First of: I’m aware of the various fake Nitecore chargers and their associated problems. This however appears to be regarding a genuine Nitecore charger.
I was looking at getting a D4 when someone notified me that according to the page below Finland has banned (but not recalled) the Intellicharger i2EU (English translation by Google followed by Finnish original):
Upon contacting one of their authorized distributors I was first told that the page above was in error and that the product in question is the non-EU version of the i2. However the pictures on that site clearly show that both the product and the box are labelled i2EU. Also, these pictures are only to be found on the fukes.fi website, at least I could not find any other source for them through Google image search, which leads me to believe that these pictures were actually taken by tukes.fi themselves and not just some stockphotos they downloaded from some other website.
I then contacted Nitecore directly to ask for some evidence that tukes.fi is, as claimed, referring to a non-EU version and after first receiving a completely non-sensical reply showing they had not understood my email nor looked at the information provided I received the following response:
which doesn’t really tell me anything. As it stands and lacking any evidence to the contrary I can only conclude that tukes.fi did in fact ban the i2EU and that it is not regarding a fake.
It’s interesting btw that the kind of problem (insulation in the transformer inadequate) seems very similar to the problem the fake D4 had. Now there are many reasons something like this could happen but given that Nitecore so far have done nothing to win back my trust I think I’m going to forego the D4. A shame because I really liked it but I find safety more important than anything else.
Rules and regulation for this sort of thing are uniform in the entire EU. The ‘Risk type’ is ‘Electrical shock’ and it’s due to ‘inadequate insulation in the power transformer’. Apparently the risk is not that great that a ban is called for although I wonder why not. I have contacted tukes.fi for more information, still waiting for a reply.
Not necessarily. The i2 comes (or came) in at least two versions: non-EU and EU. There must be some difference, otherwise they wouldn’t go through the trouble of creating different product packages and type labels on the product itself (with and without the EU suffix). It’s possible that some of the EU requirements are contradictory with requirements in other regions, or making one single product that satisfies the regulations in all regions might end up being more expensive than having different versions.
Nitecore most likely do not have their own production facilities. I assume they simply design the product and have it produced by an OEM. It’s not unheard of for OEM’s to swap spec’d components for other ones that are nominally compatible but cheaper. So even if this really is the genuine, EU version of the i2 it’s not certain that Nitecore are primarily to blame. Of course it has their logo on it so ultimately they are responsible, at least insofar as any claims from whoever bought that product are concerned.
Ah okay cool. Yea here we get the international version i guess it would depend on where you buy it from. If you buy an EU version from a Chinese seller it may be different to your model.
This appears to be exactly the same language someone else recently posted about the Nitecore I4 “digicharger”
That person later posted a followup from the same country identifying the problem item as a counterfeit.
I think there was a picture showing the box with a typographical error.
This looks like a different EU country reporting the same problem with the same device using exactly the same language.
You might want to check for a followup post like the other report had.
Different device, similar problem. I’m guessing you’re referring to this (linking to the original page rather than a post here and one on CPF which I did see as well):
which is about a different product (and fake). The tukes.fi site is about the Nitecore Intelleicharger i2EU which so far appears to be genuine (Nitecore has not contested this so far), whereas electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk is about the Nitecore D4 Digi Charger which turned out to be counterfeit and which has the spelling mistake on the box you’re referring to).
Looking at that Finnish i2EU electrical problem report page posted earlier in the thread — it’s’ dated February 11, 2016
(11/02/2016) - upper right hand corner.
Yet freeme writes “Official Nitecore ”EU version” only got released in March.”
That’s why I wondered if the counterfeits could have been shipped out ahead of the real product.
Which specific model are you referring to? i2 or D2/D4? Nitecore has just released what they call the ‘new i2’, an ‘upgraded’ version of the i2. Maybe that’s what you’re referring to? Comparing the pictures on Nitecore’s website, the tukes.fi site is regarding the original i2, not the new version.
At least I hadn't heard of Olight M23 Javelot charger being dangerous.. On the other hand, I have had my thoughts of TrustFire TR-003P4, but I think this is the 1st time we have proof of it being dangerous. But then again, I would have thought Fenix ARE-C1 would have been ok to use.
The product’s type label as pictured on the Tukes website bears the CE mark. That means that the manufacturer warrants that the product conforms to all EU requirements and regulations. Since Finland is a member of the EU then as far as I know they have to test according to those EU-wide regulations, they can’t just add additional requirements.
If the product is (un)suitable for sale in one EU country it’s likewise (un)suitable for sale in all others. This is one of the great benefits of the EU, not just to Europeans but to manufacturers world-wide. Instead of having to deal with regulations for 28-1=27 countries you only have to deal with one set of regulations for one single region.
Look carefully when you check the CE marking, because there are a lot of fakes out there
(the Nitecore package illustrated at the Finnish site does look like it’s right)
There is a difference between being dangerous and living up to the regulations.
One concept in the regulations is “Double isolation”, this means twice the necessary isolation required to be safe. This way you will be safe even in one part of the isolation fails.
Personally I like that philosophy, but I do know that equipment with less strict construction will probably not kill me. Probably is the keyword, do I want to take the risk that a “minor” fault may make the device dangerous?
My test with 5000 volt is slightly above the double limit (Real requirements is 4240 volt), but I do not use stuff that failed the test. This test will reveal some doubtful isolation, but not bad construction, i.e. stuff that can bend or change with time.
That is not really an issue, anything that looks like a CE mark must be a CE mark inside EU.
It is not legal to sell product with something that looks like a CE mark, but is not.
You do see real CE marked equipment getting the distance between C and E wrong.
Definitely. However neither tukes nor Nitecore have provided any details about how serious the inadequacy of the insulation is. As an electrical engineer I believe these things should be taken very seriously; too many people do not realize just how dangerous mains power can be. It kills. It doesn’t happen very often precisely because we have these strict regulations in place.
On the other hand it could be more or less a ‘technicality’ as you suggest. Maybe it’s compliant with regulations from, say, 5 or 10 years ago. Maybe the regulations changed while the product was already being sold. I don’t know. Or perhaps as I mentioned before the OEM decided it was a good idea to save a few pennies.
Without more information it’s impossible to tell exactly how serious this is but apparently it was cause for a ban in Finland. I hope Tukes will get back to me and tell me why it was no cause for a recall.
you only have to deal with one set of regulations for one single region.