Favored but repeated quality problems, many market regulators issued warnings

Watch out!

The uneven quality of hand warmers poses safety risks

　　"Worker Daily" (Edition 04 on January 15, 2021)

　　News from our newspaper (Reporter Liu Bing) Hand warmer is an emerging electronic product that uses battery-powered energy to continuously transfer heat to the outside. The continuous heating time is generally more than 4 hours. It is favored by consumers because of its ease of carrying.

However, the quality of hand warmers varies, and some hand warmers have safety hazards.

The reporter noticed that recently, the Sichuan Provincial Market Supervision Bureau, Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, and Nanjing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau of Jiangsu Province have issued warnings to remind consumers to choose carefully and pay attention to product safety when purchasing.

　　On January 13, Mr. Zhao, who lives in Changping District, Beijing, bought a hand warmer with a price of 60 yuan on an e-commerce platform because the home heating effect was average. As a result, quality problems occurred.

"It hasn't been used for a few days, and the hand warmer suddenly smoked when it was charging. If I didn't see it, there might be a fire." Mr. Zhao said.

　　In recent years, accidents in Hand Warmer have been reported from time to time.

According to media reports, Zhejiang consumer Mr. Zhang bought two hand warmers online for more than 100 yuan. Unexpectedly, after charging up, the liquid inside would flow out and burn Mr. Zhang’s hands.

　　A few days ago, the Sichuan Provincial Market Supervision Bureau conducted product quality and safety risk monitoring on heating products based on online public opinion and consumer complaints.

According to the monitoring results, there are three major hidden dangers of Hand Warmer: First, the label description is not standardized, such as no nameplate information on the product, full English nameplate, incomplete information, etc.; Second, the effective output capacity at room temperature does not meet the standard, usually the actual corresponding rated capacity Far less than the marked capacitance; third, the free drop test failed.

In daily carrying or use, the rechargeable hand warmer will inevitably fall. Once the shell ruptures after an impact, the battery and wiring will be exposed, and short circuit and battery squeezing will easily occur, which will cause the battery to catch fire and explode.

　　The Sichuan Provincial Market Supervision Bureau stated that these problems were mainly caused by manufacturers' weak quality awareness, neglect of process management, unfamiliarity with product standards, and insufficient technical skills.

In addition, there are also problems such as lax control of raw materials by some manufacturers, cutting corners and reducing costs.

　　The results of a spot check on the quality of hand warmers released by the Nanjing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau last year showed that a total of 40 batches of samples were collected, including 14 batches from physical stores and 26 batches from e-commerce platforms.

After inspection, 7 batches were unqualified, and the unqualified rate was 17.5%.

　　The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau pointed out that although the rechargeable hand warmer has a smaller size and a lower capacity, the internal heating element will make the lithium-ion battery work in a high-temperature environment for a long time.

In addition to the small internal space and a certain degree of thermal insulation design, if the product’s protection and control circuit design has defects, and the use of shell materials that cannot block the combustion source, it is likely to cause a fire when abnormal conditions such as temperature rise out of control or short circuit occur .

　　For this reason, experts suggest that consumers should check the trademarks and nameplates when buying hand warmers, and select products marked with regular manufacturers and registered trademarks. Products lacking information should not be purchased.

When using hand warmers and other rechargeable heating devices, avoid continuous use for too long, and stop using them immediately if abnormal heat is found.

It is best to stay away from flammable materials when charging, and do not cover it in quilts or clothes for a long time.