DEADLY WIRING FAULT ; Atten 858D+ Hot Air Rework Station

[Tasman]

I just received an Atten 858D+ hot air rework station direct from China.  When I plugged it in and switched on it was completely dead - no display or any activity.  On taking the front panel off I found that the power input socket had been mis-wired and mains active was tied directly to the exposed metallic parts of the heat gun.

This is a potential killer - no pun intended.  Please if you have purchased but not received one of these items check the mains wiring before switching on.  Even if you have one that appears to be functioning ok it would be best to have a look whether it has more insidious faults such as neutral to earth or active-neutral transposed.

For what it's worth the serial number of my unit is 1042111302610.

Further Notes

** I noticed that the pictures posted originally have been removed - probably the files were too large.  Managed to find them and they are attached with some further explanation.

* Active-Earth shows low resistance from active of power plug to exposed metal of the heat gun.
*Overall view shows the black wire which should be connected to earth on the power receptacle is instead connected to active.
*General close up is an enlarged view of above.
* Power receptacle shows the black wire connected to the active lug of the power receptacle.
*Pcb earth connection shows the other end of the black wire connected to the earth trace of the pcb.  The thin green wire connected to the same trace is the earth wire to the heat gun.

[firewalker]

I am glad you are ok!

Any photos?

Maybe Dave should put a warning to his video review.

[PetrosA]

That's hugely frightening. It's also a good reason to add Class A (5mA) GFI/RCD protection to workbenches. I see a lot of lighting fixtures from China here in the US with bad/loose connections, bad mechanical assembly, missing parts etc. to the point where now I have to check everything before I install one. If that kind of carelessness is being carried over to other products, it's disturbing to say the least. The average consumer doesn't have the knowledge or the means to check every product for safety before using

[Tasman]

I always use an RCD and treat every new piece of equipment (particularly from China) as a deadly threat until proved otherwise.  After 50 odd years playing with electrical stuff I am still alive but have had a few close calls. 

I am not long home after a long series of flights from the mine where I work and do not have time now to follow up.  Will post some pictures tomorrow.

[saturation]

Ouch, yes the pictures are necessary to at least provide some proof; but I have no reason to doubt as I've seen such poor quality control myself in other products.

If safely possible on the photo, can you show with a DMM mains voltage is actually on the metallic parts of the gun?

[comox]

I think I will be sticking to my "Made in Germany" Weller WHA900.

[sacherjj]

I was thinking about a full dis-assembly of my 858 when it gets here.  This makes me do more than think about it.  Also, because I think they spend more time and energy on the more popular 220V version, that I want to make sure things aren't short cutted on the 110 V version. 

Things like using the same gauge wire to the heater for both 220v and 110v could be an issue, due to the doubled current.  But if I didn't get the $70 version, I'd have no version.  Just can't swing more money for a better one at this time.

[Sionyn]

man that is bad
surprised it did have any sort of qa test

[Lance]

Oh they probably did have some sort of qa test, the standards were probably just really low. Pictures and test data would be pretty good to have.

[bilko]

Oh they probably did have some sort of qa test, the standards were probably just really low. Pictures and test data would be pretty good to have.

Agree, very low, like not even switching the thing on 
I tend to think that any QA that the Chinese do is on a 'batch basis' like every 10 or more, not everyone gets tested.

[sacherjj]

It was probably made late on Friday or by the new guy.   

[DavidDLC]

How did they test it ? They should have something !

[bilko]

For what it's worth the serial number of my unit is 1042111302610.

With that information, if they have any QA they should be able to trace who built it and who checked it. Have you tried to contact the manufacturer ?

[Alex]

Glad you are OK. Speaking of lethal cost savings in devices originating from China, a couple of months ago I took apart a cheap rechargeable radio/flashlight combo (you know, the garden variety) and I was presentred with several treats.

Mains terminals were of course not insulated, and ultra-thin 'blue wire' typically used to rework PCBs was used to do the mains wiring. These wires were running over the solder side of the main PCB, together with all the low level signals. But that is nothing. What really scared me was that they used a capacitor in series with the mains to power all the circuits. No isolation whatsoever. The radio has a retractable antenna which, because of no isolation, is live when the device is charging on the wall socket.

