Power strips....no go...solutions?

[chengkp75]

It appears to be okay, but given the poor/inaccurate documentation they provided in the past, I'm skeptical.  The only way to tell for sure would be to open it up and look for the MOV semi-conductors.  You'll have to decide if you trust them or not.

[livingonthebeach]

42 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Received my new charger.

Is it the correct one that I can use safely on the ship? 

I took the exact same one on several different ships.  Never had a problem with it being confiscated or going up in smoke. I have to believe if they say it is non-surge and cruise approved that it probably is — otherwise they wouldn’t be in business for the length of time they’ve been operating. 

[Oxo]

34 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

It appears to be okay, but given the poor/inaccurate documentation they provided in the past, I'm skeptical.  The only way to tell for sure would be to open it up and look for the MOV semi-conductors.  You'll have to decide if you trust them or not.

Thanks for your opinion. I will use it. 

I guess we have to trust many things without opening them up. Even if I opened it up,  I would not know what a MOV is. 

Stay Safe! 

[Oxo]

On 9/24/2021 at 3:36 PM, chengkp75 said:

And so there is something magically different about cruise ship wiring?  Not hardly.  I know of one poster here on CC (don't recall their handle), that had their Belkin mini (the real popular one) go up in smoke.

Not to be argumentative, how many cell phone have exploaded and caused fires? Laptop batteries were a safety hazard years ago. 

Nothing is 100% safe. Baked Alaska was banned.  Cooking in the MDR. 

STAY SAFE AS BEST AS YOU CAN. 

[chengkp75]

2 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Not to be argumentative, how many cell phone have exploaded and caused fires? Laptop batteries were a safety hazard years ago. 

Nothing is 100% safe. Baked Alaska was banned.  Cooking in the MDR. 

STAY SAFE AS BEST AS YOU CAN. 

Yes, and every one of those things you mention have been changed due to the failures, or incidents like fires in the dining rooms.  However, surge protectors have not changed.  And, the poster was implying that just because the reported fires (and there is no central clearing house on shipboard fires, since they are all from different countries) happened on commercial ships and not cruise ships, that there was something different about cruise ships that protected the passenger when using a surge protector.

 

Look, I have no financial interest in whether some product is surge protected or not, I am merely like UL, telling people about safety hazards with certain items.  Frankly, I could care less if your electronics go up in smoke, my real concern is for those crew who have to risk their lives fighting a shipboard fire.  Do what you want.

[chengkp75]

25 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

I took the exact same one on several different ships.  Never had a problem with it being confiscated or going up in smoke. I have to believe if they say it is non-surge and cruise approved that it probably is — otherwise they wouldn’t be in business for the length of time they’ve been operating. 

How long have they been operating?  How long have they been selling electronics?  Do they make these?  Are they electronics people?  They were caught in the past with misleading advertising (the proof was carved into the plastic of the item), so why should I give them any benefit of the doubt?

[Oxo]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

Look, I have no financial interest in whether some product is surge protected or not, I am merely like UL, telling people about safety hazards with certain items.  Frankly, I could care less if your electronics go up in smoke, my real concern is for those crew who have to risk their lives fighting a shipboard fire.  Do what you want.

Fully understand your position and concern. I appreciate you taking the time to inform us! 

Thank you! 

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

How long have they been operating?  How long have they been selling electronics?  Do they make these?  Are they electronics people?  They were caught in the past with misleading advertising (the proof was carved into the plastic of the item), so why should I give them any benefit of the doubt?

 

You can question anything and everything in life with deep minutiae. I can only speak from my experience and that experience has been that I have used this product several times on different ships and never had a problem. I am not an electrical engineer nor do I open electrical devices to see what's in them. I only know that they didn't blow up, go up in smoke, caused cabin or shipboard fires and more importantly I didn't catch on fire -- that's all I need to know. Thanks for your edification though. 

[BND]

36 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

How long have they been operating?  How long have they been selling electronics?  Do they make these?  Are they electronics people?  They were caught in the past with misleading advertising (the proof was carved into the plastic of the item), so why should I give them any benefit of the doubt?

Most people do not understand what being a chief engineer on a ship means.  My DH served in the US Navy and retired as an O-6. We are very careful about what we bring onboard.  Fire is the absolute worst thing that can be dealt with on a ship.  I don't think most people realize how often fire drills are run for that reason. It doesn't matter if it's a cargo ship, a cruise ship or a Naval ship.  People are gonna try to get away with whatever they can because they've "never had a problem in the past".  Regardless of why the rules are in place.

 

Also, using the "cell phones have exploded" excuse is comparing apples to oranges.  As you said, changes have been made when problems like that happen.  Surge protectors are meant for land based power so there's no reason to change them as they are perfectly safe when used on land.  Cruise ships banned them for a reason and that reason wasn't to be a PITA for cruisers.  Geez.

