counterfeit lead on 858Ds [UK]

[xmris]

Hello!

New member here, so excuse if this post not suitable for this sub-forum -admins pls feel free to relocate it.

Got recently a 858D - 'noname' btw - chinese seller but they ship from UK , local warehouse, so I had the impression the think complied with UK regs, well... counterfeit mains lead - fake Kitemark logo , 'guida' branded, 13A fuse that does not look BS1362 compliant, nice eh?

[wraper]

Actually quite nice considering what you bought, better than you should expect. At least it seems to be made properly. No garbage like insulated earth terminal. The main concern is if it's a proper sand filled fuse.

[xmris]

the 'good' thing about this 858D is that it comes with a C13 for the mains. So I quickly replaced the lead with another one -5A fused BSI approved - 10A cable btw.

That 'guida' lead is mentioned there btw:

http://fatallyflawed.org.uk/BS1363/index.html

[wraper]

the 'good' thing about this 858D is that it comes with a C13 for the mains. So I quickly replaced the lead with another one -5A fused BSI approved - 10A cable btw.

That 'guida' lead is mentioned there btw:

http://fatallyflawed.org.uk/BS1363/index.html

Not really the same plug. Plug in that article has much lower quality imprints, STGS instead of STGD approval. Kittemark in article has a major difference, it this case a minor inaccuracy. Even major manufacturers are often at fault of making inaccuracies in approval marks, especially CE which has wrong proportions half of the time. Claiming approval mark is not what it appears to be won't fly in any governmental organization, or in court. People talking about China Export mark are spreading BS. Article says fake fuse, but with zero argumentation why they think so, and it's not shown on pictures. In this case fuse seems to be made by a real company http://www.daweifuse.com/en/product.asp. Whatever STGD (STGS in the article) does exist is not that straightforward. It may as well be a real organization in China which is not easy to google. IMHO there is a probability this may be a real plug but plug in the article an imitation of it.

[xmris]

ah cheers for this, actually there is a recall for this 'guida' , different model as I see - sleeved GND.
https://ec.europa.eu/safety-gate-alerts/screen/webReport/alertDetail/72841?lang=en

I bet the one I got is the "improved" version of that.

(good find of that 'Da Wei' fuse, anyway)

[Gyro]

I think I'd be more concerned about the 'noname' 858D itself rather than a mains lead that can be inspected and the fuse replaced.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/dodgy-technology/858d-hot-air-station-is-dangerous!/

[xmris]

absolutely, I ve read that topic anyway!

I only use mine with a masterplug RCD plus I connected the GND with the metal case (front/back plates are plastic btw), what annoys me more is the reed switch is not that sensitive when I put the handle on its base - it needs to be in a specific position to trigger it 'off' , but I take extra care and monitor it.

[Gyro]

You might be able to solve that irritation with a bigger, or repositioned, magnet.

[AndyBeez]

I hope you did the mains plug earth pin to hot handle metal tip continuity test? The handle tip [and casing] should be earthed.

Pop the case open and see if the live and neutral wires obey convention with, the live wire passing through the line fuse. Not always the case with these puppies poopies.

[xmris]

I hope you did the mains plug earth pin to hot handle metal tip continuity test? The handle tip [and casing] should be earthed.

thanks, no need for that as the handle's metal tip was already earthed, also it is correctly fused on the live -L/N connections correct as well.

[BrianG61UK]

I hope you did the mains plug earth pin to hot handle metal tip continuity test? The handle tip [and casing] should be earthed.

Pop the case open and see if the live and neutral wires obey convention with, the live wire passing through the line fuse. Not always the case with these puppies poopies.

The very cheap 858D clone I just got from ebay (branded PJLSW 858D) is definitely not even nearly made to any safety standard.

A few points I noted after a quick try out:

1) The mains lead looks okay, but I was immediately suspicious of the slightly undersized "BS1362" fuse in the plug, so I cracked it in half and found no sand.
The plug happily accepts a genuine BS1362 fuse, reinforcing my idea that it's probably not too bad.
The fuse in the connector on the box where the mains enters seems to be an anonymous 20mm glass fuse with only faint, illegible markings.

