalworking machinery they sold. CSA special inspections are useful for low volume production where the cost of certifying to CSA/UL 61010 is prohibitive (thousands to 10's of thousands or more for lab testing, plus your own internal business costs). We get CSA special inspections done at work on some products, and others have certification. I haven't seen them (CSA) do a flammability test, but they can do a check to see if materials used for the electricals are suitable (i.e. if used in oily environment - will the material break down?).

It all comes down to liability and $, the law isn't interested in pursing the little guys, and its absolutely criminal that Amazon is able to sell things that are not electrically approved, as a registered business in Canada they need to be held to a better standard - something we need to ask our politicians of all stripes to do, or get some lawyers to do it.
Aliexpress and the like are tougher to nail down as operating completely outside Canada.

Companies like Busybee, and other name brand outfits pay for inspections and certifications to protect themselves from consumers suing them, as well as reputation (can't have you name associated with the battery charger / light etc. that burned down 15 homes...).

Its funny, but I have been a bit lax in my buying practices for electrical devices, but that is on stuff that I plug in and use (i.e hot air gun), then unplug. I may have let my guard down on lights like this as the last ones bought were from a brick and mortar store. Always good idea to double check it is certified if its going to be unsupervised, or has a high price due to failure...

 

[philipFROM-PNW]

I bought a box of 8 LED replacement "compare to 60 Watt" 2 were dead Right out of the box!

To pop the Plastic "globe" off, sort of squeeze it, then a dull "Spud" to help it out of the slot/rim.

Spuds are just double edged butter knives (close comparison), they are used to open Android Phones & Tablets, of which I have accomplish 3 out of 7 Without BREAKING (PRACTICE takes Practice)... If I were to guess, they are dull ground @ 30° the edge would DENT Hard butter

So, I figure out the bad LED, JUMP it with 30 guage wire, Solder and replace globe, You can not tell the difference in lumin output.

Another thing to do: use 1 LED, a resistor, 9VDC battery: instant portable night light COVER with that plastic GLOBE!

If your Brand NEW Lathe is afraid of the DARK, it will comfort the poor thing, until it feels at HOME ;-)

philip, from the Great Pacific NorthWET, Oregon, USA

 

[Perry]

I tested a few of these light before deciding on them when I was doing my garage.

One thing I did noticed was there are lights with aluminum "leafs" and lights with plastic "leafs" that look exactly the same. The aluminum leaf acts like a heat sink. Not sure what the plan was for the plastic ones. I bought the aluminum ones.

Very happy with mine so far, but will take the time to pull them and inspect them. Thank you for posting.

 

[BaitMaster]

Non-compliant devices really are a double edged sword. I guess I’ll preface this by saying I’m an licenced electrician, and an instrument tech, so plenty of experience in the industry…. But I also own TWO Huangyang VFD’s that I unplug after I use them, one on my belt grinder and one on the CNC. And Baofeng radios…. Anyway.

My personal opinion on it is that anything that is connected permanently to power and not on a cord, I buy CSA. My Huangyangs I also mount them in steel boxes, so even I forget them on, if they burn, they burn in a properly isolated steel enclosure.

We see it all the time at the shop, people don’t like the prices of our approved stuff, so they buy stuff off of Amazon instead. Usually they end up coming back and buying our lights the second time around once half of their Amazon lights fail and they don’t get any warranty a year later.

There are approved versions of those wing lights, I believe manufactured by SATCO. I think they are about 50$/ea.

Some things are fine from China, some things are trash. Usually the actual approved stuff from legitimate electrical specific vendors is ALOT better then anything you find on Amazon.

Lighting is one of those things I always recommend buying approved…. They are a massive hazard if they fail because they cannot be put in an enclosure and are hard to access. They are also right next to structure… a VFD can be in a metal enclosure, in the middle of the room , not next to a wall.

I don’t see lathe or mill electricals being inspected as a big of a deal because they are always in a metal enclosure. Although it is good that some companies take the time and expense to get them inspected.

 

[YotaBota]

When I was looking to replace the 8' fluorescents in the garage I looked at the Amazon bundles but fact they were so cheap made me pause. I spent the money, about $45 each, and bought LED's from a local industrial lighting store and sleep well.

All the shop tools are either unplugged after use or have on/off switches on the power cords. My new 240v belt grinder has a DPDT on/off switch before the VFD since the VFD has no built in on/off switch.

Sometimes it's better to spend the extra few bucks and not get burned.

 

[Brian Lawrence]

I purchased three of these LED garage lights.
They get left on for long periods and get hot enough to cause a fire.

Yesterday I was busy making chips when the ceiling light failed. I heard a fizzing noise, followed by the smell of smoke. The light fitting had dropped out of the ceiling and was dangling from the power wires.

