# Cheap Electric fans/ Electrical safety



## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Watch out! These are the type of fans which don't have a guard around the blades, the blades themselves are usually made of thin flexible plastic, and they also have a clamp at the base similar to a large clothespin, so that they can be clamped onto the edge of a table or a shelf. I was notified by another expat that his house nearly burnt down because his wife had left the fan on in the bathroom while they slept and it started arcing and sparking and burning up the fan was only 2 years old. 

Okay real disturbing  because I have this same fan and I purchased it 4 months ago for 199 pesos but mine is clamped to a wooden beam in the bathroom it works well but I guess they can seize up and begin to burn up, it makes a rough sounding gear noise when it starts up because the electrical motor also spins with the blades. We have quality fans all throughout the house and this was the latest addition in the bathroom a cheap fan while you are doing your duty  and with the dry season approaching I will replace this fan with a higher quality one made out of steel and steel mounting.

My desktop power unit fan also has been making noises, shot bearings so yesterday I had the unit changed out and the technician tried to talk me out of it he said does this noise in the fan bother you and I told him I'm worried about overheating and a fire so it seemed like he didn't want the task. This is my 2nd power unit change since 2014 the computer is on most of the day.


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

M.C.A. said:


> My desktop power unit fan also has been making noises, shot bearings so yesterday I had the unit changed out and the technician tried to talk me out of it he said does this noise in the fan bother you and I told him I'm worried about overheating and a fire so it seemed like he didn't want the task. This is my 2nd power unit change since 2014 the computer is on nearly every day all day long.


More than likely the mindset to use something until it no longer functions/works or causes some other problem such as you mentioned about the fire.

Fred


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Now I am wondering if maybe my relatives here no something I don't. When I first arrived here 3 years ago there was some of the wife's relatives living in our house. I noticed that they always unplugged the fans, TV, cellphones, basically everything after they were done using it. I asked them why and they said it might catch on fire. I laughed.:faint:

I was sure they were full of it, and I still think that.

They think I am crazy for leaving all this stuff plugged in. They think I am ruining the battery on my cellphone for leaving it plugged in most of the time. Sometimes it is plugged in for days/weeks at a time without me even using it. Of course my batteries will probably last 5 years or more and they need new ones every year or two but it has nothing to do with them running there batteries low all the time and leaving it that way because they are afraid to charge it at night.


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## JRB__NW (Apr 8, 2015)

Hahaha.. funny!


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Good post Mark. An awful lot of the products for sale here including but not limited to fans is made in China and sent here for sale. China can and does make some good products but those are made and shipped to the US and other countries. The stuff they send here is for the most part just junk that people might be able to afford. Scary with electronics like that operating in our homes. It's not just the P199 fans too. Even the fans and other small electronics in Ace Hardware etc is just about the same quality even though it's high priced. It's best to replace all electric fans once every two years or so and to get and use smoke detectors and have one or two ABC type fire extinguishers in the house.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

The reason for unplugging is to prevent power surges during storms from wrecking them.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

Zep said:


> Now I am wondering if maybe my relatives here no something I don't. When I first arrived here 3 years ago there was some of the wife's relatives living in our house. I noticed that they always unplugged the fans, TV, cellphones, basically everything after they were done using it. I asked them why and they said it might catch on fire. I laughed.:faint:
> 
> I was sure they were full of it, and I still think that.
> 
> They think I am crazy for leaving all this stuff plugged in. They think I am ruining the battery on my cellphone for leaving it plugged in most of the time. Sometimes it is plugged in for days/weeks at a time without me even using it. Of course my batteries will probably last 5 years or more and they need new ones every year or two but it has nothing to do with them running there batteries low all the time and leaving it that way because they are afraid to charge it at night.


You shouldn't leave your phone on charge beyond full charge state, and you should in fact let it drop to a low charge before recharging. Leaving your phone permanently on charge will ruin the battery life.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

hogrider said:


> You shouldn't leave your phone on charge beyond full charge state, and you should in fact let it drop to a low charge before recharging. Leaving your phone permanently on charge will ruin the battery life.


My phone has Lithium Ion batteries so no need to run them low like a NiCad. Plus the phone has a smart charger that only charges when it needs to. It will be fine


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

Zep said:


> My phone has Lithium Ion batteries so no need to run them low like a NiCad. Plus the phone has a smart charger that only charges when it needs to. It will be fine


Even though your smart phone prevents the battery from being overcharged, it's still not a good idea to leave it on charge beyond 100%.
Even though a charger turns off the juice when your phone reaches 100%, the charger will continue to top off the charge during the night. Such a “trickle charge” attempts to keep it at 100% to compensate for the small bit of charge that your phone just naturally loses on its own. So your phone is constantly being bounced between a full charge and a bit below a full charge. These trickle charges can lead to higher ambient temperatures for your phone, which can reduce capacity over time.

“Li-ion does not need to be fully charged as is the case with lead acid, nor is it desirable to do so,” according to an article from Cadex’s Battery University site. “In fact, it is better not to fully charge because a high voltage stresses the battery.”


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## expatuk2016 (Mar 20, 2016)

Everything we are not using is unplugged at night or if we go shopping or for a meal etc.
The only thing left on is our CCTV system which is powered by a surge protector.
And i have literally seen a power surge jumping switches and shorting a circuit board and as there is no earth wiring system here in the Phillipines and wiring is normally just 2 black cables best to unplug things !
And yes i agree that most of the china made stuff here is not very good !
Recently we discovered HMR Sucat , which sell stuff mostly from Australia and the US.
There are bargains to be had we bought a coffee grinder brewer all in one machine at halfprice
And a car dash cam and a usb keyboard, and they tested everything in front of us everything worked as it should
Fresh brewed ground coffee mmmmmm


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

expatuk2016 said:


> Everything we are not using is unplugged at night or if we go shopping or for a meal etc.
> The only thing left on is our CCTV system which is powered by a surge protector.
> And i have literally seen a power surge jumping switches and shorting a circuit board and as there is no earth wiring system here in the Phillipines and wiring is normally just 2 black cables best to unplug things !
> And yes i agree that most of the china made stuff here is not very good !
> ...


If you have no earthing, grounding, system in your house, then I respectfully suggest that you never switch on any electrical appliances, and would advise you to have a grounding system installed ASAP.


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## expatuk2016 (Mar 20, 2016)

hogrider said:


> If you have no earthing, grounding, system in your house, then I respectfully suggest that you never switch on any electrical appliances, and would advise you to have a grounding system installed ASAP.


Was already done when we built our home all new wiring, circuit breaker boxes, inc seperate ones for the aircon and the out buildings. Based on uk wiring .


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

expatuk2016 said:


> Was already done when we built our home all new wiring, circuit breaker boxes, inc seperate ones for the aircon and the out buildings. Based on uk wiring .


I thought you said in your earlier post that there was no earthing system installed.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

expatuk2016 said:


> Was already done when we built our home all new wiring, circuit breaker boxes, inc seperate ones for the aircon and the out buildings. Based on uk wiring .


If your wiring installation is to UK codes, I assume that you RCD's installed. As you know MCB's will not protect against electric shock hazard.


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