Dangerous USB phone chargers 9 (with high voltage test)

Examining two pieces of dangerous fake cube shaped USB phone chargers. Let's test them and see what's inside, plus a high voltage insulation test. Some chargers may not comply with safety regulations and they may cause an electric shock or fire. Their current rating may be fake, the output voltage may be wrong and they can damage your devices.
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[@MegaSunRise3]

I'm definitely gonna need more high voltage testing :D

[@pasikavecpruhovany7777]

16:07 self-extinguishing design!

[@ianhosier4042]

The worse phone charger I ever had contained one rectifier diode, one resistor, a capacitor, a 5v zener and an LED. Needless to say there was no isolation and no fuse and the sleeve of the USB was live!

[@deanagoes2791]

More dangerous than electric chair 😂

[@Flopster101]

Literally the bare minimum

[@user-tz3fd8hm4q]

That's a real death trap.

[@ianhosier4042]

@@user-tz3fd8hm4qbig clive did a rechargeable camping lantern where the metal case was live when it was plugged in to charge!

[@Electronichub_05]

Capacitive dropper? That's dodgy lol

[@stefflus08]

What a fantastic sequence of failures, fully as expected. So rarely caught on film, happening slowly, and also narrated to top it off. Beautifully done!

[@ohanneskamerkoseyan3157]

16:02 The electrolytic capacitor doubles as a fire extinguisher :D

[@Motoralbi]

i was thinking the same hahaha!

[@mernok2001]

Some capacitor electrolytes are actually flammable,especially the old ones that contain probably boric acid and have a green flame.

[@cheekibreeki904]

EVEN MORE VOLTAGE has a bit of the same energy as EVEN MORE SÄLT. A bit.

[@perhansson6718]

The cuts with the cat where great, it looks like he is hiding from the microwave oven transformer tests in fear! :D Thanks for doing these tests, it makes it allot more interesting with an isolation test, especially when the "safety capacitors" fail shorted, really great engineering!

[@BlockyYT1422]

19:12 "I can't even remove it in 1 piece!" *_somehow removes it in 1 piece_*

[@pojcharapoltosukowong]

The reason that cube shaped chargers seems to be popular is that, these are a clone of Apple's US 5W charger. Of course the genuine 5w Apple cubes are much safer. :)

[@raspberryjo]

Are you sure?

[@pojcharapoltosukowong]

Well, atleast from what I saw in several teardowns, it seems to be much better engineered with lots of safety in mind. I also had a few of those cubes since the day of iPhone 6, and it still works to this day.

[@Goodmanperson55]

@@raspberryjo It's safe and outputs one of the lowest ripple DC. It's not necessarily the best of the best but it's up there in terms of quality. It still has that tell-tale voltage drop as you near the maximum rated current much like most other chargers. There are a lot of tests on the internet comparing popular chargers and the 5v Apple cube is a common mainstay in the comparisons. It's been proven.

[@lukabread4099]

I had one apple cube and it just let smoke out and stopped working

[@dunderdee]

i have had 3 apple charger 1 5watt it exploded overnight another 5w it was a chinses fake also exploded a ipad 10w it also exploded I opened them up they were pain to open inside i got exploded capacitors now using a Samsung charger for years

[@Ale.K7]

I like how they don't trim the excess wire, potentially reducing the separation even more (or risking direct ccontact),

[@JamesBrown-ux9ds]

This HV-test only showed one thing: This board was quite safe. Being able to take about 1700 volts (short term) instead of 230 is an achievement actualy. 7x the net tension is quite good. And it was not an airgap between too close circuits on the board, but a piece of equipment, that failed, a piece with was probably rated for 500 or 600 volts only. Surprisingly good!

[@sergepetrov8598]

But still you don't want to entrust life of somebody unexperienced to this gadget.

[@TheSpotify95]

But a decent Class Y1 capacitor, which is the correct one for that application, should be rated for several kV, so for it to fail at just 1.6kV proves that (a) it wasn't a safety Class Y1 capacitor, and (b) it wasn;t safe anyway, it was super dodgy.

