OT/ UL Certification When Needed

[J Tiers]

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VDE evolved to CE through I don't know the stages. CE in theory is good, but it involves self certification. I could read the relevant sections of the manual and self certify products. There is no oversight and I have questions in my mind about safety.

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There is oversight.

Several companies in the EU specialize in checking products and calling out problems. Some of them are little more than blackmailers, threatening to turn you over to the authorities, but they still find problems. Generally, they want to verify the fix, and do the certification testing for you, which is how they make money.

Any claim of non-compliance is grounds for the authorities investigating and stopping import, sales, etc, plus imposing fines, if issues are found. Any product can be selected, and the documentation supporting the CE mark demanded. There are a lot of products, so probably some slip through on a "piece of paper" self declaration.

We looked at the entire picture, and concluded that the best process was to put the products through formal testing for CE (we used ETL for that). The blackmailers tried it out on us, but we were fine without their "help", since we had actual test results.

I suspect many products in the US sneak through on false UL labels as well. Any system has those who want to evade it.

[RancherBill]

There is oversight.

Several companies in the EU specialize in checking products and calling out problems. Some of them are little more than blackmailers, threatening to turn you over to the authorities, but they still find problems. Generally, they want to verify the fix, and do the certification testing for you, which is how they make money.

Any claim of non-compliance is grounds for the authorities investigating and stopping import, sales, etc, plus imposing fines, if issues are found. Any product can be selected, and the documentation supporting the CE mark demanded. There are a lot of products, so probably some slip through on a "piece of paper" self declaration.

We looked at the entire picture, and concluded that the best process was to put the products through formal testing for CE (we used ETL for that). The blackmailers tried it out on us, but we were fine without their "help", since we had actual test results.

I suspect many products in the US sneak through on false UL labels as well. Any system has those who want to evade it.

Good to know about the EU, but my real concerns are with China. Forgery of symbols is a problems. I have seen UL/CSA holographic labels.

I just saw this. hahaha As always it's the wild wild west.

[J Tiers]

With china, all bets are off. I've dealt with them before, it's like they really try to do things wrong sometimes.

And the UL thing goes along with what I thought about non-tested products.

Then, you may recall all the stuff a few years ago about lead paint on children's toys etc, poisonous material in toothpaste, food with non-nutrient material added to bulk up the protein analysis, etc, etc. Just plain not trustworthy.

I blame that on the entire "letter of credit" system. You have to pay in full, effectively non-refundable, before the product is shipped. Good luck getting any compensation for defects.

We found things done wrong, parts not rated for the voltage installed, actual unauthorized alterations in the PC board pattern, etc, etc. All of it "on us", because we had to pay before getting access to the products for checking.