Good evening.
I recently purchased this active suction SMD pick-up tool from AliExpress:
When it arrived, it seemed to work fine. However, when I opened it up (to investigate the feasibility of adding a switch), I was less than impressed with the build quality and safety of the unit. (I was also staggered at the amount of empty space inside, but that's beside the point.)
The inside looked like this:
Closer examination showed obvious green corrosion on the ends of the wires; poor soldering; and damage due to a lack of strain relief:
I also noted that the capacitor was rated for 100V, which is far less than the operating voltage of the unit. Tests determined that the AC voltage drop across the capacitor was far less, however this probably did not take peak voltage into account.
At the very least, I would need to fix the solder joints and heatshrink the exposed contacts for safety. Either that, or demand a refund from the seller - and if I'm going to complain, I need to know what exactly I'm complaining about. I need to know if this device can legally be sold.
Therefore, my questions are:
Does this device break any specific UK laws or regulations, that I could complain to the seller about?
Do I need to replace the capacitor with a higher voltage one? If so, what voltage? I'm running on a standard ~240V supply, but I gather capacitive droppers should ideally be rated higher than that.
Presumably I need to add a fuse of some sort? (Again, does the lack of a fuse violate UK law?)