2) The metal case is not earthed. Probably not a massive safety issue, though, since there is very little inside and nothing electrical comes near the metal box.
It looks like it wouldn't be hard to add a lead and a solder tag at the back to earth the box. Though, it might be hard to get a reliable contact.
Surely the original 858D didn't have this vast empty space between the front and the back?
This one is so light that it might not stay where you put it on your desk while you use it.

3) The connector on the box for the actual hot air gun to connect is a male connector and on the lead from the heat gun is a matching female, so if you power up the box without the heat gun connected, there will be live pins accessible. The connector does include a screw lock, so hopefully it's not instantly lethal once you know.

4) The box contains a small switch mode power supply to supply the control circuitry and also a triac to control the heater, and obviously neither circuit pays much attention to EMC (I didn't see any obvious filtering at all) because they emit quite a lot of RF when in use. A shame, but since I only intend to be using it occasionally, I can probably get away with it.

[Gyro]

...
2) The metal case is not earthed. Probably not a massive safety issue, though, since there is very little inside and nothing electrical comes near the metal box.
It looks like it wouldn't be hard to add a lead and a solder tag at the back to earth the box. Though, it might be hard to get a reliable contact.
Surely the original 858D didn't have this vast empty space between the front and the back?
This one is so light that it might not stay where you put it on your desk while you use it.

I beg to disagree, non-earthed cabinets in that sort of cheap stuff is normally the number one (and most easily corrected) hazard.

You should definitely earth the case, it is a safety issue. On a Class I (ie. Not a class II double insulated) product, there are no additional barriers, so if a wire comes loose the earthed case must intercept the fault current. A timely example is that male suicide connector with mains on it, you only need a stray offcut strand to get stuck in there and the case will become live if not earthed.

3) The connector on the box for the actual hot air gun to connect is a male connector and on the lead from the heat gun is a matching female, so if you power up the box without the heat gun connected, there will be live pins accessible. The connector does include a screw lock, so hopefully it's not instantly lethal once you know.

Dodgy as hell. Try to lock it more permanently, enough said.

[BrianG61UK]

...
2) The metal case is not earthed. Probably not a massive safety issue, though, since there is very little inside and nothing electrical comes near the metal box.
It looks like it wouldn't be hard to add a lead and a solder tag at the back to earth the box. Though, it might be hard to get a reliable contact.
Surely the original 858D didn't have this vast empty space between the front and the back?
This one is so light that it might not stay where you put it on your desk while you use it.

I beg to disagree, non-earthed cabinets in that sort of cheap stuff is normally the number one (and most easily corrected) hazard.

You should definitely earth the case, it is a safety issue. On a Class I (ie. Not a class II double insulated) product, there are no additional barriers, so if a wire comes loose the earthed case must intercept the fault current. A timely example is that male suicide connector with mains on it, you only need a stray offcut strand to get stuck in there and the case will become live if not earthed.

3) The connector on the box for the actual hot air gun to connect is a male connector and on the lead from the heat gun is a matching female, so if you power up the box without the heat gun connected, there will be live pins accessible. The connector does include a screw lock, so hopefully it's not instantly lethal once you know.

Dodgy as hell. Try to lock it more permanently, enough said.

The suicide connector is actually on the front panel, which is plastic. However, this just means there are now two things I should try and earth properly.
The box and the metal around the suicide connector.

Even after doing that it'll still be a complete turd safety wise and if I ever replace it with something better I wouldn't do anything other than bin this one.
Selling it or passing it on to someone else would just be asking for trouble.

[Gyro]

The suicide connector is actually on the front panel, which is plastic. However, this just means there are now two things I should try and earth properly.
The box and the metal around the suicide connector.

Ha, yes. I'm afraid so.

[BrianG61UK]

I see that most of the dead cheap 858D lookalikes on eBay do not have this suicide connector, instead the cable is permanently connected via a strain relief grommet type thing.

That would seem to be the better option to me. So if, like me, you just want a really cheap way to get a handful of hot air soldering tasks done, I'd now go for an 858D without the suicide connector.

Check carefully for potential hazards. Use a 5A fuse in the mains, add extra earthing for the case if you can, and power it via an RCCB if you can.

If you want something for regular use, you should probably be looking at something of higher quality.