Dangerous water feature.

[Graham.]

I bought this indoor fountain from a large and otherwise reputable garden centre.

The first thing I noticed that it was broken, a leaf had broken off the stem, so I will need to return it, then I noticed the electrical parts and decided no way do I want a replacement.

As you can see the little submersible pump is mains powered, the flex goes straight in the water!

Other things worthy of note, the earth pin is shrouded, OK there is no connection to it but it's a sure sign that any compliance markings are fake.

The so called BS 1363 fuse is probably fake and has no arc quenching sand, it weighs a gram less than genuine ones. It's also 13A, I would have expected 3A in such an item

The cable is probably copper, it's not attracted to a magnet it has

2X0.75mm^2 embossed on it, but who know without an autopsy.

No doubt I will get my money back, but I want to make it clear to the garden centre that this is a serious trading standards issue and they need to take their remaining stock off the shelves.

I just want to check that what I say to them is completely factual, in particular what would be the IP rating of a genuine mains submersible pump, if indeed such a thing exists.

[tabbypurr]

that's normal

yes, and it'll fail any basic safety test

not ASTM approved, another safety fail

given the above 2 features I'd not be surprised if the flex is not what it claims, who knows.

I don't know if trading standards will care enough to do anything. The things may be noncompliant but that's all. Stuff like that is somewhat common.

On something that doesn't match what it should, any claimed IP rating is worth little. The only way to find out will be to disassemble it.

I wouldn't get too excited, just reject it on safety & legal compliance grounds.

NT

[Brian Gaff]

That sounds very suspicious. All the features I've seen run at low voltage, unless its a huge thing as often used in shopping centres. Sounds like a nightmare when you consider what rats can do to cables on the ground with no protection. Brian

[T i m]

Isn't that exactly the same case with every fish tank heater / thermostat, underwater fan or submersible (mains) / pond pumps etc so not an issue in itself?

Cheers, T i m

[ARW]

[ARW]

Well the cert should be on the company's webs site. Here it is;-)

Personally I would like to see the product pulled off the market.

[Chris Green]

That is absolutely normal now with pond pumps etc. That's not to say that this one is good but the 'design' is allowed I think.

[Roger Hayter]

Mains voltage submersible pumps are commonplace. I doubt if rodents are a significant factor for an indoor water feature with the flex in a room rather than in the house structure. An RCD should protect against live leakage to the water. So the arrangement could be perfectly satisfactory, as long as RCD protected against deterioration of the rubber underwater seal. Whether this item is perfectly satisfactory cannot be detected from the picture, but on the face of it it could be.

[Roger Hayter]

I have never understood why wholly plastic earth pins are not allowed. They are common on wall wart type power supplies and I really don't see that they have any disadvantage over an unconnected metal pin.

[Harry Bloomfield]

It happens that Roger Hayter formulated :

The RCD would only trip, if the leakage to the water, had somewhere to go beyond the water. By the looks of it, then it would not be, unless someone in contact with an earth were to poke a finger in the water.

Personally, I would not want that unit in my home at all, I would class it as extremely dangerous, if not the risk of shock, the risk of fire. The Chinese care nothing for safety, nothing for meeting standards and take every opportunity to fake standards.

[Robin]

Adam's link includes: "However, earth pins must be solid brass, or, in the case of plugs intended solely for use with non-earthed devices, solid plastic. "

[Harry Bloomfield]

Robin formulated the question :

It makes no mention of half and half.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Chris Green expressed precisely :

Various clues suggest that item is dangerous. Yes it is common to have more robustly built 240 or even 415v pumps submerged, but that doesn't look all that robust. I don't think I have ever come across one which didn't include a metal case and an earth.

The shape of the 'pump' suggests it may be a vibrating diaphragm type pump - no rotating parts, just a diaphragm caused to vibrate at mains frequency.

[Richard]

If you hadn't snipped the original content, your comment is null & void.

[ARW]

Did you miss this bit in the link?

PLEASE NOTE: Plugs with partially sleeved earth pins are ALWAYS counterfeit, and are not allowed to be sold, even for non-earthed applications.

[Harry Bloomfield]

ARW submitted this idea :

OK - It made no mention in the quote of half and half earth pins being acceptable. Obviously that is a counterfeit plug and a counterfeit fuse.

[Marland]

Many pond pumps are all plastic in external appearance ,the electric motor and connections are sealed in the moulding. The impeller is driven by a magnetic coupling so there is no shaft seal to wear and leak. The magnet on the impeller is also enclosed in plastic so it doesn?t corrode and may actually be made as a combined component. The ones in my pond have done more than ten years service now but are manufactured by a German company to a reasonable standard and costs more accordingly. One is a pump for a water feature the other a floating skimming device for leaf debris etc. The cable is often a sign of a better quality unit , the flex on more expensive ones is a more flexible rubber type than plain PVC.

GH

[T i m]

I know I have *never* come across one that has a metal case and earth.

I have also come across many many fish tank heaters where the element is in a glass tube and only 'sealed' with a rubber grommet (that could be pulled out to allow you to adjust the thermostat, so not even sealed and bonded).

Cheers, T i m

[Robin]

Yes, but the context of the text I quoted was a *different* point - viz "I have never understood why *wholly* [emphasis added] plastic earth pins are not allowed."

[Martin]

Report it to trading standards