I have also heard of fake carabiners for mountain climbing and fake baby milk powder.

Be careful.

[Uncle Vernon]

man that is bad
surprised it did have any sort of qa test

QA will always be an exercise in applied paperwork and is never going to do much about actual quality. The real concern is lack of effective QC, ie: actual testing.
For hand assembled equipment you'd expect EVERY unit would at least undergo a basic PAT test for continuity etc. The potential for error is always high.

[johnwa]

I see a lot of lighting fixtures from China here in the US with bad/loose connections, bad mechanical assembly, missing parts etc. to the point where now I have to check everything before I install one.

Yes, despite all the safety standards, etc, I think this is a good idea. (And, it gives you an excuse to pull it apart to see what's inside )

I always use an RCD and treat every new piece of equipment (particularly from China) as a deadly threat until proved otherwise.  After 50 odd years playing with electrical stuff I am still alive but have had a few close calls. 

One good idea I have heard is to make a habit of first touching all unknown electrical equipment with the BACK of your hand, so you don't grab hold of it if it is live.

[Mechatrommer]

50 part cheapo price + 50 part diy fix = china cheapo.

[Alex]

I dont understand why such extreme cost cutting measures are taken. Dont say to maximise profit; I would happily pay $1 more for a product that won't kill me.

[vk6zgo]

It's a lot cheaper to employ people direct off the street,& just set them loose assembling things.

The best answer to this at our level,is to check  for earth continuity with a multimeter,& lack of continuity

between active OR neutral & any accessable metalwork.

Tough luck for non technical people though!

At my old work,we received some Chinese equipment using metal cased mains connectors(Cannon style).

The only problem was that the only panel mount connectors they could find were female,so that the loose

plugin leads had MALE connectors with pins sticking out that you could touch!

Needless to say,this was quickly modified "in house".

By the way,the things didn't work either,so this was just the first of many modifications needed!

VK6ZGO

[Lance]

It's a lot cheaper to employ people direct off the street,& just set them loose assembling things.

The best answer to this at our level,is to check  for earth continuity with a multimeter,& lack of continuity

between active OR neutral & any accessable metalwork.

Tough luck for non technical people though!

At my old work,we received some Chinese equipment using metal cased mains connectors(Cannon style).

The only problem was that the only panel mount connectors they could find were female,so that the loose

plugin leads had MALE connectors with pins sticking out that you could touch!

Needless to say,this was quickly modified "in house".

By the way,the things didn't work either,so this was just the first of many modifications needed!

VK6ZGO

How is it these products are allowed to be sold? That's what I want to know. Aren't our tax funds supposed to prevent this sort of cheap garbage from entering the market?

[Tasman]

Attached are pictures illustrating the existence of the fault.  Later today I will post teardown pictures that show why the fault occurred.

Last night I also notified the Ebay seller in China and to his credit received a prompt reply indicating his great concern and that he would notifiy the manufacturer and his customers of the problem. 

[Alex]

Attached are pictures illustrating the existence of the fault.

Holy cow.

Well, isn't that the best way to indicate that the equipment is plugged in and turned on? :-)

[Mechatrommer]

How is it these products are allowed to be sold? That's what I want to know. Aren't our tax funds supposed to prevent this sort of cheap garbage from entering the market?

how china regulates? nada! its free global market there. or maybe you have to ask the "police of the world" to impose the regulation on them, can they?. and you'll be more pissed off if you paid the item but blocked at your custom cleareance. as a lesson, if you dont tolerate this kind of stuff, dont buy from china. thats the only thing rules, you buy or you dont.

[Tasman]

Finally managed to clear enough time and workbench space to tear down and photograph.  The faulty wiring is at the power receptacle where earth (black) has been transposed with active (blue).  The earth wire is connected to the pcb which you can see in the general and closeup views.  Thin green wire from pcb goes to the metal tip of the heat gun.

Further issues are that there is no earth connection to the other metallic parts of the case.  Exposed pads on the pcb are meant to earth the front panel but are insulated by paint on the panel standoffs. This should be addressed by all owners of these devices.

When rectifying the wiring issue I will also connect earth wires to the chassis at transformer and front panel.

[saturation]

Kudos Tasman, the photos make it very clear that this issue is a potential cause of serious injury.