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PSA: Check any power strip you grab from the Goodwill bin in Tucson before you plug it in
I was at the Goodwill on Speedway in Tucson last Saturday and dug a 6 outlet power strip out of the electronics bin for $2.49. Got it home, plugged in my lamp, and it worked fine for about 20 minutes before it started feeling warm on the bottom. I flipped it over and the casing had a hairline crack with black scorch marks inside, so somebody clearly cooked this thing and donated it. The label said it was a 15 amp strip but the cord was thinner than the one on my phone charger. I'm out less than 3 bucks but I keep thinking about the family that buys this stuff for a kid's room. Does anyone know a quick way to spot a fried strip in the store, or do you just skip used power strips completely?
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the_logan10d ago
That part about the scorch marks inside a hairline crack is the scary bit, because at a glance in the bin you would never see it. I have noticed this same thing with all kinds of secondhand stuff, where the outside looks fine but the inside is cooked, like used chargers, old hair dryers, extension cords, basically anything that pulls real power. Thrift stores are where people dump the thing that started acting weird, and nobody tests it before it hits the shelf. So you end up playing the odds on something for two bucks that could burn your house down. My rule now is if it has a heating element or a cord, I just leave it. A lamp or a picture frame is fine, but power stuff is not worth the gamble, even cheap. The money you save is nothing next to what a fire costs.
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