Obviously if you have one, cease using it. Return it and report the seller to the appropriate authorities.
WARNING regarding USB chargers after woman dies from apparent electrocution
[Deactivated] on 27/06/2014 - 09:43
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Going elsewhere was what killed the poor lady.
Great article the one posted above re a properly designed charger versus the knock off.
There are quite a few things in the world that you can play the cheap arse - Russian roulette on. Things that have the potential to inflict fire or health hazards aren't one of them.Personally Ive never been game enough to purchase electrical products from dubious sources, buy cheap auto parts likes tyres and brake components from untraceable sources when you have the people you love, relying on them.
Worth noting the Apple "exchange" for crap chargers is still running as far as I am aware, $14 and you can swap your fake/crap charger for an official one based on what device you own. (5w for iPhone/iPod and 10w for iPad)
The special pricing on Apple USB power adapters is limited to one adapter for each iPhone, iPad, and iPod you own and is valid until October 18, 2013.
My mistake, I missed that skimming the page doh
Hmmm…. Some more on this, from the Sydney Morning Herald.
NSW opposition spokeswoman for fair trading Tania Mihailuk condemned the authorities for the time it took to notify the public after Ms Aldeguer's death.
“It’s been two months since the tragic death and just under two weeks since the raid at Campsie," she said on Friday.
"The faulty products have potentially been sold to hundreds of consumers who have been put at risk."
Last Friday, Fair Trading raided the stall at Campsie where the Ms Aldeguer was believed to have bought the charger.
Ms Mihailuk pointed out that $20 million had been cut from Fair Trading's budget last week, on top of $15 million cut in the past two years.
"Fair Trading does not have the resources to act quickly enough nor to monitor the market effectively for dodgy goods," she said.
But a spokeswoman for Fair Trading said they were only informed about the fatality in mid-May and have been working hard to gather as much information as possible before alerting the public on Thursday night.
"NSW Fair Trading was notified of this fatality by Ausgrid on 13 May 2014," a spokeswoman said.
"As soon as Fair Trading and police determined that the charger was potentially implicated in the fatality, further investigations were conducted and Fair Trading obtained information from NSW police on Thursday 19 June, regarding advice from friends of the deceased as to where the device had been purchased.
"Fair Trading attended the store and stall in Campsie on Friday 20 June and seized devices and ordered the owner to cease sale of all unapproved articles."
Investigators then had to examine the chargers sold at the stall and interview the supplier via an interpreter.
"The agency takes public protection very seriously and commits appropriate resources accordingly," the spokeswoman said.
It is believed a dodgy $4.95 phone charger sent a high-voltage electrical pulse into Ms Aldeguer's phone, which transferred to the earphones she had connected to a laptop.
The 28-year-old, from the Philippines, was to start work as a theatre nurse at Gosford Hospital within days of her death.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/usb-phone-charger-warning-came-too…
Sorry about the, perhaps inappropriate, paragraph being in bold (above). I don't know how that happened. I just copied and pasted from the SMH web site.
25mA is all that is required to kill someone and our mobiles these days have chargers that can supply up to 2000mA or 2 amps.
The chargers have transformers in them 240 volts in and 5 volts out at xx Amps.
The charger could have failed and shorted itself into a position that caused 240 volts to go directly to the mobile….. now saying that if the 240 volts traveled up the ear phone then she was the earth and thus a fault current would have occurred and that could range into the thousands of amps unless they had an rcd it might have been a different story.25mA is all that is required to kill someone and our mobiles these days have chargers that can supply up to 2000mA or 2 amps
Well in a fault situation the normal current capacity of the low voltage side is irrelevant. So not comparable.
And you won't get thousands of amps even in a fault situation, first of all the body isn't that low resistance, and that much current wouldn't have gone through house wiring before blowing a fuse. Not relevant anyway since only a small current is needed to kill.
It's the high voltage that's the danger. Voltage causes the lethal current, not the other way around.
Your not a sparky are you?
I am an EE.
