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UL Warns of Counterfeit Ground Rods

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is notifying electricians, regulatory authorities and consumers that certain ground rods sold at various hardware and home improvement stores bear a counterfeit UL Mark for the United States. The ground rods in question have not been evaluated for safety by UL and are not eligible to bear the UL Mark. It is unknown if the mechanical properties and dimensional tolerances of the ground rods are suitable to ensure an adequate ground path over time.

Name of Product: Ground Rod, Catalog Number PWC 588

Units: Unknown quantity

Manufacturer: Unknown

Date of Manufacture: Unknown

Identification:

The counterfeit ground rods are similar in appearance to ground rods Listed by UL for Priority Wire & Cable. The following description illustrates the distinguishing characteristics of a typical UL-Listed ground rod:

Priority Wire & Cable Listed ground rods bear the UL Listing Mark consisting of the following:

               PWC UL LISTED E170100 588
                      Ground Rod

Counterfeit Ground Rod

The counterfeit ground rods are marked only with the following information:

                      UL PWC 588

What you should do: If you suspect a counterfeit ground rod was installed on your premises, contact a qualified electrician and have it replaced with a UL-Listed ground rod. If you have in your possession a ground rod bearing a counterfeit UL Mark that has not been installed, UL recommends that the counterfeit ground rod be returned to the place of purchase.

Underwriters Laboratories is an independent, not-for-profit product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 21 billion UL Marks appearing on 71,000 manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 66 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 104 countries. For more information, visit: www.UL.com/newsroom.