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ISSN 1030-2662
4
SILICON CHIP
Appliance safety is a concern
Are you concerned about the safety of your home appliances? Of course,
you are. Everyone is. But you probably do not worry too much when buying
a new appliance because most electrical appliances are subject to stringent
approval testing by electricity authorities.
In the past, such approval testing was (and still is) the bane of manufacturers and importers but most people would have felt that if it ensured
appliance safety then it was a good thing. But now it turns out that electrical
safety is not guaranteed by approval testing.
For quite a few years now we have been concerned that the power cords
and plugs of appliances such as heaters have not had adequate ratings. And
we can point to one glaring example - the Mistral GyroAire range of fan
heaters. In fact, a few years ago we had one of these in our lab to replace the
power cord which was clearly inadequate. This was a 10-amp 2400 watt
appliance and the power cord became very hot in normal operation. We
replaced both the cord an d the plug. In fact, we even wrote it up as a 3-page
story entitled "Making Your Electric Radiator Safe" in the October 1989
issue. We thought we had made a big enough issue of it at the time but it
turns out that we should have made a big stink.
Why? Because it turns out that the Mistral GyroAire GA12 and GA16 fan
heaters (units made before 1979) have caused the deaths of two children
and at least 100 fires! Furthermore, according to the coroner's report on the
deaths of the two children, the company involved, Kemtron Pty Ltd (now in
liquidation), knew the risks and engaged in a "cover-up" operation. So if
you have one of these fans in your household, take a hammer to it and
smash it u p.
Clearly then , the present process of appliance testing does not stop all the
crook on es going to market. Or perhaps it does not stop previously approved
appliances from being downgraded by the manufacturers so that they
become unsafe. How many other unsafe appliances are out there? Nobody
knows.
We think that the whole process of approval testing and standards should
be reappraised. Perhaps there are too many appliances to be tested. Maybe
the testing should be more rigorous for room heaters and hairdryers and less
so for oth er appliances. Or do we just leave the system of testing as it is and
say that two deaths an d 100 fires is not a bad result, given the present cost
of testing? I don't think so.
Leo Simpson
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