- 96% of outdoor electrical products investigated failed safety tests, charity warns, posing a risk to shoppers
- Many of the products investigated, sold by third party sellers, were listed as suitable for outdoor use with tests revealing they were not
- Major online giants including Temu, Amazon & eBay found to be hosting the sale of dangerous outdoor goods
- One test shows an immersion heater that could be used to heat a paddling pool, burst into flames
- Charity demands overhaul of product safety laws to impose legal duty of care on online giants
Summer soirees are at risk of a shock, as electric BBQs, outdoor lighting and paddling pool heaters are found to risk fire and electric shock.
With the country soaking up the summer months, Brits scrambling for popular products to host friends and family at outdoor get-togethers are at risk of an unexpectedly shocking summer, a new investigation reveals.
Consumer safety charity, Electrical Safety First, tested 26 outdoor electrical products over a year-long period, with a staggering 96% posing a risk to the user having failed to meet safety standards.
The study tested products bought from third party sellers on a variety of major online marketplaces, including Temu, Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Wish and AliExpress.
Shockingly, all but one product failed at least one safety test, with 96% posing a risk of electric shock. Additionally, 46% of the products tested had both a risk of fire and electric shock.
Popular outdoor items, such as electric barbeques, were found to pose a risk of electric shock and fire due to being fitted with substandard plugs and counterfeit fuses. Extension leads, specifically marketed as being waterproof, failed to prevent water ingress – meaning the user could be exposed to a serious risk of electric shock when using the device if it was wet.
Products that were likely to be left out throughout the summer months, such as patio heaters and atmospheric festoon lighting for the warmer evenings, all failed to prevent water ingress leaving consumers highly exposed to serious electric shocks in the likely event the UK experienced rain in the summer.
Further testing undertaken on a water immersion heater, that could be used to warm the water in a children’s paddling pool, saw the device catch fire when not submerged. Video footage of testing shows the water heater bursting into flames.
