Advice sought on why 6.8A USB charger melted USB cable today

[nospam]

a much easier solution is simply click the close box.

[tlvp]

Not the more expensive of the two, that's for sure. But not the cheaper one, either, *unless* I had reason to believe that at least one of the vendor, the manufacturer, or the marketplace in which the offering was made could be relied upon to guarantee my reasonable satisfaction.

Case in point: I just had delivered via USPS a CaseLogic 3-port USB charging device, described as having Output 5V, 4.1A, 20 W.

Translation: the nominal output potential is 5V (probably +/- 10%); the USB port markings show two ports marked 1A and one marked 2.1A. I wouldn't want to push those to the limit, either, btw. Anyway, those figures add up to -- are consistent with -- 4.1A total output); and the 20W rating probably should be read as "don't try to push your luck, 'cuz 5V at

4.1A will result in 20.5W of power, and this device isn't good for that much -- keep the output well under 20W, and you'll be OK".

IOW, individually, each USB port *may* be good for sourcing up to the current printed alongside it (1A, 1A, 2.1A), but certainly don't expect all three to deliver full current at the same time :-) .

(BTW, that was under $10 postpaid, tax included, from a vendor I trust. CaseLogic I see lots of vendors offering, over a very broad price-spectrum, so neither brand nor price was in any way a selling point, pro or con.)

HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp

[tlvp]

Don't be too quick to bogle at that discrepancy -- I too have seen exactly the same item being offered by a variety of Amazon Marketplace vendors at prices ranging from the ridiculous through the sublime to the astronomical. Not all that often ... but recurrently, all the same.

Books; automated cat feeders; BlackBerry PlayBook leatherette covers; ... . (For the cat feeder, the best price turned out to be the single unit price direct from the factory itself. One amazon vendor wanted double that :-) .)

Cheers, -- tlvp

[Danny D.]

nospam wrote, on Fri, 04 Dec 2015 22:39:05 -0500:

There isn't any way to close it by clicking. At least not in Firefox. I've tested this with others and they agree.

[nospam]

sure, but that's not the same thing. a seller can ask for whatever they want and buyers can choose to pay or not pay.

he didn't say it was the same product. often, people compare products that they think are similar, but it turns out to be different products with different specs, so it's no surprise that the price is different.

[nospam]

every browser window has a close box, including firefox. one click and the page (not the popup) is gone.

any website that makes things difficult to read is not worth bothering with. there are zillions of other sites from companies that treat users with respect, along with products that don't have discrepancies in their specs.

[Danny D.]

nospam wrote, on Sat, 05 Dec 2015 07:16:49 -0500:

All the links I provided at various wattages and prices were the same product exactly (other than the name on the outside).

Most consumers aren't detail oriented, so, if they see only the $60

40 Watt part and the $15 35Watt part, they're likely to overspend to get the extra Watts which don't exist.

[Danny D.]

nospam wrote, on Sat, 05 Dec 2015 07:16:50 -0500:

In this case, I showed how to turn off javascript so that /you/ could see the site so that I would answer /your/ questions.

Anyway, it's pretty clear that it's a lie by now. I'm trying to find out how to send that by mail to consumers union.

Does anyone have a valid complaint mail for consumer's union?

[Danny D.]

nospam wrote, on Fri, 04 Dec 2015 22:39:05 -0500:

That won't work if what I was showing you was the text of the web page (which, let's remember, was why).

[Tony Hwang]

You mean Apple won't care if you buy a stuff from Apple store? Thunderbolt cable is very, tiny if pumping 6 Amp. of current non-stop it'll charge battery for sure but because El cheapo one is just a power supply without smartness there is no tapering back of current when battery is nearing fully charged causing over heat and even melt the tiny stranded wires in the cable. 6 Amp is quite a current. iPAD is not a cheap device, my family only uses Apple charger came with iPAD.

[Bruce Sinclair]

Never. It could indeed. :)

[Bruce Sinclair]

Agreed. Conversationms would be had. :)

[Bruce Sinclair]

And that's why % are such a bad idea. :) :)

Agreed about resistors. The *really* expensive ones are +/- 2% (or less). :)

[Bruce Sinclair]

Precision is what you pay for in a resistor. A lot. :)

[Bruce Sinclair]

Well said !

[Bruce Sinclair]

$15 ... I could get 2, making 70 W ... and still have $30 left. :)

[nospam]

they'd obviously prefer if you do but there's no requirement to do so.

thunderbolt cables do not pump 6 amps. they're mainly used for displays and hard drives, the latter of which might draw 1 amp at the *most* and only for spin-up.

ipads are comparable in price with competing tablets.

[nospam]

it's better to not fail in the first place.

nothing is perfect, but buying a reputable brand which is known for reliability is the best way to minimize how often you have to go back to get something fixed.

[Bruce Sinclair]

.. and most consumers (let's make up some numbers here ...), say >95% won't know/care. Remember, this is why windows "sells" so well - people don't know/care. :) The few complaints they get from people that do know and care, will be ignored. They don't care, because they are selling heaps of these to people that don't care. :)

.. then if the things break you take/send it back to the shop you bought it from for a refund/replacement. You did do this, right ? :)

(snip)

[Bruce Sinclair]

I still disagree here about this.:)

IME, you are better to buy from somewhere that has great service, than a great brand. Things fail. Great service will fix/replace them. Manufacturers/"brands" won't care. :)