Misleading cliams of being waterproof warning

[fasteddy]

I thought i would make aware of some of the dodgy practices that occur from Chinese manufacturers when it comes to claims of being waterproof
IP ratings are what we use to determine the level of waterproof ability but what you find and especially on EBay with dodgy vendors that claim that parts are waterproof when in fact there is no way that this is the fact. If you then ask them about IP rating then they will give you some story that its PCV plastic waterproof without ever giving an IP rating.
See there are many levels of waterproof and the IP system helps us determine the level an item can resist water and dust ingress. So the below example is a classic example of where they claim an item to be waterproof but do not have any IP ratings. The example below would be lucky to be an IP43 but they claim to be waterproof, but in some ways they are correct, but its the level of protection that they are not honest about

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/10pairs-Waterproof-connector-wire-LED-Light-Strips-4Pin-Connector-Cable-LD343-/321217330055?pt=AU_Lighting_Fans&hash=item4aca0b7b87#ht_1766wt_973

So below is a chart that shows IP ratings and from this you can see there are 8 levels for water ingress protection. But also I have seen some Chinese vendors use the IP rating and over rate their gear when in fact it should have a lower IP rating. So be aware that even if they claim an IP rating this may not be correct. Either word of mouth or testing before you commint to a larger purchase are the best ways to determine the real level of IP.


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[firebug]

Thanx for the heads up Eddy...

 

[Bird]

Thanks for the reminder Eddy

 

[DanJ]

Thanks Eddy. We just had an "IPXX" discussion at work last week. Ha. We are buying some 4/0 cables to IP69k and I had to put my Christmas lighting knowledge to work "at work".... Some of the electrical engineers were challenging why IP69 was better (it is good for some type of forced spray...) than one of the submergence-capable IP levels. Arrgh. It was funny, though, to make a statement that I know the IP stuff from Christmas lighting...

 

[fasteddy]

Thanks Eddy. We just had an "IPXX" discussion at work last week. Ha. We are buying some 4/0 cables to IP69k and I had to put my Christmas lighting knowledge to work "at work".... Some of the electrical engineers were challenging why IP69 was better (it is good for some type of forced spray...) than one of the submergence-capable IP levels. Arrgh. It was funny, though, to make a statement that I know the IP stuff from Christmas lighting...

IP69K is not generally used for most applications as it is for more specialized applications

This is the description of IP69K

The IP69K rating is for applications where high
pressure and high temperature washdown is used to
sanitize equipment.
The IP69K test specification was initially developed
for road vehicles, especially those that need regular
intensive cleaning (dump trucks, cement mixers, etc),

but has been widely adopted in the Food & Beverageindustries as a test of products to withstand sanitary
washdown.
• Products rated to IP69K must be able to withstand high-pressure and
steam cleaning.
• The test specifies a spray nozzle that is fed with 80 °C water at 80–100 bar (~1160-1450) and a flow rate of 14–16 L/min.​

• The nozzle is held 10–15 cm from the tested device at angles of 0°, 30°,
60° and 90° for 30 seconds each.​

• The test device sits on a turntable that rotates once every 12 seconds.​

 

[AAH]

Pretty well everything sourced out of China via ebay, aliexpress or alibaba will have dodgy unreliable IP ratings. If the company does have a fair dinkum product with an IP rated product then they should be able to provide you with the testing certificate that matches the product. As most of the stuff sold cheaply on the above 3 sites won't have true IP68 sealing for example it is safe to say that there won't be a certificate to match. If the product looks and is priced too good then it probably isn't what it claims to be.

 

[DanJ]

Eddy: The cable to which I am referring are 4/0 cables for an industrial application at a nuclear power plant. They are rated IP69k. It is important to us, as they are supplied in 75' lengths (temporary application) and the connectors will possibly be underwater in some scenarios. Thanks for the explanation!!