[@versedbridge4007]

Those are what you call fry back power supplies :)

[@BobT36]

It always makes me laugh when he breaks out the Microwave bits and all the dodgy electronics, especially with all the warning stickers everywhere. XD At least we all know you know what you're doing! (you wouldn't still be here if you weren't).

[@iamdarkyoshi]

I've always wanted to see HV tests, but never thought to use a microwave transformer. But the destruction from it is definitely welcome. Also, the voltage drifting outside of spec on the first one would probably be beneficial with the garbage USB cables that come with these things, it'd help compensate for the loss on the cable lol

[@PK-ig2ht]

Yes, I saw USB cable made from aluminum wire it should go well with this charger

[@ianhosier4042]

Mains ballasted with a fan heater or kettle can be quite destructive!

[@Broken_Yugo]

An old old bug zapper or neon sign transformer on a variac would probably be closer to a real hipot test, not as fun when things let go though.

[@gabiold]

@@Broken_Yugo Actually this is how a real HiPot test works, just the proper test equipments turn off on failure and has some safety features (start, interlocks possibly), and proper HV wiring. And usually less powerful for this level of testing, 20mA @ 5kV or so, which is 100W max. The microwave transformer is in the kW range.

[@BobT36]

Your editing is getting super niiice. Also wow these vids are really eye opening for those dodgy charges that you plug into the wall and often touch with your fingers..

[@fabriziobrutti1205]

2:08 I don't even want to imagine how high mus be the ESL introduced from the capacitors legs

[@TheLPfunnTV]

The first video i ever saw from u was " a little more salt" you madman are still puting out awesomr content!

[@MattSimmonsSysAdmin]

Not a fuse in site, just living its best life. Thanks for the video!

[@user-tz3fd8hm4q]

3:14 That's quite common with those cheap crappy capacitors. I've also seen such poorly pressed safety vents quite often. I also love the high voltage testing and how you show your cat in the videos. Great job!

[@wurgervomlichtenmoor5073]

Very good channel with good explanations.

[@Barracuda48082]

Excellent safety check..keep these educational videos coming..thank you.

[@johnvlahidis_google]

all videos on this youtube channel is excelent !

[@sidewinderam9m]

Thanks for explaining why a short isolation disance is dangerous! I always wondered because I have never seen 120-240V jump across even a 1mm gap, but moisture, poor QC on solder joints, dirt, etc. were things I had not considered.

[@mernok2001]

It doesnt even need to arc over.Just 18mA of leakage current could cause injury to some people who are sensitive to electricity.

[@ronniepirtlejr2606]

She let out the Magic Smoke! 👏👏👏👍

[@Tigrou7777]

That new stress test is great. It would be great to see temperature of components with an infrared cameras during that time (I don't know if you have one)

[@LutzSchafer]

Love your videos and analysis. It would be cool to also do the HV test just on the transformer before unwinding. Then you could indeed show where it starts failing. ..

[@whitesapphire5865]

I often wondered what was meant "FireWire" connectivity. I guess now, I know!

[@kapegede]

The test of the disruptive strength was very interesting! Please put it always to your transformer tests.

[@Zeldon567]

Didn't look at the channel name and thought this was one of Clive's or Electroboom's videos, so I was not prepared for this dude's accent lol.

[@zhornz]

ahhh my favorite series

[@BRUXXUS]

This was an exciting one!

[@electronic7979]

Very good video

[@diyordie7431]

16:30 The cat is satisfied :)

[@tristanhameleers7506]

Nice with the high voltage test

[@shayhsopwagqehghggtfyggty2635]

I love these vids good job.