The other misconception I see often is regarding current capacity. Questions like: My old adapter had a label saying 1.5A. Can I replace it with an adapter supplying 2A? Capacity is simply the maximum the source can supply. The voltage and polarity need to match up, and the max current capacity >= to the previous adapter. To use an analogy it's like asking: My car has a tank that takes me 600 km and I can go from Sydney to Coffs Harbour on a full tank. Can I drive there with a car that has a 1000 km capacity tank? (We won't go into other details like efficiency at low load factor at this point.)
the lady in the article had her face burnt with the power supply breakdown which suggests she would have received the full 240v 15a across her body liquifying her internals and welding herself to her headphones
Wow, you have a potential bright career as a tabloid news inventor. :)
my gf works in a trauma ward. I have read reports first hand and spoken to chief trauma surgeons about the physiological injuries to humans exposed to high energy jolts. hth
Electricity causes burns, not liquefaction.
Humans are highly resistive (an electrical term), so I highly doubt 15 amps would be drawn from 240 volts.
Many houses have 10 amp fuses for GPO's (what you plug electronics into).
Headphone cables will burn out before supplying 15A at 240V.
High energy jolts come from High Voltage power lines. Almost every sparky in Australia would be dead if 240V is as deadly as you make out.
25mA is all that is required to kill someone and our mobiles these days have chargers that can supply up to 2000mA or 2 amps.
if you are implying that you could get electrocuted from a functioning 5V 2A output then i think you are sadly mistaken.
25ma flowing through your body might kill you. but to achieve that current you need a either a much higher voltage than 5v or a much lower path of resistance through your body. dry skin normally has quite a high resistance. wet skin presents a lower resistance. the resistance of your internal body is also much lower.
the best example is a simple 9v battery. if you hold each terminal with yours hand you will not feel a thing. if you touch both terminals with the tip of your tongue you will get a little tingle (disclaimer: i not suggesting you go out and try this).
Add a twist to it. If you have a fault with the charger across the transformer and 240 volts is supplied to the handset then it's a different ball game.
might or might not have happened but the possibility is their.
sorry i should have been clearer, for the context of the statement i was assuming a normally functioning (non-malfunctioning) 5V supply.
from the news, i do not think she was "earthed" if so, the RCD would have tripped.
It's likely is a full circuit loop that kills her that the RCD did not see the differential Voltage drop and over current? (burnt through ear to ear and chest)
Note that older houses most likely do not have RCDs but the old type common CB.
by law 2 years ago all house must have RCD for rented property? unless she owns the house and didn't bother to retrofit it…….
strange law, I would expect all house required.
whether an rcd could have saved her would depend on what she happened to be touching at the time. if she was completely isolated from earth she would have just been part of the circuit's load. if she was earthed in some way then it might have saved her.
I recently bought a car lighter usb charger from Harvey Norman, used it a few times then it blew one of my fuses….changed fuse only for it to happen again, just threw it away this morning.
I recently bought a car lighter usb charger from Harvey Norman, used it a few times then it blew one of my fuses….changed fuse only for it to happen again, just threw it away this morning.
Did this device have Australian Electrical Safety Approval. Did you see a C-Tick logo and a supplier's number? (I know that the C-Tick has been replaced, but it seems that all these devices still use it). I found Kmart selling car and wall chargers that were probably non-compliant - they had no AU certification logo.
Do you remember the brand name?
I can't but a trip to the bin will reveal it, I don't have the receipt otherwise I would have taken it back…will post a pic.
Edit: trip to bin and http://s1.postimg.org/p4zicn4hr/20140628_115359.jpg the rust is from it being in the driveway for the last week after it blew my fuses for the second time.
No brand name on it?
Edit: trip to bin and http://s1.postimg.org/p4zicn4hr/20140628_115359.jpg
You have stated that you purchased this item from a Harvey Norman store. Are you sure about that?
It is not lawful to sell or supply that device in Australia. It has no Safety Certification for Australia.
After a similar item started 'blowing' fuses in my car, I now only buy approved car chargers (or, more recently, I get them for free at CEBIT.
I think it's shocking that the manufacturers haven't been charged.
I think it's shocking that the manufacturers haven't been charged.
They are somewhere in China.
Watt!? Even though they might resist you would think our current trade agreement would give the government power to put the manufacturer in a load of trouble.
pretty sure cantstanzya was being punny.
