transformer advertising

[sitelights]

I hope that members will bear with me while I review an advertisement for a transformer, the ad, NOT the transformer itself which I have never seen in the "flesh". I've been presented (via USPS today) with a perfect example of the kind of direct mail piece that purports to provide information about a product while the "information" is merely confusing if not intentionally obfuscating. I am sure that all active designer/installer members have received the same mailer recently.

The mail piece is 8.5" X 11"; a cover-weight, coated, folded, glossy sheet printed in black & white on the address side and with a 4 color photograph and text on the other. An image of this mailer has been added (01.29.04) below. I received this item from Lion Lighting Products, 180 Comfort Road, Palatka, Florida 32177 (800.546.6766) http://www.LionLighting.com. I will inform them of this review.

There is no indication on the mailed piece that the advertised transformers comply with, or conform to any agency or standard: not UL , not ETL, not NEC, not CSA...zilch.

The b&w side states "NEW LOW PRICES ON OUR LATEST SERIES OF HIGH TAP TRANSFORMERS." and "SAVE MONEY WITH OUR NEW POWER MAX.tm.SERIES TRANSFORMERS." The large type face messages are surrounded by borders of "12V 13V 14V 15V 16V 17V 18V 19V 20V 21V" printed dropped out of a background of diamond plate pattern.

The "money" side in four color has text on the left side of the sheet and a photograph of a transformer on the right. The photograph is 2.5" X 8.5" (about half size) and has quite visible detail. Solely on the basis of the text and the image I intend to review this product and examine the manufacturer's claims.

Three products are described: PM600, PMD600 and PM300; the product illustrated is a PMD600 "deluxe" which has a label "SAFETY VOLT manufactured by A. J. Giommanco & Associates Palatka, FL 31277". All the products share the 12v to 21v taps and the "removable power cord" feature. The two 600w units and the PM300 300w unit have "single isolation coil construction"; the PM600 has a "huge 324 cubic inch wiring compartment", the PMD has a "spacious wiring compartment" and the PM300 has a "large wiring compartment". The PM600 has "secondary circuit protection standard"; the PMD600 has "resettable magnetic breakers"; the PM300 has "automatic resetting circuit protection". Only the PMD600 boasts "large terminal blocks" and "X-10 compatible".

Under "available field replaceable options" the PM600 and the PM300 list a photocell, "mechanical timer" and a "battery backed up mechanical timer". The PMD600 "deluxe" apparently is not available with the "battery backed up timer" since it is not stated.

Let's examine these advertised features. The PM600 has a "324 cubic inch wiring compartment"; this is roughly a 5" X 5" X 13" cavity that is "huge" but the PMD600 "deluxe" compartment is only "spacious" and the PM300 is merely "large". If the intent is to tout the size of the wiring compartments, why not give the actual dimensions? The PMD600 in the photograph shown cannot contain a "spacious" wiring compartment in the ordinary sense. By extrapolating the approximately half size image, the actual stainless steel case dimensions are about (5"w X 5" d X 18"); using this scale, the area beneath the primary and secondary terminal blocks (the actual wiring compartment) is less than 75 cubic inches. The blocks are stepped back and fed from below so the distance between the lower edge of the block and the bottom of the case is about 3". Lion has measured the huge/spacious/large wiring compartments by adding the cubic inch dimensions of the space behind the removable cover and above the terminal block; this space is not a "wiring compartment" for the primary and secondaries at all but it contains the the largest volume within the envelope of the unit. This area contains the breaker switches, the photcell socket and the plug in cord and receptacle for a timer. The "324 cubic inch" claim is misleading and to my mind false.

I am not sure what is meant by "...single isolation coil construction" since it is used to describe both the 600w units and the 300w units but the 600w unit is actually a dual 300w as is clearly shown by the two heat-resistant cloth sheaths containing the bundles of wiring extending up to the two (unpotted?) transformer coils at the top of the case.

The text states three different forms of safety devices: "secondary circuit protection standard" (but how?), "resettable magnetic breakers" (shown as two "bat wing" toggles) and "automatic resetting circuit protection". Why not state the type of protection explicitly? Why not state that the PM300 has thermal overload protection only on the primary and nothing else? These are rhetorical questions; we know why.

The removable power cord leads are clamped into the lower terminal block and labeled as primary "white", "black" and there are two grounding terminals marked "green" (when only one is needed) this is simply to the match the eight upper (all secondary) and the eight lower terminals: black, white, green, green, (primary) and 18v, 19v, 20v and 21v (secondary). The extranneous "green" terminal could be eliminated and replaced with a 22v secondary just like Unique's.

The mix of 120v and 12v to 22v on the two terminal levels looks flakey to me; there is a very small air gap between the primary and secondary connector points and they are all identical except for a stick-on label for differentiation. These terminals appear to be quite small and, if the power cord size is not misleading, look as if they would hold a single 12 gauge or a single 10 gauge secondary cable conductor.

The removable power cord allows convenient hardwiring but NEC requires a readily available disconnect point to power down the device. As a hardwired installation there is no way to conveniently service the unit except "hot". There is no visible way "turn off" the 120v feed; with a power cord/receptacle interface one could just pull the plug. Shame on you guys. Now that I think of it, why am I wasting my time on this crap?

