Information about the types of failures we find 

This series is designed to pass on  some of what we have learned from doing Electrical Safety Testing over several years. The information is probably not available elsewhere as is is presented from our particular perspective as safety testers. It is not intended to cover all aspects of the safe use of electrical products, only to highlight issues we have become aware of through safety testing. As such, it should be read in conjunction with and in addition to warnings and recommendations from the manufacturers, regulatory bodies and electrical authorities. 

Power Boards - Care and feeding of

Power boards are a very useful and generally safe way of providing extra outlets especially for temporary and portable equipment. They should have an overload cut out built in to prevent overloading of building outlets. They can be damaged by rough usage and we do find faulty ones. Supply leads and plugs are sometimes damaged but most commonly foreign particles are rattling around inside the case. Roughly forcing plugs into the sockets can break bits of plastic off the internal supports and compromise proper connections.

Tape or gummed labels should not be placed over the outlets unless the board is being permanently removed from service. If plugs are inserted through tape or labels, material may be pushed into the  sockets and prevent proper contacts from being made.

Fortunately, power boards are a very low cost item to replace so there is no need to keep dodgy ones around.