I think it's shocking that the manufacturers haven't been charged.
Is this a clever OzBargain play on words, or heartfelt outrage?
Is this a clever OzBargain play on words, or heartfelt outrage?
Neither.
A woman died. Although the death itself was some time ago, it was only publicised a few days ago. Too soon for humor.
It would be the latter then. I was unsure as to the intent of the statement because it appears to be an unfortunately poor choice of words. I think only cantstanzya can answer this question as to his state of mind. In a subsequent post to this thread, it appears in fact it was a play on words (with a further five puns).
I guess my comments were a bit negative and had the capacity to upset some. I'll try to conduct myself more appropriately in the future.
@cantstanzya ;) i see what you do and I like .
My Apple USB wall adapter charger (original and purchased from USA) exploded on me when I used it in a New Zealand youth hostel with a brand-less au-to-international converter. My question is - Do you blame the converter, the charger, the shady power supply at a youth hostel or me? There's just too many variables - how did they pin point to a single object? There's also the part where there might be some voltage differences between USA and NZ (but I used it in AU for years with no problem)
My Apple USB wall adapter charger (original and purchased from USA)
When you say "purchased FROM USA". What exactly do you mean.
Those small square chargers are copied/counterfeited relentlessly. Many, if not most, carry Apple markings including the small green dot.
Did you buy it at an Apple Store in the USA, or from some online seller?
exploded on me when I used it in a New Zealand youth hostel with a brand-less au-to-international converter.
An adapter that converted from the NZ angled pin socket to your charger's two flat pins?
OR - A voltage converter (transformer) that steeped down from NZ's 240volts to 100-110volts.The cheap copies of Apple's USA iPhone charger are marked as being able to be used on100-240volts, but this is not true. My (basic) testing on several found that they could not 'handle' 220-240volts.
My question is - Do you blame the converter, the charger, the shady power supply at a youth hostel or me?
You, for buying the USA charger (possibly a copy or a counterfeit). The charger for being a copy or a counterfeit that was falsely rated at up to 240volts. Not the "converter" if it was simply a pass through adapter for the type of pins. However, if it was a transformer, it may have failed and passed the 240volts straight through to your AC wall charger.
There's just too many variables
No, not in your case. It was you and the USA market AC charger.
how did they pin point to a single object?
They examined the scene. Checked the body. Tested all the devices. Took statements from friends and relatives.
There's also the part where there might be some voltage differences between USA and NZ (but I used it in AU for years with no problem)
The USA style (copy and counterfeit) chargers do not always fail straight away. I had one that worked for some time before it failed. That is what made me test the rest that I had. We also cut one open. I got rid of them all and only purchased AU approved devices after that. I never had the chance to test/examine a genuine recent model Apple USA charger. However, in the old days (of the original iPhone) they were not rated at 100-240volts.
"Purchased FROM USA" - my sister bought it outright from the USA together with my ipad 1. So, I'm fairly certain it is original. In fact, after the incident, I popped into the Apple store in Sydney and they gave me a replacement for the adapter. Note: the one that popped on me wasn't the square cube one and had the green dot. More like this (http://store.apple.com/au/product/MD836X/A/apple-12w-usb-pow…).
"Purchased FROM USA" - my sister bought it outright from the USA together with my ipad 1. So, I'm fairly certain it is original. In fact, after the incident, I popped into the Apple store in Sydney and they gave me a replacement for the adapter. Note: the one that popped on me wasn't the square cube one and had the green dot. More like this (http://store.apple.com/au/product/MD836X/A/apple-12w-usb-pow…).
Here is a link showing the USA Market Chargers.
http://store.apple.com/us/ipad/ipad-accessories/power
The first one is the cube type. This is the only one that has the green dot. The early edition of this charger was recalled as they had a design/component fault(s). The later edition(s) had the green dot to differentiate them from the earlier faulty one. Note that this type of charger, at only 5w, is not really suitable for later model iPads - So I Am not sure why Apple USA include it on their Accessories page for iPads.
