Why shouldn't you buy a fake AVR? What can a fake AVR do to my generator?

Why shouldn't you buy a fake AVR?

A regular question - why shouldn't you buy a counterfeit or fake AVR? Like everything fake it can be much cheaper, but you cannot tell the quality visually of something like an AVR. It might look identical to the original - the same branding, the same color and the same markings on the components. ITS NOT THE SAME! Like everything fake, the people making the part care about one thing. They don't care about your generator. They don't care about the equipment that you are powering from your generator. They don't care about your life, or your families lives. They care only about making money.

So how do they make money selling a fake AVR so cheaply?

Firstly they find the cheapest possible components. These are not safety tested, nor approved, but they might be stamped as approved. Because they aren't safety approved, they put the lives of everyone in danger.

Secondly, they aren't insured. All genuine companies in the west have insurance, this costs money. For large businesses, it costs lots of money. They have insurance to cover their liability if their products fail. If your generator burns down your house or business because you have fitted a fake AVR, will they pay? The company that made it won't. You won't be able to find them. The product is fake, it doesn't say who really made it.

Finally, they aren't paying their taxes and they probably have links to organized crime. If they don't care about you, your equipment or your family, why would they care about paying tax? Equally, if they don't care about paying tax, why would they are about selling drugs, laundering money and using violence to protect their interests. Don't help fund organized crime.

What can a fake AVR do to my generator?

As above, the criminal gangs don't care about your generator, or the equipment that is attached to it. Some of the things that can happen when buying a fake AVR.

1. It can fail; sometimes in a few moments. If it cost you $30, are you going to pay $20 to return it? No probably not, especially to China for a refund, so they win.
2. It can fail to regulate your voltage correctly. It might work at a steady state, but when the going gets tough and the load fluctuates, will it handle the load like the genuine article? They don't care, again, are you going to return it?
3. Worst case - It can burn out your machine. The AVR feeds voltage to the exciter stator, which in turn feeds the rest of the generator. What if the AVR overexcites the machine and burns it out? Could it start a fire endangering your home or business?
4. Does it provide the protections to the machine? AVR's normally have protections built into them. Protections such as under frequency, over frequency, current limit, over-excitation and over voltage. Without these protections working correctly, damage could be caused to your generator or the equipment it is feeding.