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My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

ounapuu.ee

281–290 of 308 posts

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#281
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a citation for that?

Sure. This is the relevant clause in my current home insurance policy: "You must take steps to maintain the Home in a good state of repair and take all reasonable precautions to avoid loss, damage or injury and to safeguard all property insured from loss or damage." These things are pretty standard - I would be very surprised if there isn't a similar clause in all of them. Which implies that, if you fail to do so, th…

It seems plausible that not addressing the electrical anomaly described by nicolaslem could be called a failure to maintain the home under your policy.

For completeness, the relevant section from my policy is "We will not pay for any loss to the property...as a result of...Neglect, meaning neglect of the insured to use all reasonable means to save and preserve the property at and after the time of a loss, or when property is endangered". But in the same context, it says "However, we will pay for any resulting loss from ... defect, weakness, inadequacy, fault, or unsoundness in ... design, specifications, workmanship, repair, construction, renovation, remodeling, grading or compaction; [or] maintenance."

It would be shaped by the legal precedent in interpreting these sorts of clauses, and perhaps also the whims of a jury. It still seems unlikely to me that either of our policies would end up excluding the electrical anomaly, and moreover I've yet to ever hear a verifiyable account of someone whose homeowners insurance claim was denied after an electrical problem in their house led to a loss.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#282

I am concerned that there are no pictures of the adorable cats in the post. It sound like the manufacturers just see USB-A as a convenient and cheap connector for delivering power.

>It sound like the manufacturers just see USB-A as a convenient and cheap connector for delivering power. Is it really any cheaper than a simple barrel connector that manufacturers have used forever for power?

Probably cheaper by half a cent.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#283
post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The hacker in me hates it too but just imagine if a small portion of standard-looking outlets did not output 220V (or whatever standard you have) and say 330V. Overvoltage is now routine in places where there's lots of PV installed in homes and not enough load nearby. If you live in such a place, you have a deep appreciation of varistors and should have either good insurance or a little bit of soldering skills... p…

> Overvoltage is now routine in places where there's lots of PV installed in homes and not enough load nearby. Every solar inverter / microinverter manufactured in the past two decades (if not older) must monitor the grid voltage+frequency and disconnect if it falls outside of a certain tolerance. If things go out of tolerance there is a defined period of time where it must recover or the inverter is required to trip…

Yes, absolutely, same here.

The problem is varistors blow out before the safety measures work. Perhaps due to wear or low quality, but this still happens.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#284

Isn't this just a lesson to always read the output values on adapters?

Hi, author here. If the writing on those adapters was easily readable by the visually impaired and surrounded by bright red/orange colors, this wouldn't be that much of an issue. I had one hell of a time trying to even photograph the output voltage etching specified on the adapter itself.

The info is still there.. You were not being lied to.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#285
post #113

Isn't this just a lesson to always read the output values on adapters?

It's a USB port. Differently than the dozens of proprietary charging connectors that were ubiquitous before micro-USB and USB-C dominated, consumers have an expectation that it adheres to the specification. To be on the safe side, one would actually have to check the voltage. Both the output voltage and whether these are really 0V and 5V to ground. The output frequency spectrum should also be checked.

To be honest, we used to have those round connecters that would vary in voltage a lot more, so I always check the adapters sticker.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#286
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no such thing as a “China Export” mark. No products has been shown to have it. It’s a fake urban legend: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CE_marking&oldid=... >

That's so interesting. I've just done a quick dive into my electronics. I have a Tonbux power strip where the C and E are definitely too close together. Edit:The website I linked is a Chinese manufacturer. If it was an urban legend, it seems to be being treated as fact in a way that matters now.

> I have a Tonbux power strip where the C and E are definitely too close together.

As per Wikipedia, quoting the European Commission, people displaying the CE logo with incorrect dimensions exist. This does not prove the legend.

> Edit:The website I linked is a Chinese manufacturer. If it was an urban legend, it seems to be being treated as fact in a way that matters now.

Please stop spreading urban legends on the basis that other people believe in them.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#287
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None. Stuff like the post you are replying to is common "good luck with insurance" trope. Insurance protects you from stupidity, errors, and negligence. It doesn't protect you from fraud or intentional malice, but using an uncertified device is not fraud. Note that after an accident related to personal stupidity or error, an insurance company could decide you are too risky to further insure, or that the cost for your…

I used to work for a major clothing retailer. Our insurance policies did require us to use UL certified appliances in our stores.

Did you read the policy, or is this what somebody told you?

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#288
post #77

Lidl does this too – the rotary tool Parkside PFBS 12 B3 comes with a charger that's obviously not USB-PD, but has an USB-C plug and it puts out a solid 13 volts at all times. (See https://www.kompernass.com/en/accessories/2316/charger-8 for an image.) I sent Lidl a courteous and long mail about this and they didn't really care other than "please open a service ticket with your local Lidl", which I didn't care to do…

Like those self-installed USB-chargers that are directly connected to your car battery. Can work sometimes, but you need robust devices.

Probably a side effect when USB-PD was introduced and people neglected the facts that there needs to be an elaborate handshake for anything other than 5V.

Previously we always needed to check non-USB chargers for their voltage and there were connectors and adapters for different sizes. But now you need to be more careful with USB as well.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bought my cat a nice and large bed which is more akin to a throne but anyway. He now happily sleeps directly next to it.

The level of interest a cat exhibits in a toy is inversely proportional to its price. Unless it's something you bought for yourself rather than the cat, in which case the cat goes for the most expensive thing first.

Fully subscribe to this take.

But in all seriousness, I think I underestimated just how much cats rely on smell at all times. I noticed yesterday that this plushy polyester bed is still strongly smelling like plastic mixed with some random pet store odors. This is likely not helping.

I will laundry it at 60 degrees Celsius as recommended, sprinkle some of his cat hair around it and then see if he finally accepts it. At the moment he still prefers sleep on (multiple) electronic devices and on the floor in the hallway between rooms (attacking anyone passing by).

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds incredibly error prone and actually quite dangerous! At least a lot of AC to DC converters are universal voltage and frequency, but not all appliances! In Australia we have only one voltage that will ever come out of a single phase socket, but the standards took the opposite approach with current ratings - the sockets are cleverly designed in terms of their current capacity so (assuming it’s been installe…

Brazil should use outlets to indicate the voltage. With Type A for 127V, the worldwide standard for 120V plugs. Then Type N for 220V, where there is no standard but Type N is pretty good design. Changing outlets is pretty easy to do.

> With Type A for 127V, the worldwide standard for 120V plugs.

That would be going backwards, and losing all the safety features of the new NBR 14136 ("type N") standard; to make it worse, we already did use something like "type A" (with "universal" sockets which accepted both flat and round pins, and sometimes even grounded "type B" together with these two, it was a mess) for both 127V and 220V, so you'd still have (in older buildings) these "type A" plugs being used for 220V.

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