The second charger on this page is the type supplied with iPads in the USA and Australia. Only the 'duck tail' plug is different. Two straight pins for the USA, and two angled pins for Australia. This plug (the AU one) can be purchased from the Australian Apple stores (as can all the other types - USA, EU, UK/HK).
I am not sure what you mean by "had the green dot", as only the first type of charger has this.
I meant - "not the cube shaped charger with that green dot", seen those before, sorry. Yep, I know about the duck tail plugs and how they are interchangeable. The adapter I have now is this (http://store.apple.com/au/product/MD836X/A/apple-12w-usb-pow…). They took away the burnt one, I think it is the 12w version you mentioned in your link. Happened years ago - (ipad 1 era).
Anyway, I just wanted to highlight my experience with a non-counterfeit charger and show that there are so many factors. Your answer: "They examined the scene. Checked the body. Tested all the devices. Took statements from friends and relatives." explains well how they came to the conclusion. Anyway, thanks for all the thoughtful insights though.
Most are designed to do that when they receive a high energy charge caused by overvoltage, transient spikes and the like. Internal Safety feature.
"My.. USB wall adapter charger.. exploded"
Most are designed to do that….
Huh?
"My.. USB limpet mine.. exploded"
Most are designed to do that…
Fixed! ;)
have you witnessed a mov letting go ? Probably not. While not an explosion in magnitude they tend to go 'pop' when stressed to failure..
Yep. It did a loud "pop" and "flashed up" the whole room for a second. Thankful, it wasn't instantaneous after I plugged it in. A few seconds delay after I removed my hands from it. There were black stains on the wall socket and the adapter after the incident.
I've had a cheap charger from eBay explode once. It looked very similar to Daniel's birthday gift.
Yeah, that is the copy of the USA Apple charger. Of course this one has angled pins for AU/NZ. Others have the straight pins.
On another note. I really don't like how the news media keep going on about the insulation on the pins. That has nothing to do with these cases. The insulation can be found on the illegal uncertified chargers, and on the illegal uncertified counterfeit chargers that appear to be the same as genuine Apple Australia chargers. It is meant to stop very young children from being harmed if they pull the device from the wall socket and their little fingers touch the two pins. It has nothing to do with stopping the device from failing, and if it fails, from letting 240 volts pass through.
Can someone advise whether the cheap USB car chargers on eBay are also unsafe?
Can someone advise whether the cheap USB car chargers on eBay are also unsafe?
Yes, I can. The ones that do not have 'genuine' Electrical Safety and/or Standards Approvals are not safe for your vehicle's fuses, nor for the devices you charge. So, this would most probably be the "cheap" ones you asked about. They would not be likely to harm you though.
The takeaway - what to LEARN from this? - try to avoid:
1 - using headphones on your phone or tablet is on the mains charger, at the same time as
2 - being near other devices you could touch that might be earthed,
eg mains powered hifi equipment, wet floor, plumbing etcIe, not only avoid using cheap chargers but also - avoid phones while on charger.
Of course A3Australia is all over this
Heavy and inefficient power supplies with transformers used to be the way to go. As terrible as they were, the additional cost to turn a bad transformer a into good one was small.
Modern day switched mode power supplies are much cheaper to manufacture and are more efficient. But the additional cost to make them safe is higher than the additional cost of the transformer based power supplies.
Modern power supplies should have some sort of isolation from the wall so that the negative terminal can be theoretically grounded with anything. This is what allows two prong power plugs to be plugged in without regard to orientation (except in Australia because of the shape). There should also overload protection in case the output is exposed to a short circuit, adequate heat protection (well designed circuits would require less heat protection) and also in larger power supplies a current comparison between the positive and negative to make sure that they are equal (we use these in the lab, I am not sure if consumer devices have them). Also any significant current flowing through ground means that something wrong has happened and the power should be cut. Most importantly, if something faults in the device, it should stop working rather than go haywire.
What happened to that poor lady should not have happened. I am not sure what the solution is, but Australian consumers should be able to buy safe phone chargers and not have an electrical degree. Unplugging a phone while talking on it will always be safer but it should not be necessary.