Inside, the AC wiring had melted at the driver board, the heat was sufficient to melt the plastic and the whole gadget fell out of the fitting.

I opened up the other two and I found the same thing - melted wiring.

If you use these lights I strongly suggest that you inspect them ASAP. Better yet, throw them away.


View attachment 63769View attachment 63767
View attachment 63765View attachment 63766View attachment 63768

Thanks for the heads up on this product. It is definetly worth your time & efforts to warn others.

 

[Tecnico]

While we’re on lighting and approvals, I have my story, hopefully it’s good background info.

I arrived at a decision point last year on my shop fluorescents, whether to go LED or keep feeding them (obsolescent) ballasts and tubes. Turns out that with government incentives the price was going to be about the same for two, 4 foot LED tubes or a ballast so I went with line voltage LEDs in the existing fixtures and removed the ballasts. Does not count labour of course.

Savings to be had in energy costs and tax plus better for the environment. Promises are made about longevity too, we’ll see. We did notice a cost difference when doing the LED/incandescent changeover a few years ago.

About certifications, the government would not approve incentives on equipment that is not appropriately listed including safety and energy efficiency so I have no worries about product safety. The LEDs were sourced from an industrial distributor from the approved list. Sometimes the gov’t really is there to help you, LOL!

D

 

[Elektrishun]

We see it all the time at the shop, people don’t like the prices of our approved stuff, so they buy stuff off of Amazon instead.
There are approved versions of those wing lights, I believe manufactured by SATCO. I think they are about 50$/ea.

Some things are fine from China, some things are trash. Usually the actual approved stuff from legitimate electrical specific vendors is ALOT better then anything you find on Amazon.

I think that says it all.

I don't blame people for trying to get the best bang for their buck but electrical devices/appliances that are going to be plugged-in and left unattended at times are not worth going cheap on.

Unfortunately the majority of people do not understand the safety risk of using cheaper non-approved electrical devices.

"Always check for certification marks, such as CSA, cUL, or cETL, before purchasing electrical products that plug into an electrical outlet."

Electrical product safety - Canada.ca

How to reduce your risk of injury at home by safely using electrical products.

www.canada.ca

 

[slow-poke]

https://code-authorities.ul.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/marapr2004.pdf

Differences between CE and China Export markings - Kimua Group

Discover the differences between CE and China Export markings. These symbols despite appearing very similar they don´t share the same meaning

www.kimuagroup.com

So the China Export mark means exactly nothing as far as safety is concerned. Beyond that the actual European CE mark does not require testing by a certified lab, anyone can display the CE mark based on their internal testing and only if someone complains will the CE authorities request the test results which in many cases does not exist at all or if it does exist is entirely short of the actual standards.


Typical product sticker that gives the impression that the product is built to a safety standard, however none of the symbols have anything to do with safety.

https://www.amazon.ca/caseroxx-Smartphone-Charger-Charging-Flexible/dp/B07SYCVKCL/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2QB9HV3RUUIIM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zPhXso24IC9F3db1TtCQ_ASfGtCVyGCPW1ZOK9Gxs-o7Gm6wDgzGKPNfy1CoAlt6pnDCFSilZsDJo_x_oTJy0HZRfKgO7oQ83HAGi4pb2f7o-nExkWDduYCWUw0X2zAbXr26G-odh4EirqmWowvWP28xZ3igVKXpFi9P687N9-E1XI7xyh7DtGBQVW-7Am2tTQ-xf4QJb-DjQt1rLDjfO9gscPg3sCXR2iskhB8_jA2F8ZtXGQayFC5XSbxFkLGOUKJXQ8UfYYrXR0wqay7CeNPlxCrSltuER00okoACIo0.nVHi8bGGXSxVH1321eBrNYFKLo4fYw_A8fry8o2Ji58&dib_tag=se&keywords=Phone+charger&qid=1745937632&refinements=p_n_feature_two_browse-bin%3A41930195011&rnid=41927744011&s=electronics&sprefix=phone+charger%2Caps%2C271&sr=1-5&xpid=fydyh5OAxoEYU

 

[Tecnico]

Differences between CE and China Export markings - Kimua Group

Discover the differences between CE and China Export markings. These symbols despite appearing very similar they don´t share the same meaning

www.kimuagroup.com

So the China Export mark means exactly nothing as far as safety is concerned. Beyond that the actual European CE mark does not require testing by a certified lab, anyone can display the CE mark based on their internal testing and only if someone complains will the CE authorities request the test results which in many cases does not exist at all or if it does exist is entirely short of the actual standards.


Typical product sticker that gives the impression that the product is built to a safety standard, however none of the symbols have anything to do with safety.

Well, isn’t that sneaky, thanks for pointing that out.

That said I’ve never blindly accepted any marking claims attached to Chinese made product, based on national reputation.

D