[Oxo]

I served in the USAF and spent time in Vietnam. I had  years in NORAD and the USAF Academy. Retired with 20 years service.  Attended and conducted many training classes on many safety and security subjects.

I'm retired, so rank means nothing anymore. 

Do people put batteries in their check-in?

Cell phones are not apples and oranges.

Cars catch on fire sitting in garages.

There are so many things that could cause a fire. 

I believe we all understand that fire is something no one wants to start anywhere. 

We could change this to drinking,  drugs,  masks,  etc. 

Let's just hope that whatever it is, may we just try to stay Safe and respect each other's opinion. 

I really didn't need a new charger. However, based on the info I received, i took it to heart,  I bought a new charger. Now that may not be safe? 

Who is to say what is and what isn't? 

Stay Safe and Happy Cruising! 

 

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, Oxo said:

I served in the USAF and spent time in Vietnam. I had  years in NORAD and the USAF Academy. Retired with 20 years service.  Attended and conducted many training classes on many safety and security subjects.

I'm retired, so rank means nothing anymore. 

Do people put batteries in their check-in?

Cell phones are not apples and oranges.

Cars catch on fire sitting in garages.

There are so many things that could cause a fire. 

I believe we all understand that fire is something no one wants to start anywhere. 

We could change this to drinking,  drugs,  masks,  etc. 

Let's just hope that whatever it is, may we just try to stay Safe and respect each other's opinion. 

I really didn't need a new charger. However, based on the info I received, i took it to heart,  I bought a new charger. Now that may not be safe? 

Who is to say what is and what isn't? 

Stay Safe and Happy Cruising! 

 

Looks like you've been as diligent as you can, including directly asking the self-appointed critics if the charger is safe....who still can't give you a direct answer without telling you to take it apart. Somehow I think taking it apart and putting it back together would create an entirely new hazard. Maybe stick with the USB hub since no one has condemned it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

[Oxo]

7 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Looks like you've been as diligent as you can, including directly asking the self-appointed critics if the charger is safe....who still can't give you a direct answer without telling you to take it apart. Somehow I think taking it apart and putting it back together would create an entirely new hazard. Maybe stick with the USB hub since no one has condemned it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

Thank you! I never leave anything plugged in unless I am in the cabin or even at home.  Examples are razor,  phone,  flashlight to name a few. 

Stay Safe! 

[livingonthebeach]

2 hours ago, BND said:

Most people do not understand what being a chief engineer on a ship means.  My DH served in the US Navy and retired as an O-6. We are very careful about what we bring onboard.  Fire is the absolute worst thing that can be dealt with on a ship.  I don't think most people realize how often fire drills are run for that reason. It doesn't matter if it's a cargo ship, a cruise ship or a Naval ship.  People are gonna try to get away with whatever they can because they've "never had a problem in the past".  Regardless of why the rules are in place.

 

Also, using the "cell phones have exploded" excuse is comparing apples to oranges.  As you said, changes have been made when problems like that happen.  Surge protectors are meant for land based power so there's no reason to change them as they are perfectly safe when used on land.  Cruise ships banned them for a reason and that reason wasn't to be a PITA for cruisers.  Geez.

Geez is right.  You’re talking about me so I have a right to respond. I was referring to a non surge protector that I have used on many ships on multiple times. Get over yourself! 

[BND]

5 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

Geez is right.  You’re talking about me so I have a right to respond. I was referring to a non surge protector that I have used on many ships on multiple times. Get over yourself! 

I actually was referring to what Cheng posted, so talk about getting over yourself lol.  He has a ton of experience on ships and knows what he's talking about.

Edited September 26, 2021 by BND

[Nemomof3]

On 9/24/2021 at 2:27 PM, livingonthebeach said:

 

While there have been a few on commercial / container ships, I've never heard of cruise line fires being caused by SPDs.  Correct me if I am wrong. 

This couple were friends of a friend from Nebraska .While several things could have/should have saved them it was their power strip that started the fire. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3769250/Nebraska-couple-died-Amazon-cruise-inferno-alarms-failed-confused-crew-took-20-minutes-pull-burning-cabin-ship-continued-voyage.html

[vjmatty]

2 hours ago, BND said:

I actually was referring to what Cheng posted, so talk about getting over yourself lol.  He has a ton of experience on ships and knows what he's talking about.

Yet after being a very vocal and authoritative advocate on what power strips are not safe, he would not take a position on Oxo’s attempt at a compliant purchase, saying he couldn’t decide  without taking it apart.  If you’re going to put yourself out there as an expert by critiquing every item, even those specifically made for cruise ships, you’d better be able to answer questions about what is or is not a compliant device. 

