Power brick failure : 500 ohm between phase (or neutral) and earth

[wraper]

Thanks I will buy that UNI-T insulation tester. At the end, no matter how is the wire, if it survives high voltage insulation test then it's fine.
I have an IR camera but I need a REALLY high current to make such a thick wire to warm up and warm the plastic case around it

Yeah I can't really see that working.

The main concern is if negative output wire can handle the current. You don't need some extreme current, if the wire heats up by a few degrees C, IMHO it should be enough to see it from the outside. Good enough IR camera will show a fraction of a degree difference. If earth wire is AWG 18 or 16, I see no problem heating it up enough. Of course it needs some time, like 5-10 minutes to be visible from the outside. Output wire must be out of IR camera view to not screw up the measurement range..

[Zero999]

Thanks I will buy that UNI-T insulation tester. At the end, no matter how is the wire, if it survives high voltage insulation test then it's fine.
I have an IR camera but I need a REALLY high current to make such a thick wire to warm up and warm the plastic case around it

Yeah I can't really see that working.

The main concern is if negative output wire can handle the current. You don't need some extreme current, if the wire heats up by a few degrees C, IMHO it should be enough to see it from the outside. Good enough IR camera will show a fraction of a degree difference. If earth wire is AWG 18 or 16, I see no problem heating it up enough. Of course it needs some time, like 5-10 minutes to be visible from the outside. Output wire must be out of IR camera view to not screw up the measurement range..

A toroidal transformer and variac can be used to make a cheap variable high current power source.

I still don't think it's worth it, considering how cheap they are. It would make more sense to buy some new ones of a reputable brand. Meanwell are a decent Chinese brand and are reasonably priced.

[wraper]

Thanks I will buy that UNI-T insulation tester. At the end, no matter how is the wire, if it survives high voltage insulation test then it's fine.
I have an IR camera but I need a REALLY high current to make such a thick wire to warm up and warm the plastic case around it

Yeah I can't really see that working.

The main concern is if negative output wire can handle the current. You don't need some extreme current, if the wire heats up by a few degrees C, IMHO it should be enough to see it from the outside. Good enough IR camera will show a fraction of a degree difference. If earth wire is AWG 18 or 16, I see no problem heating it up enough. Of course it needs some time, like 5-10 minutes to be visible from the outside. Output wire must be out of IR camera view to not screw up the measurement range..

A toroidal transformer and variac can be used to make a cheap variable high current power source.

I still don't think it's worth it, considering how cheap they are. It would make more sense to buy some new ones of a reputable brand. Meanwell are a decent Chinese brand and are reasonably priced.

Lower end Meanwell is no better than this if you look at construction and components used. The main concern here is how this passed QC. Meanwell is not Chinese but Taiwanese BTW.

[ratatax]

I contacted the manufacturer to explain the issue and they strongly believe it's an isolated mistake during production, that isn't wide-spread. I suggested them to make the wire shorter to make it stay in place or manufacture the heatsink with a hole in it so it forces the wire to pass through.
Other than that, build quality seems high to me, it was the best I could find while staying affordable. That manufacturing issue is fortunately quite easy to fix I think, if they are willing to take it seriously.