Shocking Death:
Heat Press Machine
Warning: These machines could kill you by electric shock.
These and similar heat presses appear under the names of "CRENEX", "CREWORKS" and "VEVOR" on Ebay, Amazon and elsewhere online, however this particular unit has no manufacturer markings, just "Made in China" on the main label, they probably appear under other brand names too. They are used for applying heat transfers to T-Shirts, mugs hats, phone cases and the like.
They are advertised to be used for:
- Sublimation Transfer
- Digital Transfer Sublimation
- Transfer Sublimation Printing
How will it kill me?
The machine itself and the heating mat isn't the problem, it's the heater control unit that has the instant-death issue. One of the exposed and touchable pins of the heater connector is internally connected to the Live Mains electricity supply!
The design is utterly crazy, I am amazed at how it gets sold legally, you'd really need to be bonkers to design something like this. In the UK our mains voltage is around 230V to 240V AC, other countries have a lower mains voltage and may have deemed this an acceptable risk, however, here it is not.
Further to this issue, the connector is identified as a Cliffcon ZC Series Connector, when found on reputable suppliers websites, such as RS Components or Farnell, and the manufacturer, CLIFF Electronic Components the Voltage rating is stated at just 48V, nowhere near the 230V to 240V UK mains supply!!
How I found the issue
My neighbours bought one of these to print some T shirts and mugs, but after limited use, the display on the control unit started to flash random numbers, and it failed to heat the heat mat. they asked me if I could take a look at it. In doing so, I discovered this lethal issue, see the videos:
Proving the Live connection is available to touch:
Approvals / Certification
The press itself displays a CE marking, which if genuine can't apply to the whole machine (inclusive of the control unit); or it could just be falsely declaring conformity to relevant legislation. However, the control unit itself displays no CE marking or any declaration of conformity to any standards.
Quote from Wikipedia:
The CE mark on a product indicates that the manufacturer or importer of that product affirms its compliance with the relevant EU legislation and the product may be sold anywhere in the European Economic Area (EEA). It is a criminal offence to affix a CE mark to a product that is not compliant or offer it for sale.
Reporting Progress
Finding the right body to report this to has been a bit of a trial and error process, there hasn't been any clear direction, but the people I have spoken to have been helpful in passing this issue along the chain.
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| ??-??-2022 | Initially I reported this issue to https://www.cemarkingassociation.co.uk/. |
| 16-06-2022 | Passed on to Citizens Advice Consumer Service. |
| 30-06-2022 | Passed on to Trading Standards. |
| 05-07-2022 | Passed on to the HSE at https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/concerns.htm. |
| 14-07-2022 | HSE advised this to be a Trading Standards issue. |
| 26-07-2022 | Passed back to Trading Standards. |
| 21-09-2022 | Trading Standards arranged for the purchase an example machined for independent lab testing. |
| 15-11-2022 | Trading Standards independent lab results confirmed my findings, and also found further non-conformance issues. They are beginning proceedings to issue product recall notices, and to stop UK sales and import of further machines of this description. Quite a result from something that began in the back of my garage. |
| 23-11-2022 | GOV.UK Product Safety Alerts, Reports and Recalls announced that these imported products are to be rejected at the border! They released two Product Safety Reports, for two models of Vevor branded machine:
Vevor P8100 Heat Press Safety Report (2211-0041) Vevor PD220 Heat Press Safety Report (2211-0022) While this is a triumph, so far these reports only apply to two model numbers under the name of "VEVOR". The other names I identified as "CRENEX" and "CREWORKS" selling similar/same machines don't yet have Product Safety Reports on GOV.UK. I have followed this up with Trading Standards, and have been told that they are committed to removing all similar devices from the UK marketplace! So watch this space! |
| 26-07-2023 | GOV.UK announce product recall of a further Vevor products, making 34 in total! GOV.UK safety message:
Important Safety Message - Product Recall for Vevor-branded Products Vevor also issued their own product recall notice to customers:
|
| 27-07-2023 | Received a nice email from trading Standards thanking me for highlighting the first discovery, which led to investagations into these further Vevor products and their removal from market to keep people safe. |
Endnote
I initially wrote this article in the hope that it may help people make informed decisions when considering buying one of these death machines. But how it turned out, with the drive of Trading Standards, this product is becoming banned from sale in the UK, saving lives and distress.
Trading Standards have been fantastic to deal with during this process, keeping me informed and up to date with progress, I thank them for their diligence in this matter.
It's a fantastic result to see these items becoming banned import to the UK after my initial examination. Makes me wonder how many lives could have been detrimentally changed by these products had I not spoken up.