UL Warns of Potential Safety Hazards with Counterfeit Power Strips
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NORTHBROOK, Ill., Feb. 1, 2005 -- Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is notifying inspection authorities, retailers, and consumers that three-outlet power strips distributed by Enersonic bear counterfeit UL Listing Marks for the United States and Canada. These products do not meet UL safety requirements and may pose a risk of fire or electric shock. The use of the Listing Mark is not authorized by UL.

Name of Product: Enersonic, YLPT-1

Units: Unknown quantity.

Manufacturer: The manufacturer of these products has not been identified.

Hazard: These products may pose a risk of fire and electric shock. They have features that do not comply with UL safety standards, including incorrect wiring of the receptacles and an undersized power supply cord.

Identification:

On the enclosure: The power strips have a plastic enclosure with "Enersonic" molded on the enclosure's front side and "YLPT-1, 125Vac, 15A, 60 Hz, 1875W" molded on the enclosure back. A counterfeit UL holographic label is attached to the back of the enclosure which identifies the products as a "relocatable power tap."

On the power cord: The power supply cord is marked "16AWGX3C".

On the packaging: The top of the packaging is marked "Enersonic 3 Outlet Power Strip W/3' Cord." Near the center of the packaging is marked "ITEM# 10015 3 Outlet Power Strip W/3' cord." A counterfeit cULus Listing Mark is located on the bottom front corner.

The counterfeit power strips look similar to a power strip that is authorized to bear the UL Listing Mark manufactured by Ningbo Yaling Electrical Appliance Co, Ltd. The authorized power strip is marked with a date code on the back of the product. The date code consists of two circles with arrows in the middle molded into the bottom of the enclosure, one circle has two numbers representing the year and the second circle has one or two digits representing the month, the arrows point to the year and month of manufacture. The counterfeit products have no date code. The photographs below show the difference between the counterfeit power strip and the UL authorized power strip.

What you should do: UL recommends that users stop using the power strip immediately and return it to the place of purchase.

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Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent, not-for-profit product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for more than 110 years. UL tests more than 18,000 types of products annually, and more then 19 billion UL Marks appear on products each year. Worldwide, UL's family of companies and its network of service providers include 60 laboratory, testing and certification facilities.
(Thanks to Tony Moscioni for sending this in)