I changed two controllers/transformers earlier for a friend. I was there to do six. I connected the first two and well, they blew up .
My Rule of Thumb for ordering in the cheep (Chinese) online shops: If it’s electric, comes in contact with skin or food it’s probably dangerous.
I’ve bought heaps of 240VAC rated items from AliExpress and not had a problem. They’re definitely cheaply made for the most part, and I generally give them a once over to identify any glaring issues… but I’ve got heaps of stuff out there working just fine.
Is it possible you got the wired mains to the low voltage side? I remember a box of LED drivers I bought came with the 240V side using red+black, and the low voltage side using brown+blue that looked awfully similar. Had one go pop before we busted it open and realised the version that came on the unit had the wiring colours the exact opposite. What made life even harder is that the top cover was symmetrical and had been put on back to front… so 240V was on the “correct” colour side.
You say this like a lot of the stuff you buy from Aussie shelves isn’t bought in bulk from the exact same suppliers as Aliexpress. You just need to do the work to find reputable stores. If it’s the cheapest price available, and the store has a bunch of random numbers in its name, pawbably give it a miss.
The difference is testing and warranty.
If you buy it local, it has to adhere to ACCC guidelines.
They will import 50, do local quality control, send back the defective ones and sell what is left at a markup.
If you think QC is happening locally, then I have a bridge across the Yangtze to sell you bestie.
Only one? I want to buy in bulk.
The store will be liable for any and all damages to life and property which incurs from selling faulty products though.
There’s significantly more risk when purchasing directly from a Chinese supplier. It’s borderline impossible to hold a foreign company with no actual presence in your country accountable for damages.
Sorry for pointing something out…
Sorry, it just came across as the whole “China makes low-quality goods” racism that’s been around for decades at this point.
China does make a LOT of really low quality goods. However…
… those goods are made to the quality specified by the importer / wholesaler / buyer…
… because ‘cheap’ goods are often preferred over ‘more expensive but higher quality’ goods…
… by the people who buy them.Which is probably what happened in this case!
I *think* that most Ming dynasty vases are still ‘under warranty’!
That’s just a product of them making a LOT of goods for the world. If you have a flagship smartphone, it was probably made in China.
Stuff you buy from physical Aussie store shelves have been validated to meet our standards though. Doesn’t stop me from buying plenty of stuff from AliExpress though
Other way around. Hence recalls.
Your saying I’ll be shocked at by the low resistance deals? Ohm my god! You could not induce more topical current event news.
Your comment Hertz me.
you really put me in laplace ; it really resonated with me, and since I’m open to feedback I’ll attenuate the frequency
Please, now it megahertz
Oddly this doesn’t deter me at all, but I don’t buy mains connected components off aliexpress. Tons of DC stuff and I’ve never had an issue
Pretty much anything that has the capacity to kill you should be avoided for the most part on these sites. Which is to say, most if not everything.
If you dont aim for the cheapest, you can buy pretty much anything you want there without worries
Sounds reasonable.
The insulation between the windings was probably non-existent.
Also… uh… TO-263 packages are surface mount and likely require heat dissipation of some kind. There is a chance that heat sinking isn’t required, but it’s standard practice to at least ground the tab. (Using the package like that for quick at home projects is fine. Putting it in a production power supply like that is just silly.)
Throw the rest of those powes supplies you have directly in the bin. It’s not worth the risk with those shitty transformers and that poor design. It would really suck if a failure mode sent mains voltage through what you are powering. (It needs a full teardown to say for certain though.)
No worries. They were bought by the home owner.
@DiaDeLosMuertos I bought the cheapest thing on the market from someone who’s not contractually obliged to look after me, and bad things happened!
Colour me surprised…
I didn’t buy them.