[@Shmbler]

I like how your USB tester survived 84Ah of "living on the edge" ;-)

[@windward2818]

Cubes of Death. I reversed engineered the Apple 5W "american version" of the off-line charger also known as the white 5W USB charging cube. In the user guide Apple states: "Don’t use the power adapter in wet locations, such as near a sink, bathtub, or shower stall, and don’t connect or disconnect the power adapter with wet hands. Do not use any power adapter other than the Apple USB Power Adapter to charge Apple Watch, iPhone, or iPod." So Apple gives the user fair warning as to personal safety. If you use an off-line charger in a wet location you could electrocute yourself. The death part describes how given a certain amount of AC leakage and touching a phone while in the tube when connected to the charger could kill you. In the US we have GFCIs in most new construction in wet locations, so your odds of being electrocuted are lower with a GFCI. The focus of the overall investigation, as with the content in the video, revolves around AC leakage and its sources in an off-line charger. Specifically, hipot testing to understand insulation breakdown. As the charger ages the insulation resistance will at some point breakdown where it could pose a hazard depending on the weakness in the design and how it contributes to AC leakage. The apple design that I looked at had a Fusible resistor to protect the bridge. There where no X or Y capacitors used. 1 mm PCB slots where used to address voltage creepage. The transformer had a rather thick varnish on the windings, so level 3 varnish (thickest available) and was doubled full wrapped between windings. With the following turns: Inside winding Auxilary 152 Turns, Middle winding Primary 24 turns, Outside winding Secondary 11 turns. The control IC was an LP3773 in a special S08 package. The assembly used two boards. The USB protocol charging resistors where not populated which I think is the default, meaning 5W charger.

[@hichamnaffaa8021]

Good channel, thank you

[@R1BNC]

Testing USB cables might sound fun too

[@Zebra_Paw]

The second cube... I had one and it the secondary capacitor chose to explode because of an open loop (dead feedback zener). Oh, and not to mention, IT WAS SAYING DESIGNED BY APPLE IN CALIFORNIA, written correctly and everything, but the internals looked definitely fake, very similar to yours! It had a proper 13003 transistor though. For those who didn't know, Apple makes this kind of chargers for the US.

[@Morpheus66666666]

its like a popcorn :D nice video

[@Bianchi77]

Keep it up, nice video clip, thank you for sharing it :)

[@lmwlmw4468]

Great video.....awesome and smart cat..!!!

[@jp040759]

I am not a cat lover but I must say that your kitty is very pretty. Great tests and evaluation as always. Happy New Year.

[@WagTsX]

did you notice at 13:07 that the secondary rectifying diode solder and the board seem to be overheating too much? they got brownish. Also, super interesting the new high voltage test, can't wait to see it on a proper safe USB charger, I wonder what did you use to limit the current from the microwave oven transformer, to prevent saturation of the MOT during the short-circuits.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

I didn't notice, but yes, the secondary diode is often the hottest component in these chargers. Well, I didn't limit the current :). MOT's are somewhat current limited, but not for a continuous short circuit. The secondary short current during the second test was about 1A with 200V on the primary.

[@ACoTam2]

i think brownish soler might mean that the flux/rosin started liquidifying and going outside

[@perhansson6718]

Not only that: if you forward around 5 seconds you can see that the solder on the secondary side seems to have reflowed, probably it gets hot enough to cook the secondary side capacitor in only this short test!

[@mernok2001]

A 2 kV MOT wont be enough for a proper charger,it will fail above 5 kV.

[@flatspin5382]

@@DiodeGoneWild can i use varistor as class y safety capacitor?

[@MissFoxification]

If you are after some ideas perhaps try and one of the dodgy "hoverboards" that set fire to houses.

[@My_Gaming_Mind]

XD I love the hair dryer

[@artursmihelsons415]

High voltage test failing was excellent! 😂👍

[@C7TJFVB7CAZ_TyonorShap]

next we need the DGW Charger, made by you Diode, that be sick ^^ even tho if u send Anker a speck and they make a DGW charger, you would still make a video bout it and dismantle it :D ^^

[@user-pg7ii3zs3m]

You have not made the video public yet so many have not seen it yet. I found it from the playlist

[@vaclavtrpisovsky]

The early access is supposed to be a Patreon reward but apparently people can find it anyway. You can also sign up for a short time and exit before you are billed on the first of every month. (I am a legit $5.50 patron though)

[@jek__]

Would be neat to see you combine some of those pulled apart components into a decent charger, or maybe just laying out the components such that we might get the idea of how one might construct a decent charger

[@TheSpotify95]

Yay, thank you for the review and teardown of these house-burning electrocution chargers! That second one failed its high voltage test with spectacular results, may I add. :) So the conclusion is: SUPER DODGY!