So many BS lines in that article. In other news your tax dollars are being swindled for endless wars on innocent civilians for corporate profit, much like the way your tax dollars are being saved by lazy gov departments lying through their teeth about being unaware of such devices.
Keep paying your taxes while Apple, Google and virtually everyone else avoids them.
Why are the majority of these charger issues always related to an iphone?
because there are heaps of iphones on the market, and the chargers are overpriced.
Why are the majority of these charger issues always related to an iphone?
I doubt it's just iPhone-related. It just gets the most attention.
Probably has nothing to do with corporations (large and small) not paying enough for labour (whether it be growing coffee or making electronics). Slavery never ended. It just got globalised. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns-kJ5Podjw
Would it be fair to say the usb cables are safer than the transformer that goes with?
eg. I've bought a handful of cheap USB cables to charge my android devices.By cheap I mean, at the markets for around 8$
They do not include the USB to powerpoint transformer.
For those, I either use a computer's USB port or an official one that came with one of my devices (oh, I also have a Belkin one).Also, from the article, I'm still unclear of the configuration that lead to her death.
eg. It was a phone charger, but she was touching a laptop? Was she using a phone charger to charge a laptop or was she bridging a connection between her laptop and her phone by touching the laptop.
The headphones also complicate the scenario.It would be good if they explained these details to the public don't you think?
By cheap I mean, at the markets for around 8$
A MicroUSB cable shouldn't cost you more than AUD $1.50 delivered.
It would be good if they explained these details to the public don't you think?
Lamestream media has a lot to answer for. Sell the headline, don't worry about details. Give blanket warning about 'cheap' chargers.
Thanks for your reply.
I'm hoping to get an answer about whether the danger in this incident is more from the transformer versus the cable.
What do people think?
https://www.clipsal.com/getmedia/a794ac96-e2bc-4acd-9c38-c9b…
Top one looks crooked. Bottom one looks crooked. Middle one is fine. Bad Australian engineering and/or marketing. "She'll be right, mate."
Uses a charging current of 1.2A and uses less than 0.07W of power while in standby mode.
Not good enough. I can get 0.0W used in standby mode when I unplug a USB charger. And of course I can take that USB power anywhere. Not only that I can buy portable chargers for far less than the cost to install this thing. This is an item with very limited usefulness.
MAKE SURE YOUR CHARGER HAS AU TICK + PLASTIC AROUND THE METAL PINS THAT GO IN THE WALL.
MAKE SURE YOUR CHARGER HAS AU TICK + PLASTIC AROUND THE METAL PINS THAT GO IN THE WALL.
THIS WILL NOT HELP!
There are chargers in the Australian market that have insulation on the pins, and have the Australian C-Tick logo. They even have Apple Australia's supplier number next to the C-Tick. However, they are illegal, dangerous, non-compliant rubbish.
See the charger on the right in the first picture in this link.
http://www.righto.com/2014/05/a-look-inside-ipad-chargers-pr…
ebay has been asked by some sellers to remove listings for dangerous chargers/connectors such as this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Australia-Wall-Charger-AC-DC-Powe… but they have refused.
ebay has been asked by some sellers to remove listings for dangerous chargers/connectors such as this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Australia-Wall-Charger-AC-DC-Powe…
Why would "sellers" make this request? Were they sellers of approved chargers?
but they have refused.
Proof? Do you have a copy of such a refusal that you can post?
They're not sellers of any chargers, one of them is a long term seller of coffee making machines and concerned, others are general sellers.
Unfortunately, as I was not one who contacted ebay how am I to prove anything? Other than the word of other well respected sellers?
It's up to you whether you believe it or not.
Fair Trading has been informed and said they will be following it up.
Fair Trading has been informed and said they will be following it up.
Oh, OK then.
Much like this listing that was reported to Fair Trading on June 26th at 6:03pm via their FaceBook page?
https://www.facebook.com/FairTradingNSW
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Australia-Wall-Charger-AC-DC-Powe…
FairTrading replied at 6:57pm on the same date. Saying
thanks for bringing this to our attention. We will forward it on to our colleagues in compliance and enforcement.
However, as of 9:30pm on July 3rd the listing is still active and 1,705 have been sold.
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go elsewhere - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/118705 :)