Yep, after seeing that poor quality and confirming with my Dad (a retired electronic systems engineer), I decided I wouldn't ever take a chance on mains powered devices that aren't either ETL or UL certified. Battery powered, I only care that they use fire retardant plastic, but that's less of a concern since most are really small anyway. Very doubtful that would cause a problem.
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I'm not defending the manufacturer at all, I don't even own a Shelly product for that matter and from things I've heard I won't either. But the OP on this matter seems to just want to put all of these devices as a pour design and dangerous because his device had a problem (whether user, manufacturing or poor design).
If the OP would have given a warning to be careful that his had a problem and that he would try to contact the manufacturer and see if they can sort out what the problem might have been would have been a great post, but searching through the forums and posting pictures on all of those posts without any more info is a bit extreme and probably unwarranted.
First thing I see when looking at those pics is that the case has heated up and melted put does seem to have caught on fire, so at least the casing seems to be of a good quality flame retardant material. But without knowing what he did with it and not knowing all the details or seeing what component was affected, well.... it's all speculations for now.
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Chiming in on this after putting one in and looking to add it to my C7 and came across these post(s).
From past experience and supplier conversations, this type of damage comes from an improper install of any electrical device.
If there is no neutral, did you use Shelly bypass and get an electrician to install it? If you didn't do both, then you are truly looking at burning things down.
It is the usual and the easiest denial response as always, blaming others. The use of bypass not necessary if you have the sufficient load. I replaced it with a no name Chinese no neutral switch and it is working eversince flawlessly. And by the way I'm an electrician.
Did you ever contact Shelly to report what you believe to be a defective and unsafe device?
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I don't want to derail the conversation, but I've always assumed that these devices (no name, no neutral switch) just "cheated" and used the ground wire as a current carrying conductor. Any insight on this?
I'd also add that your experience with the Shelly device is part of the risk that we assume when we install non-listed devices. And I'm not judging...I use some unlisted devices very similar to this.
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Jesus Christ! The use of the round wire for neutral is unsafe for the network. Its a shock hazard and the residual currant switch would shut off instantly. No, this gadget dont use any other than the live and the load.
That device listing says it's a dimmer... no neutral dimmers seem to be fairly common and UL listed options are available here in the US. It's the no neutral switch devices that seem to be less common and only available from no-name Chinese manufacturers.
Ok, first let me say that I am NOT an expert here... but [I believe] some provision of the UL standard used to allow something like 0.5 mA of current on the grounding conductor in order to power newer electronic dimmers in situations where no neutral was available. This "loophole" seems to have been closed in the 2017 electric code.
I thought that some non-compliant devices might still be using this method for switching devices as well as dimmers.
Personally i wouldn't recommend that if you don't want some stay current around the house and anomalies .Look at the device, it says switch. The listing is wrong.
I had a Lutron dimmer (non smart) that actually used the ground wire as a neutral to power the low voltage part of the dimmer. Got a little shock when I was painting and removed the cover of that box and decided to loosen the screws holding it in the box (still live of course, was just painting).
I Wonder how a company like Lutron can get away with this and still pass certification or have standards changed over time.
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Plugging a device into any part of your house that does not have a UL rating is just foolish. Looking at the product (and website), that product does not have a UL listing.
A UL listing on a product doesn't guarantee quality, but it does guarantee that the design was tested and verified for safety by an independent laboratory.
UL is different than CE. UL is verified by an independent laboratory. A CE mark is a "self certification" by the manufacturer that the design complies with various international standards. A big difference.
Do you remember the electrical scooters that caught on fire a few years back? Yup - not UL listed.
What is the equivalent to UL in the EU/UK? Serious question...
There are other nationally recognized testing laboratories equivalent to UL. But I agree, without one of those, I would never consider plugging in or permanently wiring a device in my home.
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I have the first one from the left. Works flawlessly.
Same thing happened to me but not after 15min... after about 7 months.
setup is for garage door opener and it worked for about 7 months.
The Shelly 1 has its own power supply attached 12vdc 1a and the jumper is set for 12vdc.
I have a switch attached to SW and L- to monitor when the door is opened and closed.
I and O are going to the garage door opener button
I have opened a ticket with Shelly and given them the details and pics I'm not sure if i will replace with the same device unless they can tell me what went wrong.
Mine looks way worse than the pics above but it seems I cannot upload the pics
Thanks thebearmay for the info on uploading the pics... already spoke with Shelly and they are replacing the device.
** I am still worried about putting one back on my garage door opener. They did not give an explanation but were surprised that it worked for 7 months then stopped working.
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