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LaCie network space 2 almost catch fire

F

freituk

n00b
Joined
Apr 11, 2011
Messages
29
So this is my history:
I bought this drive some years ago (2014 i think). I use this drive to manage my time machine backups.
Some days ago, after left home to work, i forgot my laptop and had to go back home. Then i found my External HDD as you can see on video and photos. Was a miracle i had to go back...
I contacted Lacie and the final answer was this:

"Reading over your case and viewing the attachments, I agree to be upset and worried.

As an Electrical Engineer you have good knowledge of what happened.
Obvious the heat source s at the power supply connecter at the drive, molten and smoking plastic.
This indicates the low resistance causing the heat development is at the connection point.

As shown in the attachment the power supply is designed to several safety and qualification standards e.g. CE, UL, C-Tc, GS/ nemko approved for indoor use
The Power Supply has a build in over heat protection in the electronic module; it does not detect a connector heating that is not physical connected to the electronic module.

The Power Supply has an over current protection, if the current gets to high the power supply shuts down.
Obvious the current supply did get not to high; the power supply did not shut down.
All the power went into the “short at the low Ohm circuit” at the connection point, heating up the teal and melting the plastic.
This plastic melts at about 70 or 80 deg. Celsius and is self-distinguishing, meaning it will melt but not ignite to flames as ualified by standards

I feel sorry that it happened, but at this moment there is not much I can do.
As you mentioned your worry is about defective power supply, that possible could be a hazard.

As the setup is it is within all regulation and meet all standards for indoor use safety standards.

We appreciate bringing your case to our attention."

So, if my house burn cause of bad power supply there is nothing i can do.

This history have no moral, but Lacie could at least send me a new drive...



IMG_0181.jpg IMG_5536.jpg IMG_5534.jpg
 
LOL, English was shit from that rep, wrong words all over.
That's why you don't buy Lacie, PoS.
 
Does Lacie have a Twitter account? Post this on it, maybe it'll go viral.

Also, Reddit.
 
As others have said -- facebook, twitter, all that. Make sure others see it, and they'll make it right. Shame them in to doing what they should have done from the start.
 
Honestly I do not think they can respond the way they have knowing it became a fire hazard. I would demand conversation with a manager.
 
Lacie externals have been the most unreliable I've ever dealt with. Seriously post it to their Twitter, blast it out. I've had to blacklist people buying them due to all the extra headaches they cause. Or in some cases... Lost work.
 
And to play devil's advocate, it's a power supply LaCie buys in bulk from the lowest bidder in China, the same as every other electronics manufacturer. It died, the proper regulation did not kick in and it melted plastic and scared the interface board. I've had so many cheap consumer grade HP laptops do this in the past that I've lost count, so that scenario is by no means a new experience. It sucks, and I hope they replace it, but that's really the best you can hope for.
 
Nate7311 said:
It died, the proper regulation did not kick in and it melted plastic and scared the interface board.
Click to expand...

I think what they were trying to say was that there is nothing that would've detected that, unless resistance increased to a point to cause a short trip.. AS it was, the resistance was enough to cause heating but not trip.

This usually happens on laptop power supplies, where the cord has been tripped on and broken internally. The solder at the base of the centre of the plug (+vs usually) breaks and this is where heat occurs on high current PSUs. I've seen this happen before, on a much smaller scale with 15V 5A adaptors of acceptable to good quality.

So yes, obviously that sort of power level is more than enough to melt or seriously overheat a faulty, high resistance connector. Seen it happen with LED PSUs of 54V 2.3A - melted plastic around a connector which was loose. And these are high end, IP67, millitary grade taiwanese PSUs from a market leading brand. Hell, PSUs like it are used in some of the highest end laser projectors in the world.

It's simply that we have such powerful PSUs that it's difficult to detect this fault condition without (I presume) expensive additional circuitry for a fraction of a percent of usage cases.

And yeah lacie stuff usually never lasts, remember fixing a few back in the days to no avail - it's shit but the housings look good next to your apple gear... hence the department heads will order it.
 
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