Be careful of FAKE SSR's not UL rated and they don't hold up
There are fake SSR's out there that are not UL rated, here's an ebay listing for a PDI package that includes a thermocouple and a fake SSR, be careful of what your buying.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261286976034...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Here's a link with details and good photos showing what to look for.
http://canada.ul.com/safetyalerts/ul...lease-13pn-52/
So the "Taiwan made" one is the real deal. I woulda fell for it. $52 for a complete package is hard to resist. Thanks for the heads up!!!
KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.
I love all caps. Shows me the seller really cares... snif! holding back the tears...Originally Posted by benellinut
"Note that the Model SSR-25 DA relay with the counterfeit UL Mark is similar to Model SSR-25 DA that is authorized to bear the UL Mark.
The relay that is authorized to bear the UL Mark is marked “Rated: 25A max.” and “Taiwan Made” on the label, these markings do not appear on the counterfeit product.
In addition, the lower right corner of the label recess area is beveled on the relay that is authorized to bear the UL Mark and all corners of the label recess are squared on the counterfeit product."
Just because this one example was caught, does not mean that some smart scammer can't come up with a better sticker... Looking forward to the TPP with asia so all these fake products will be taken off the market...
Let's be careful out there...
Last edited by ohland; 05-28-2015 at 09:38 AM.
Belle, Belle, Belle!
Purty Gu-ur-url!
Well to be fair, the seller may not know he's selling fakes, I'm going to send him a message with a heads up.
When I was researching PID parts a while back I came across this tear down of a fake Fotek SSR: http://www.instructables.com/id/The-...it-FOTEK-SSRs/ . There is another tear down in the comments now and quite a few others if you search with all sorts of issues.
Real Fotek site in English:
http://www.photosensor.com.tw/ ?
Unfortunately, all links are in Taiwanese, and I cannot find anything...
Last edited by ohland; 05-28-2015 at 01:33 PM.
Belle, Belle, Belle!
Purty Gu-ur-url!
UL approval is only necessary if you are using it in a regulated area that requires registered products for insurance & liability purposes. It means the manufacturer just paid 10's of thousands of dollars and waited possibly years for the "lab" to pass "their" tests and approve their product. Same with FM (factory mutual) and CSA (Canadian standards association) approvals. Having those approvals does NOT mean the stuff does NOT work. Far from it! It just means the manufacturer will sell it for a whole lot less because he has not spend copious amounts of time and money getting a certification from the "lab".
Why do you think so many products now run on "wall Wart" transformers? Because they only need approvals on the TRANSFORMER that outside the box. That allows them to change anything and everything IN the box without going thru the gauntlet of re-approval. Years ago, EVERYTHING has internal transformers and power supplies. Not any more!
I doubt if any of our casting shacks stack up to those needed qualifications! Especially when everybody is buying all this cheeeeep PID carp from Asia,
If it works...............IT WORKS. UL means nothing to the normal person.
banger
IF it works LoL
I sent the seller a message with a heads up with the link on how to spot the fakes. He replied, he wasn't appreciative of my heads up, said he's sold over 5K of those.
From the listing: "THESE ARE STILL WARM WHEN THEY GO IN THE BOX OFF THE TEST BENCH"
Hmmmmm. Might be a clue.
Interesting read;
The 25 Amp SSR was manufactured with a BTA12-400C TRIAC. I did a quick online search and discovered that the part is rated at a continuous load of 12 Amps and a non-repetitive load of 126 Amps. In other words, the TRIAC used in the 25 Amp SSR is only rated for 12 Amps! Here's my BTA12-400C Google search
The 40 Amp SSR was manufactured with a BTA20-600C TRIAC. I did a quick online search and discovered that the part is rated at a continuous load of 20 Amps and a non-repetitive load of 200 Amps. In other words, the TRIAC used in the 40 Amp SSR is only rated for 20 Amps! Here's my BTA20-600C Google search
I did a third search on FOTEK SSR counterfeit and discovered This Articleas well as hundreds of forum conversations claiming counterfeit. And even though some of the counterfeit claims are likely failures caused by improper installation, apparently counterfeit SSRs are quite a problem! My next question was - are there even legitimate FOTEK SSRs out there? Yes there are and here is their Web Site. And BTW, I'm not just picking on FOTEK or Amazon.com. If you decide to buy any brand SSR from any online supplier including Amazon, eBay or "Joe's SSR Shop" not licensed to sell the product you are basically making a "shot in the dark" purchase.
As we use 230v here, my pots are only drawing about 4-5 amps, so even if I had an "under-rated" SSR it should still work fine. You'll only run into a possible problem if you max out the current draw. It's a pretty safe bet that many of us could have these without knowing it, but as bj said, as long as they're working what does it matter.
Having one fail isn't a big deal either, having one cause a fire is another story.
I feel bad. All I can summon up is a big lazy yawn. So the Chinese are knocking each other off? Nobody cares when they do it to us. I don't see anything that leads me to believe that my PID would go up in a ball of flame if I had one of these SSRs, which I don't.
Sigh, read the links. Some of these are failing and staying ON. What would an oven do it you have a relay stick ON while baking your coated bullets? How many people turn on the PDI and oven and walk away from it? No big deal? OK LoL.
Luckily SSR's fail open circuit or we would have lawyers all over this due to fires etc. I prefer to buy my SSR's and any other electronic parts from US distributors as I have a better chance to get a warranty replacement or tech support. Both of these services cost and it is reflected in the price. There is a fine line between cheap and economical so makes your choices.
Liberalism is the triumph of emotion over intellect, but masquerading as the reverse.
I don't know how we ever shot maximum loads before P/C come along and saved us all. R5R
"No mosque in the United States flies an American flag."
"Dueling should have never been made illegal in this country. It settled lots of issues between folks."- Char-Gar
So, someone is basically buying the lower amperage models, changing the labels, and selling them as higher amperage models. I'm glad I went with the 40A model then. I guess I now need to go check to see if I lucked out and got a real one or a relabeled one...
My first 2 25 amp SSR's failed within a years use, so I went with a 40 amp even though I was told here it was overkill. 4 years later it still works. Sometimes overkill is good. I'm gong to check the labels on mine just for fun, though.
Mine's the real McCoy.
KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.
And this is a fake one, right?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/For-PID-Temp...item5675286879
KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.
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