[@techtinkerin]

This is classic dgw!!! 😂❤️👍👍👍

[@shundhem_electrick]

Amazing

[@parapotamus]

It would be nice to try to set fire to those plastic casings of the chargers, just to check how that Chinese "strong durable fire-retardant ABS" actually performs in terms of fire safety.

[@Tsiikki]

16:03 frame before cap blowing you can see blue light next to flex connector pin. Pause and use , and . to go frame by frame

[@agustinusreynaldi7101]

Self disassemble cheap USB blocks kinda neat

[@GlynWilliams1950]

Great breakdown and use of a Microwave transformer. I am considering making a portable 500v DC USB adapter leakage tester. I think it should also add a test at 1,000v, to be more critical. I think the standards only require 240V adaptors to be tested at 500v I think it will have a green and red LED output indication.

[@longrunner258]

500V DC is just for routine portable appliance tests, to avoid stressing the insulation too much when performed repeatedly. Factory and approval tests use much higher voltages than that (3kV AC for Class II with 230V/full range input, to my knowledge).

[@mernok2001]

@@longrunner258 I just use my 7kV neon transformer for that :) I didnt try a charger yet,but a classic iron core transformer will withstnd a few minutes without failing.

[@Pirelli.]

6:01 I agree. that's sad but, it gets better16:28 😂😂 Another great vid! Thank you! 😊

[@Broken_Yugo]

Very interesting that the not Y cap let go first on both. I wonder if these dodgy transformers aren't as sloppy as they appear, carefully made just good enough to pass a 1.5kVAC hipot test.

[@p_o_]

22:05 interesting thing about this power supply is thing, that every fat Xbox 360 had same plug for power supply but also every next model had smaller power rating. I'm wondering how would first fat Xbox 360 work with last 360 fat power supply (jasper). It probably would turn on but when gaming it would shut down. Xbox 360 slim had different plug, but there was adapter to plug fat power supply to slim console (e.g. when your power supply failed and you wanted to buy used one).

[@TheLightningStalker]

The ecsbocs and Wii power supplies are very good 12V power supplies.

[@TheSpotify95]

11:05 This looks like the type of construction as seen in the "dangerous USB phone chargers 2" video where there was a cube! And look at that tiny transformer, that can't be safe!

[@skyem5250]

another possibility for the USB ports is that the manufacturer chooses improperly stored old stock parts because they are cheaper

[@user-dw6fj1py1o]

6:02 cute cat!

[@fehlerstromalex]

You need to short the output! Wonders what would happen to those cheap chargers.

[@Prash1c]

Interesting video. I wanted to add one thing: You mentioned insulation distance as a problem in the video. So, though with your skills, experience, and expertise, it is fair to raise the small distance. That said, I believe the PCBs are finished with a conformal spray. This coating, once cured, adds protection from moisture and insulates the soldered leads. That explains why the cap blew at a whopping 2 kV, and that there was no arcing seen between those areas of the board where the isolated leads seemed pretty tight. Keeping in mind that for 200 AC V mains, 2kV implies a 10x margin for safety for failure with low arcing/shorting risks up to that voltage (probably close to its "failure rating" spec), the insulation distance may not be a major problem here. Thank you for sharing your content on YT.

[@TheSpotify95]

Most good chargers (such as genuine Samsung or Apple) have an isolation distance on the board of several millimeters (normally 5mm+), as well as extra insulation materials if the sheer distance cannot be made possible. Chargers with an isolation distance of just a fraction of a millimeter are not good.

[@Prash1c]

@@TheSpotify95 From an exsperienced technician perspective, I understand. However, from the engineering perspective, if there is a consistent average 10x margin of safety for arcing, you're golden regardless of the insulation-distance on paper.

[@dino6627]

Very horrible. I wouldn't have thought EMC was a concern for the manufacturer, it would be safer if they didn't put capacitor, and even cheaper for them.

