31 December 2013

Shoddy Workmanship Results in Burnt Electrical Plug

Season's Greetings and Happy New Year.

This time I won't be ranting about the scheiss of the IT industry. Instead, I'm going to relate to you a real problem I've noticed with a widely available electrical accessories some of which are OK, whilst others downright shoddy.

Life is so convenient these days, three-in-one instant coffee packages with coffee powder, sugar and creamer premixed and sold in packets (no wonder Malaysia has the highest incidence of diabetes in the region), ready-assembled printer cables, prefabricated computer power cords and so on.

The day before yesterday, my cousin passed me a ready-assembled extension power bar to inspect and see what I could do about it. Part of the plug attached to it had melted, presumably after it was used it to power something which drew a high current.

Now here's a picture of the plug. Click on it to view it in full size.


Opening it up revealed that there was a small fire inside by the live pin, which had blackened the fuse. Lucky the fire was contained and did not spread. (See below)