Cheap Charger off of eBay - Should I Start Carrying around a Fire Blanket? or Is It Safe?

The Milk Man on 29/06/2020 - 21:59

Heyo

I just bought 4 generic chargers on ebay - claims to supply up to 57W for $20 a piece
bargain? too good to be true?
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PushStart-57w-High-Capacity-fast…

I got a few questions hopefully someone more knowledgeable could help me with;

1) My phone is the Huawei P30 Pro , The charger it came with supplies 40W, will this do the same and charge it at the same speed?…
2) Is this device 'dangerous' to myself , my surroundings or my phone at all? or is it generally safe…?

Thanks!

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • singingwolf on 29/06/2020 - 22:12

    I was expecting a poll.

    • The Milk Man on 29/06/2020 - 22:16
      -1

      O
      Perhaps
      But I've got many questions :(

  • D C on 29/06/2020 - 22:23
    +1

    What certifications does it have?

    On the label it should have something from a test lab like a UL number.

    • The Milk Man on 29/06/2020 - 22:26

      Yet to get it! Purchased today! Will keep an eye out for that.

      • D C on 29/06/2020 - 22:38
        +1

        As @Boioioioi points out they could be fake, you do need to look up the number to see what it is actually for.

        A 'feel the quality' sometimes works, good chargers tend to have a bit of heft to them. Run it at full power for a while to see if it gets hot is also a good test.

        Generic stuff is a bit hit & miss. Sometimes you get lucky, sometime not. The usual problem is they're not rated for what is written on the box, but work perfectly fine if you only try and charge 2 phones, not 4.

        • The Milk Man on 29/06/2020 - 22:40

          How does one test a charger? :/ Not sure how to approach it or how to run it at its 'maximum' power

          • D C on 29/06/2020 - 22:47

            @The Milk Man: Plug a bunch of stuff in and see what happens.

            If the charger shuts down, or your phone starts complaining, or it gets hot then it's probably a dud.

            More enthusiastic folk will plug in a watt meter (a 40W charger would probably draw ~45-50W from the wall) or use those USB testers to check voltages & current.

            • The Milk Man on 29/06/2020 - 22:51

              @D C: i'll have to give it a go! thank you for the advice! ♥

    • The Milk Man on 01/07/2020 - 11:34

      Turns out they work with http://www.forcetechnology.com.au/ in some sort of way - since when I payed them it saysss…:

      You sent a payment of $79.96 AUD to FORCE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD

      Does it mean for anything?
      They have claimed in our conversations that they have had committed independent testing for their products and its on par with australian safety guidelines etc etc…

      does it make things better? lol

      • D C on 01/07/2020 - 22:30
        +1

        That makes things somewhat better.

        They've been importing stuff for 25 years, so they're not just some random dropshipper from China.

        The response you got is just the usual "Oh f' off" when some random off the internet annoys you with stupid questions, as the importer they're responsible for it's safety so they would have done the checks (ie look at the label) and just can't be bothered getting the paperwork and sending to you.

        It's a no-name generic cheapo item that'll probably work fine. It may last one year, it may last 10. Who knows.

        I wouldn't have a problem buying it, but I'd test it first like all the other cheap junk I buy.

        • The Milk Man on 01/07/2020 - 22:36

          They've actually been extremely polite and patient and agreed to my request to reinstate my purchase with the promotion that expired, they made me an offer link which again, kinda great.

          hopefully it doesn't suck ass!

          • D C on 02/07/2020 - 17:35

            @The Milk Man: There's plenty of reasons why it's cheap, not all bad. I doubt it was scraped off the bottom of the barrel and will explode when plugged in, at worst it won't quite live up to it's specs and die in a couple of years time.

            Eh.

            By that time you'll be wanting the next super duper thing.

  • Boioioioi on 29/06/2020 - 22:29
    +3

    I wouldn't trust it at all.

    Lots of these generic chargers put fake certifications on them too. Check out a channel on Youtube called BigClive for teardowns of cheap chargers. Often they have bad isolation and dangerous construction. Some are of course exceptions to this.

    I would stick to the cheap but reliable brands, like Xiaomi, Romos, Kogan etc.

    Also that seller has ~94% feedback rating on eBay. That is pretty terrible!

    • The Milk Man on 29/06/2020 - 22:36

      That's exactly what I thought may be the case, not sure why I let myself fall for it…
      Free return it is.

      I checked out the negative feedback, all were regarding the speed of a wireless charger

      Man , just wanted to deck my house with fancy quick chargers

      • Boioioioi on 29/06/2020 - 23:33
        +1

        Nothing stopping you, just do your research before buying when it comes to anything that gets power from the wall.

        Safety first!

