Lenovo Recalling More Than 500,000 Power Cords

[exfileme]

These power cords can be a fire hazard.

Lenovo Recalling More Than 500,000 Power Cords : Read more

 

[gggplaya]

Europes 220v is less efficiently regulated down to 19v's then the US's 120v. More heat, means more problems.

 

[Jake Hall]

HAHAHA... that's what you get when you outsource your power source

 

[WFang]

Europes 220v is less efficiently regulated down to 19v's then the US's 120v. More heat, means more problems.

sure, but this problem is in the power cord, not in the conversion from AC to DC. In this case, the higher voltage means less current flows in the AC cord, thus less heat is expected in the cable hardware, not more.

 

[sportfreak23]

Expected this recall.

 

[qlum]

From what I know going down from 230v is actually more efficient then the american voltages, just look at power supply efficiency, the European figures are just a bit more efficient.

 

[niksal12]

I believe that you made a mistake at the end of your article: "that they're using the "LS-125" power cord". Shouldn't that be LS-15? HP had the same recall as well for these cords.

 

[m00fin]

That's what happens when you buy cheap "copper" for $10 a mile from China. It's got so much other junk in it that at any particular gauge it can handle less current than high purity copper, leading to potential overheating and fire hazards.

 

[zodiacfml]

Guys, no. Voltage has nothing to do here, as others said, higher voltages are better. The US is actually behind this spec. It also doesn't have to do with the purity of the copper used.
I suspect it is the design/reliability/quality of the mechanical connector to the AC adapter which becomes weak/loose causing the sparking, heating, then burning.