[brillohead]

3 hours ago, vjmatty said:

Yet after being a very vocal and authoritative advocate on what power strips are not safe, he would not take a position on Oxo’s attempt at a compliant purchase, saying he couldn’t decide  without taking it apart.  If you’re going to put yourself out there as an expert by critiquing every item, even those specifically made for cruise ships, you’d better be able to answer questions about what is or is not a compliant device. 

Pretty sure what @chengkp75 said was that the newly purchased unit appears to be compliant, but that's just based on what can be seen on the outside of the product. 

Without magical x-ray vision through the internet, chengkp75 has no way of knowing if the product on the inside is exactly what it is purported to be by the writing on the outside.  That same company has, in the past, sold a product that they claimed was non-surge-protected, while it did, in fact, have a surge protector inside it.  

Not sure how you expect someone to issue a guarantee for a product they can't personally examine????

[brillohead]

9 hours ago, Oxo said:

Did you see the pics i posted of the charger I bought? I posted pics specifically for your edification. 

Am I safe to use it? 

Sorry, I was sleeping when you posted this.  (I work nights as an RN keeping a ventilator patient alive.)  

I believe that chengkp75 has addressed the relevant concerns.  (Thanks Chief!)

[livingonthebeach]

9 hours ago, BND said:

I actually was referring to what Cheng posted, so talk about getting over yourself lol.  He has a ton of experience on ships and knows what he's talking about.

Are you referring to the same person who adamantly stated the PVSA would never go away for Alaska cruises? 

[chengkp75]

18 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

Are you referring to the same person who adamantly stated the PVSA would never go away for Alaska cruises? 

Which it hasn't, it is only temporarily waived for a limited time, and for specific ships.

[livingonthebeach]

Just now, chengkp75 said:

Which it hasn't, it is only temporarily waived for a limited time, and for specific ships.

Right — and it’s on its way to becoming permanent. You came down on me hard for even suggesting that it could be a temporary solution. Guess what? It did happen.

[vjmatty]

4 hours ago, brillohead said:

Pretty sure what @chengkp75 said was that the newly purchased unit appears to be compliant, but that's just based on what can be seen on the outside of the product. 

Without magical x-ray vision through the internet, chengkp75 has no way of knowing if the product on the inside is exactly what it is purported to be by the writing on the outside.  That same company has, in the past, sold a product that they claimed was non-surge-protected, while it did, in fact, have a surge protector inside it.  

Not sure how you expect someone to issue a guarantee for a product they can't personally examine????

Well that’s true about everything isn’t it? We’re limited on a message board yet that didn’t stop the shooting down of compliant products. And the attitude against the OP who was just trying to be compliant was completely unnecessary. 

[RGEDad]

Thank you for this discussion chengkp75, I had used the Belkin device for a number of years when staying at hotels (Pre-COVID). When finally I took a cruise this month, and was doing my cruise packing, I could not find my normal (Pre-COVID) cruising power/charging/cable set-up so I just tossed the Belkin device into the bag - and used it. Not till this discussion did I recall why I did not use it for cruises previously - so thank you.

 

I worked for 40 years as an electrical engineer product manager making portions of RADAR systems for the military. One system in particular drove my power systems guys nuts as it had to work on both land and sea power systems, with terrible power source fluctuations specified, for 40 years. As the guy forking over the product development budget cash for the design, I had to not only fund the dual power source design, but pull out the textbooks for power system design that I had not touched in years to independently confirm the issues/design. I can confirm that it is different from land based systems, and normal power filtering systems cause problems. I can also confirm that MOVs degrade over time/stress.

 

Since I do not want to wake up in a smoke filled cruise cabin…I will just pay the $30 and get a new non-surge protected power splitter/charger. I just did. It really is a no brainer - One less thing to worry about.

 

Again: thank you chengkp75 for reminding me to check my devices on this issue. I appreciate your time and effort.

 

Now - back to the important cruise decisions…to get the Beverage Package or not - - These are the decisions that (should) try men's souls…

[Oxo]

45 minutes ago, RGEDad said:

Since I do not want to wake up in a smoke filled cruise cabin…I will just pay the $30 and get a new non-surge protected power splitter/charger. I just did. It really is a no brainer - One less thing to worry about.

 

With all your expertise,  you found the safe & compliant item. 

Why didn't you share that item on this thread? 

A pic and link would have been greatly appreciated. 

[livingonthebeach]

12 hours ago, BND said:

I actually was referring to what Cheng posted, so talk about getting over yourself lol.  He has a ton of experience on ships and knows what he's talking about.

Right - re-read your post - you are actually talking about two posters. I don’t know why you are against anything said. I can only go back and think about the issue with weight.