I'll be buying a few usb electric plugs soon where I can plug in my electronics that charge via USB wires directly into power outlets. I'm thinking of just buying the cheap generic brands but I'm skeptical because I've heard of a few horror stories of houses burning down because of these cheap plugs, but I don't know what brands would be good to buy as an alternate to generic ones since they are so widespread here. I don't want to spend too much on it either by buying only big name products so I'm hoping you guys could suggest some good brands of these or if you could maybe share your experience with your current generic ones if you have any comments on it.
Generic brands can be dangerous when they're manufactured from China without much oversight. However, you should buy these cords from Amazon through their Amazon Basics line. You'll get a great price on them, and their quality is fairly high compared to even the name brands. Amazon Basics features a ton of other electronic cables and accessories at an affordable price, and I'd recommend that line for anything that suits your fancy.
I'd recommend buying the original brand charger if you are planning to charge devices such as mobile phones, since the battery could overheat and start an electrical fire under incorrect voltage. As always you should always keep an eye on your device as it is charging, don't charge them overnight since you never know what might happen.
If you're scared of an electric fire, then I would recommend buying the original. There is no harm in spending a few extra dollars. If you travel a lot, I would also suggest buying an adapter that comes with many different plugs, a legitimate one from a reputable source. So far, all of my chargers have been from reputable sources as I usually get them as gifts. If you're looking for cheap USB adapters, then perhaps an online marketplace may help.
I have used a universal battery charger before that came with a USB port, and it was ok. It lasted for 3 years until it had a short-circuit the moment I charged a cellphone battery that wasn't used in a year. So I guess not all Chinese products suck.
I have a $9.9 cheap LuguLake travel adapter on amazon with several different plug including usb plug, I think it is convenient to fit for any environment.
Regardless of price, check and make sure the amperage is decent (somewhere in the 1.5 - 2.0A range) to ensure that your charging speed is quick. If it's below that, you can expect to take a while for the charge to fill. The difference can be quite substantial if your device can support a speed charger; my phone can charge from ~10% to full in about an hour with a quick charger. On a typical charger, or god forbid USB over a computer, it could take over 5 hours to top off.
You get what you pay for, so if you go for cheap you'll get a cheaply made product! Also, it's how often are you using the product and how well it's maintain highly determines it's longevity in usability - even high-end quality products can break in one second. I usually go for the cheap stuff regarding these usb plug adapters - although not the super-cheap ones but more of a mediocre type product - because I'm not going to use such a thing too often.
You can definitely get cheap USB chargers that work perfectly fine. I got a $10 OEM (Blackberry) micro USB fast charger off of Amazon and it's of high build quality but still cheap. It charges incredibly quickly and the cord is rubberized so it coils nicely rather than crimps up like some cords do. It's also much longer than your standard charging cable... you just need to know what to look for and you can find plenty of things cheap but with good build quality.
I have read that cheap no name USB phone chargers can damage smartphones. I had a couple of really cheap chargers that I bought from Big Lots!, but I got rid of them after I read that article.
I think the only way they could potentially damage your smart phone is if the adapter is improperly grounded, at which point it'd be a fire hazard too and likely wouldn't have passed quality control inspection. AC adapters are really simple technology - there will be varying quality but the odds of complete and catastrophic failure causing damage to the attached device or some sort of fire would be very slim. More likely it'd just pop a resistor or two and smoke out.
