Monoprice cable recall

Jessie.slimer

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I just ordered another 1k from them. It will be here Tues.
 

turq

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I just quickly perused this thread. My experience so far.
I responded to the recall online. It took Monoprice about a week to respond back . Some of the wording in the email response, had me scratching my head. I'm not sure it's an American responding by some of the typos and such. They are sending me a new spool to replace the affected 250' roll I bought. I do not have to return what I haven't used. I listed my runs as 50' (which I approximated). I inquired about replacing what I previously installed, and how I do not want any strangers in my house, especially at this time. They responded back

"Since the length of runs of the cables installed is 50ft below, that is safe to use. You no longer need to return the remaining cables not installed." You can see what I am talking about in the language used in that sentence. Not that it matters....I guess. Just surprised Monoprice in the USA is not handling this.

Edit: Well this explain the email wording. "Monoprice, a leading online retailer offering high-quality and affordably priced consumer electronics and tech accessories, and YFC-BonEagle Electric Co., Ltd. (YFC), a Taiwan-based leading provider of power cord sets and networking peripherals, announced today that YFC has acquired Monoprice in a cash transaction valued at $40 million." That was from 2016....hmm I guess I've been a little distracted since 2016.
 
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Jessie.slimer

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I recieved my order of cable, a couple days early. It's definitely from a different manufacturer. The blue colored jacket does not match the blue from the recalled cable, and the printing on the jacket is different.
 

tigerwillow1

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I bought a new box of CMR cat6 from Monoprice, and it's labeled as Made in Vietnam. I'll be replacing a couple of long runs of the recall cable soon and file a recall claim for the newly uninstalled recall cable.

I'd sure like to know what's magic about 50 foot or less runs, as in the monoprice response 2 posts above. The only place I can find an applicable 50 foot rule is in NEC 805.48 that allows up to 50 foot runs of unlisted cable inside a building, ONLY IF that cable enters the building from the outside. Logically, if a 50 foot run for a cable from outside is ok, then a 50 foot run for any cable should be ok, but that's not what the rules say.

The way most of use the cable would be covered by NEC article 725 because it's wiring within a building. I don't see any permitted use of unlisted cable in there no matter what the length.

Is monoprice's response incorrect? Is it an exception negotiated just for this recall? If anybody is able to figure it out, please tell us!
 
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sebastiantombs

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It could be that the smoke/toxics from a run of 50 feet or less does not exceed acceptable levels. Just a guess, though.
 

turq

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the more they Baffle you with BS the less they have to replace.. bottom line.


My feelings exactly. They did replace the cable, and at the moment I have more important fish to fry. So didn't question it.
 

Mac13

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Did anyone have to return the recalled cable they had installed? They sent me a new 500' spool of CAT6 and emailed me a return shipping label. I asked them what that was for and they said I had to send back all of the recalled cable that I remove and replace with the new cable. No way I'm bothering sending back the used cabling. A few runs I wasn't going to replace in my home anyways so I really don't want to remove that and send it back.
 

tigerwillow1

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I had to return my cable before they sent the replacement. I concur with a previous comment that the people running the recall are not native English speakers and while their command of English is pretty good, it's difficult to get a thought across or to understand the response. Before I started the recall process I asked a bunch of questions that all received non-answers. It could be they didn't understand the questions. The email responses I received were all sent overnight, suggesting they were came from the other side of an ocean from USA. Here's a rundown of the whole process:

  • I purchased a new 250' box. It was made in Vietnam.
  • I uninstalled and replaced 250' of the recall cable.
  • Nov 12 - Submitted recall form via email, noting cable purchased from Monoprice and is not installed
  • Nov 13 - Monoprice responds asking for copy of Amazon invoice, noting cable has not been installed
  • Nov 13 - I sent copy of Monoprice invoice and noted "not installed" is not the same as "has not been installed"
  • Nov 16 - Monoprice requests my shipping address, and says they will supply prepaid shipping label for me
  • Nov 16 - Return shipping label received
  • Nov 17 - I respond that the return label is not prepaid
  • Nov 17 - Prepaid return shipping label received
  • Nov 19 - I shipped the old cable back
  • Nov 28 - Received the replacement cable, made in Vietnam

In one way the process was efficient, in another way frustrating. Now I have a box of cat6 that I have no foreseeable use for, the price I paid for not wanting their contractor hacking around where the cable was installed.
 

snapshotgt

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Are we to assume that all the cable listed on their website and currently shipping is non-recall fire-approved cable?
 

LittleBrother

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Yes, I checked it and this is indeed the cable I ran. Fair enough that other suppliers may have the same cable, but this speaks incredibly poorly on Monorpice IMO. I can't even fathom the amount of work it will be to replace the runs I did.
ANY company can have quality issues and eventually 100% of them will. The fact monoprice is eating the labor is shocking. Based on what inread in that link if it were me I’d not lose a second sleep over it, nor do anything for cable already run.
 
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