We looked in five low-cost stores around Wellington and we bought this hot-melt glue gun (pictured right) at one retailer, and an identical looking example from Trade Me.
The packaging is marked as 110-220 volts, which probably means that the product is unsuitable for New Zealand. There are also no safety markings on the gun. The metal pins of the plug are not insulated for half their length and there is no double-insulation symbol marked as there must be for a non-earthed appliance.
When we dismantled the gun, there was only one type of insulation between the electrically live parts and the metal nozzle. The gun was not double insulated as required.
We found this glue gun listed on a European Union website with "withdrawal from the market ordered by the authority" because it "poses a serious risk of electric shock".
When we went back to the shop to get another one, they had disappeared from the shelves, and a check of four other low-price shops revealed nothing that appeared illegal.
But Trade Me was a different story: we bought the same type of glue gun, a hair drier, hair straightener, a finger nail lacquer setting device, and two novelty lamps - all of which were fitted with illegal plugs, and four of them were only rated at 220 volts.
These examples confirm that unsafe appliances are being sold. So what's being done about it?
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