September-October 2002

• We tested 8 brands of foreign-made hairdryers against the Indian Standards and found all of them unsafe.
  
• The brands tested were Barbara 1100, Barbara 1350, Crown, Grace, Mounolax, National, Saifox, and Super Diana.
  
• Live parts were accessible in Barbara 1350, Crown, Grace, National, and Saifox, which may come in contact with the user while using the hairdryer.
  
• Leakage current should not exceed 210 micro amps. Though all the brands were found within limits we could not measure the leakage current in Crown as it stopped working during the test.
  
• Saifox, Crown, National and Grace did not conform to insulation resistance test in humid conditions. The insulation of Saifox broke down in dry conditions also.
  
• None of the brands conformed to the test on abnormal operation. All the brands deformed and there was fire.
  
• The brands were tested at different voltages to see if they could withstand the variation in voltage , which is very common in India. Crown and Barbara 1100 could not take this variation and stopped working.
  
• National, Crown, Barbara 1100 and Super Diana did not conform to the test on operation under overload, under the pressure of which your dryer should not buckle.
  
• All the brands except Barbara 1100 and Barbara 1350 consumed less power than claimed by the manufacturer. Rated watts was not marked in the case of Barbara 1100 and Barbara 1350.
  
• The overall construction of National, Saifox, Crown, Barbara 1350, Grace and Barbara 1100 was not up to the standards. The electrical connections between different parts of Grace, Barbara 1350, Barbara 1100 and saifox were not adequately protected. This could lead to a short circuit.
  
• Only National had provided the right length of the cord. All the rest had short cords which could get pulled while using the dryer.
  
• The plugs of Mounolax, National, Crown, Barbara 1100, Barbara 1350 and Super Diana failed the component test.
  
• Mounolax could not conform to resistance to heat fire and tracking. Hairdryers should be able to handle moisture and dust.
  
• In order to perform well the air from the dryer should have a good blow and the temperature should not be very high. The blow of Grace and Barbara 1350 was not adequate.
  
• None of the brands could stand the endurance test, conducted to check the life of the dryer.
  
• None of them had the complete labelling information as required by the standard.
  
• The price ranged between Rs.110 and Rs.375.
  
• In India supply voltage is 230 V AC. Crown, Barbara 1100, Barbara 1350, Mounolax and Super Diana have been marked with 220 V AC.
  
• Not that we are very fond of Crown, but we had to buy eight samples instead of two because it failed in majority of parameters.

Details of the test report can be had in INSIGHT

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