beware of cheap extension cords
23 Jun 2008

The SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) has warned people they are in danger of burning their houses down by using a cord extension set marked "Lingtong".

"These products, distributed by Umbrella Industries and trading as PLA, have failed to meet the basic safety requirements...," the SABS said in a statement on Friday.   It had established that the conductor resistance on the products was high, which would allow more heat to flow through.

"... Should one plug in a lot of products, there could be a fire. The copper on these products has also been found to be impure," the SABS said.

SABS regulatory officials had tried to help the distributing company meet basic compulsory requirements, to no avail.  "The company also promised to remove these cables from the market but this has not been done."

The SABS said that while the cables were not easily identifiable, they were marked: Ø YUYAO CITY LINGTONG WIRE & CABLE CO., LTD

The cables ranged from three metres to five metres, 10m, and 25m.
The company's address was: Umbrella Industries t/a PLA, 486 Sydney Road, Durban.

"We sincerely appeal to members of the public and consumers to return these products to the point of purchase and refrain from using or buying these flexible cord extension sets," the SABS said.

Sapa,  http://business.iafrica.com