USB sockets in 13A socket outlets. Are they safe?

[rustic]

There seems to be a lot of places now selling these double and single wall sockets that have USB's outlets, what a great idea... I thought. :augie
I bought a couple from Aldi last week, at under a tenner... then I thought just how safe are they?

So I searched on the internet and found this test report.

http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/mediafile/100145109/web_usb-article-from-so32.pdf

Now these things are on 24/7 no way of turning them on or off locally, and are protected only by the 30Amp fuse or trip in the main switch board.

Whilst the report only tested certain ones, and not necessarily Aldi ones, it did set me thinking.
In the report it states there is no provision for them in the current regs for the design of wall sockets, etc, most of those tested fail basic testing, the one that concerns me is the creapage and clearance, this is the protection you have from getting a 240 volt shock from the USB should it fail.

Well I haven't fitted them yet, so when I find the receipt I am off to Aldi for a refund.
Am I being too cautious?:nenau
First read the report and make your own decision, and please comment.

Uncle Rustic.
Caring about health and safety, when I have my "Uncle" hat on lol...:augie

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

fair points raised. had a couple of plug in ones go pop, with quite a bang!

so are plug ins even fused, or is it fail and dispose?

if not in regs i'd give a miss. we leave 4 plug in type er plugged in live all the time
reckon cant have enough. perhaps its time furniture, well sofas had them built in
like modern public transport at seat types.

perhaps best bet is the multi plug in types for say bedroom and kitchen and can
then use originals near sofa.

[jims-terrano]

Personally I don't like them. Chargers are often the cheaper built devices and I would personally like to be able to isolate them. Not sure if any of them actually have fuses inside the standard chargers.

[rayf3262]

Those manufactured by MK have a shutter on the USB socket that disconnects them from the AC supply when no USB connector is inserted.
They also claim to have safety standards to BS 1363-2 etc.

But, they are around 25 quid a pop...

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

for that could get decent plug throughs and be able to move as needed

[Mobieus_uk]

no less safe than the cheap plug in adaptors, as long as your house wiring is up to scratch then any electrical problems then electrics should trip

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

this looks decent with usb to top rather than near earth pin of 13A

circuit breaker and on off switch, tenner.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-SRGAUSBPW-Surge-Protected-Charger/dp/B007TQNUCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455381541&sr=8-1&keywords=usb+through+plug

[jims-terrano]

no less safe than the cheap plug in adaptors, as long as your house wiring is up to scratch then any electrical problems then electrics should trip

That's the concern that I have with them, the very cheap chargers. Wouldn't have a el cheapo ebay charger in the house. You can only hope that a charger with a device supplied by a reputable source is better made but even the fire service don't recommend leaving this type of device unattended.

[macabethiel]

I fitted one (double socket with 2 USB outlets) about a month ago that I bough off e-bay on my tiled kitchen wall with no nearby combustibles! I saw the CostCo ones but wanted white plastic for our Kitchen.

They are comply with BS 7671 and are marked BS 5733 & BS 1363 SS145 from a UK supplier who is VAT registered they were not the cheapest but they seem well made.

I have quite a bit of clearance at the rear of the boxes for cooling. My Consumer unit has trip fuse & RCB so am happy they will be OK.

I would have preferred a design where the plug switch also switched the USB power so that they are not on all the time with an open circuit presumably.

P.S. I would worry more about our Tumble Dryer setting fire !!

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

just bought a 5 port desktop charger, has figure of 8 mains cable
and moulded plug has fused plug. off at a tangent but will give
me much more charging flexability in lounge, oh and pack of long usb
to micro cables, 1x 1 foot, 2x 3 foot and 2x 10 foot.

good non truck thread though!

[rustic]

...I would have preferred a design where the plug switch also switched the USB power so that they are not on all the time with an open circuit presumably.

P.S. I would worry more about our Tumble Dryer setting fire !!

I think it's all about leaving it left unattended for 24 hours a day. 365 days a year for the duration of the house's life. or a rewire etc.

Now I would have confidence with the MK ones as they switch off.

One of my previous jobs was running an EMC test facility and RFI test chamber, and CE marking for compliance, we tested many power supplies mostly of the plug in transformer type, the fusing on them was basically a thermal fuse which ruptured if the PSU got hot. These PSU's were sealed units, and if the fuse went, you binned it.

We actually tested them to destruction, overloads, short circuits, over heating, high voltage spikes on the primary and insulation tests between primary to secondary, before and after failure. It was great fun using upto 16kV lol.
Low voltage mains, high voltage mains, drop outs, brown outs. We rejected many due to electrocution risk, a few actually caught fire. Others just melted, but may have caused other local materials to ignite.
Also it is difficult to find which legislation to test against, as some are used in IT, some as chargers, some in industry some in medical applications etc,
Some might meet some specs and be ok, but fail others as the test is more stringent.
The other issue is that you cannot be sure if the correct power supply is used with the designed equipment. Hence two similar PSU's of similar size have different EN numbers etc.
Hope this helps.
Rustic