  • Randxyz123 on 29/06/2020 - 23:06
    +1

    I wouldn’t use them. Really I wouldn’t. They could be safe but they could cause serious damage to your phone or worse, cause a fire. No insurer will cover that.

    Try to find a deal on a proper brand like Anker, Ravpower, Blitzwolf or Xiaomi. I’ve not seen a decent one for under $35. This one is $19 which sounds too good to be true

  • gummibear on 30/06/2020 - 00:10
    +1

    I feel anything like batteries or flashlights can't trusted from unreliable sources/brands in China

    Check out how badly all of the 18650 batteries compared with every single korean/japanese battery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMZuHMlRw_0

    They are cheap, but the output is so bad you get even less power per dollar than the more expensive batteries.

  • kenzstar on 30/06/2020 - 01:43
    +1

    I wouldn't risk a cheap charger, that can catch fire and burn my house down.

  • brad1-8tsi on 30/06/2020 - 11:07
    +1

    I think you'll find 57w is the combined output if you were cranking from all the outlets at once.

    The battery in your phone will last a bit longer if you don't use the fast charge feature all the time. The extra heat degrades them slightly.

    • The Milk Man on 30/06/2020 - 12:53

      That's another thing I had in mind… that it probably won't work the way I think it does.

      I just thought - if it can reach a 57w overall, if I connect only one device through the proper output , it could produce ATLEAST 40w just for that device, right?… or maybe not right :(

      • brad1-8tsi on 30/06/2020 - 14:57

        I don't know. It would depend on the transformer inside & how it is wired.

        I do know that I avoid using the fast charge feature on my phone unless I have to and use my other chargers 90% of the time.

    • The Milk Man on 30/06/2020 - 11:15

      ?
      What's your point

      • spackbace on 30/06/2020 - 11:18

        4 negs out of 81 feedback due to build quality.

        Do I need to paint you a picture?

        Charger only works on a very slim case. Charging is not continuous, very slow
        Terrible. Doesn’t work through case that all my other QI pads work fine with.
        Another company off loading none working crap on ebay…
        The charger is very slow at charger & you're not able to sit it up. Pointless

        • The Milk Man on 30/06/2020 - 11:20

          All reviews focus on the same product , I am not trying to defend them and I am not justifying them , but wireless chargers are fimmicky like that and unreliable…

          Have a decent company never made a product that flopped or turned to be pretty darn terrible?

          My question wasn't regarding their wireless charger…

          • spackbace on 30/06/2020 - 11:22

            @The Milk Man: They have a low number of feedback results for a company, to the extent that those 4 votes affected them by >5%.

            If you buy from a company with <98% feedback on eBay, then you may as well be throwing your money away at the same time, and to trust them with your phone…?! Cmon. It's not even like the price is that cheap compared to better branded, better reviewed units.

            • The Milk Man on 30/06/2020 - 12:49

              @spackbace: erm, it is significantly cheaper, I bought 4 units for $20 each , total of $80 , when a single unit from a 'reputable' brand is at 45-75

              again, while I appreciate your insight - I have bought from 'smaller' sellers and they've done wonderfully, so I don't take their lame wireless charger / their review count into account - doesn't mean much - I was specifically addressing the matter of is it hypothetically safe to use.

              • spackbace on 30/06/2020 - 13:03

                @The Milk Man:

                I was specifically addressing the matter of is it hypothetically safe to use.

                And there's obvious issues with build quality with other items they sell, which you don't seem to want to put 2 and 2 together.

                • The Milk Man on 30/06/2020 - 13:23

                  @spackbace: Nobody said anything regarding the 'build quality' - but the item performance , like I mentioned , if you know wireless chargers, they're very fimmicky and either a lame gimmick of proper. Just because 1 product failed doesn't mean the whole store is a sh!thole. You're very quick to call out those 4 negative reviews on the one product but I didn't see you address the other positive reviews.

                  I have done my math, but in your books it appears to come up as 22 <3.

                • brad1-8tsi on 30/06/2020 - 15:05

                  @spackbace: @spackbace

                  Give up mate. It reminds me of customers that keep telling you how good a Proton Wira is and you are selling Corollas. You are better off going and making a coffee. :-)

                  • spackbace on 30/06/2020 - 15:18

                    @brad1-8tsi:

                    You are better off going and making a coffee. :-)

                    I did :P

  • rompastompa on 30/06/2020 - 13:28
    +1

    Have a read of this thread. Kind of unrelated being about uncertified devices being on OzBargain, but you may find some information re; 2) your safety/legality/insurance.

    • The Milk Man on 30/06/2020 - 13:40

      Thanks!
      At this point I actually just got them to cancel the order and received my money back…
      its probably safer off that way

      But this is awfully educational!
      Thanks again!

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