[@tobiassommer2821]

Nice Video :) Could you test known chargers like from Anker or Samsung/OnePlus/Huawai/Apple ? That would be awesome to see, how it should be done(or not? :D).

[@CathySiegert]

we need a new category: super deadly dogdy

[@user-tz3fd8hm4q]

Or ultra dodgy.

[@MPETE1976]

"Let's use a questionable travel adapter". You sure do splurge out on some fancy test equipment.

[@yamiomo7392]

the thicc esl is amazing.

[@wbutlers]

You should show a charger with better design and parts dissected

[@celsoneves2368]

Jewel!.

[@1marcelfilms]

EVEN MORE VOLTS!

[@TomStorey96]

Looking forward to the Xbox power supply tear down. That should be a masterclass in power supply design!

2:36 Wrong, in China wires are fuses.

[@markiangooley]

They’re little near-cubes because they’re trying to look like an Apple iPhone charger. They shouldn’t bother.

I would like to see a wireless charging dock or pad test. Would be nice to see how save or dodgy they are. 🤔

[@MrJozza65]

It's shocking (pun intended!) how many of these badly made chargers are readily available, and it's difficult to tell without this sort of detailed teardown and testing. I will refer friends to this video when I need to explain to them that that cheap charger they are looking at, isn't the same as the more expensive and better quality branded and certified items.

[@tylern6420]

His accent is the accent of all accents

[@Mark1024MAK]

Diode, just out of curiosity, do any of these cheap units work at 100V?

[@elyeryan8838]

Yes, they do. Some of them can light up a tiny usb light from 18 volts input)

[@jakub3851]

On my Xbox 360 psu it says 120W but its probably an older version I have to say it works great under heavy use of the console for a long time it barely gets warm and it even has a fan inside

[@ShowXTech]

Self-disassembling, specially designed for DGW

[@samuelfielder]

Applying 1600 volts makes it explode and that's fun. But 1KV is already 3 times the 240 volt mains peak voltage, and you are going 60 percent above that, so it's not really fair on the poor charger.

[@playbyan1453]

12:00 same as mine, I replaced it with fresh but higher capacitance one

[@pvc988]

Multilayer ceramic capacitor between primary and secondary. What could possibly go wrong?

[@d46512]

Next can you show a transformer with failed isolation after meeting your HV test rig?

[@tullgutten]

Im impressed they both held over 1500 volts 😅😳👍

[@iceberg789]

but, wild-diode sir, we not really have any statistics of exactly how many people died on these cubes !

[@gelecopter]

xbox psu is really well-made. Thanks for interesting video, as always. Also is there next stage afte "Super Dodgy", like "Extremely Dodgy"?

[@rkan2]

Usually name-brand electronics PSUs are top quality because it isn't worth shipping the part that is most likely to fail for warranty replacement... No warranty replacement on Aliexpress-stuff..

[@Broken_Yugo]

Extremely dodgy would be a capacitive dropper supply or something else that wasn't even designed to be mains isolated.

[@mobilephone8728]

1:44 I worried about you for a moment

[@inseries5494]

Syooper Dodgeeeee

[@shajebkhalid7853]

@diodegonewild I came up with stupid idea about a local service company where you will take your electronics for safety test.

[@yeahbucka3005]

Probably Big Clive secretly watches your films about dodgy chargers with great amusement.

[@sergepetrov8598]

Big Clive's videos are sometimes boring to watch.

[@nicholassemmens7865]

I believe the robot from Finch stole your voice

[@makoveliprod]

Not safety class Y capacitors protect transformer from short circuit 😂

[@TheSpotify95]

I suppose so - either the dodgy capacitor fails, or the transformer fails - but in any case, it will still result in mains on the secondary. :)

[@Killerspieler0815]

You shopuld ask for some quality modern German style power strips (these have an E+F plug that supports the French style wall socket as well) , these are the most used standard in Europe + Russia

[@PratikkDeshpande]

nICE BIROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@chucknorris2952]

Flyback powersupplaaaaaai 🥰