I have a real problem with these photocell and clock retrofit sockets. The photocell terminal block and the lamp cord plug into the timer receptacle are both 120v and exposed to the whim of anyone who, in ignorance, opens the case and pokes around. These connections should be within the case and not readily accessible to the owner.

Apparently the PM line uses the same case for both the 300w and 600w types. A foil cover on a third position for an additional breaker switch leads one to believe that a 900w unit is or will be available. The switches on the PMD600 are labeled "on-off circuit one" and "on-off circuit two" but the terminal block secondaries, except for the commons are not labeled "one" or "two". This means that although there are 10 voltages available only one voltage per circuit is possible unless smaller gauges (14, 16?) are used and the cables are doubled (tripled?) at the common terminals.

Of course, I could be totally wrong about everything; after all I am merely reading text and looking at a picture. Perhaps someone who uses these Lion products could set me straight point-by-point; maybe even the manufacturer.

[sitelights]

As stated at the end of the second paragraph of my original post, I sent the following E-mail alert to Lion Lighting on the same date as my post: "I received an unsolicited copy of your direct mail advertising piece recently. This mailer (NOT the transformers) has been reviewed under 'Product Reviews' titled 'transformer advertisement' at http//www.lowvolt.org. This is to inform you that any errors contained in the review will be corrected; I will, however, need convincing. Response to the product review can be posted at lowvolt.org. If you choose to E-mail me directly, be aware that I may quote your response as a post on lowvolt.org."

I received an E-mail response from Jack Du Lin, President of Lion Lighting, on 12.30.03 at noon. Jack chose to respond at length and in detail via E-mail. Lowvolt.org's protocols do not allow posting by a non-member (or posting for a non-member) and since Jack chose not to join and post his response on the forum I will quote relevant portions of his E-mail here. Note that I would have much preferred to have his response as a post since his communication to me is too lengthly to quote in its entirety. The quotes will be verbatim and in context; it is not my intent to play any word games here so I will do my best to accurately convey Jack's perspective in this matter. To those who would prefer the full text of his response I suggest that they contact me and I will forward the original E-mail.

I have changed the order of topics in Jack's E-mail to conform to the order in my original post; this is done to eliminate the necessity to cross-reference each individual point. Also, I have limited the scope of the response and quotes to the three models covered in my original post: PM600, PMD600 and PM300; I wrote nothing about other Lion transformers.

In response to my comment that there was no information about compliance with standards: Lion "Our PM and PMD model transformers are currently scheduled for testing with ETL."

In response to my challenge concerning wiring compartment size: Lion "Our three different styles of transformers each have different wiring compartments and features, so any assumptions you make based on single picture are inaccurate."

On my uncertainty about "single isolation coil construction": Lion "Our transformers are indeed single coil construction and can carry their full rated load. We do not put two 300 watt coils into an enclosure and call it a 600 watt transformer as some manufacturers do. We wind a single 600 watt and use the sleeving that you saw in the photo to make routing the wires between the coil and the output terminals easier." and "All of our other transformers are 'potted'."

Safety devices: Lion "...our model PMD600 have resettable circuit breakers on the secondary circuits. Our economy model PM600 and PM300 watt transformers are available with UL listed fuses in UL listed fuse holders." and "All of our transformers feature an internal, automatically resetting circuit on the primary coil winding."

Removeable power cords: Lion "Our removeable power cord is a non issue. Where a transformer has to be hard wired, every manufacturer's power cord can be removed or the power cord can simply be cut. We just made our's easier to remove without having to tear the enclosure apart or drill out rivets." and "You are right in that we have two grounding terminals. I don't see an additional safety feature as a problem."

Terminal size: Lion "Our wiring terminals may appear to be small, but they are equal to and bigger than most on the market today."

I am not convinced that any of my original post needs correction. Everything in the post was based entirely on the sheet in front of me. I knew nothing about Lion products other than what I saw and read on the sheet. Most of the points that I made were not addressed at all. In fact, it was the claim of a "huge 324 cubic inch wiring compartment" that triggered my post. If one aspect of the mailer could be so blatantly misleading then how about the rest?

Lion "The post card that you received was only an announcement that we are making additions to our product line, specifically higher output taps, and was never intended to be used as a spec. sheet or in any other way."

There is nothing new about "...accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative..." (an old song lyric) in advertising; I was merely drawing attention to the emphasis on the "sizzle rather than the steak."

Based on the information presented to me, I would not use any of the Lion products which do not meet my standard: full compliance with UL1838 built-in as standard equipment. To offer products that require additional expenditures to bring a base model up to the mark (safety optional!) is a disservice to the business; it allows the bottom-feeders and low-ballers to cut corners as a means of gaining a competitive advantage to the detriment of the unwitting consumer. This outfit is proud to present a 600 watt single coil 12 to 21 volt transformer to the market when 300 watts maximum and a maximum of 15 volts per circuit are the the basic requirements for UL1838 listing. Caveat Emptor.

Hey Jack, here comes another E-mail.

[sitelights]

This post contains only the illustration referred to in the description of the mailer advertisement.