Testing old electrical equipment

[Berserker]

I'm in the process of having a house clearout. As such, I have a couple of TVs/VCRs that haven't been used for several years (maybe 5). They've all been kept indoors/dry etc, so save for a pile of dust which I'll do my best to remove is there anything I should do from a safety point of view before plugging them in to see if they work. Blowing myself or the house up wouldn't be a good result.

(If they do work, I'll probably freecycle 'em as the fact that I've not used them says I don't need them).

 

[Berserker]

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Edit: Also, try and be careful when moving the TVs around. I'm sure you will, I'm just pointing out that as CRTs age they get more susceptible to knocks

Aye - RCD is a good plan. I have one somewhere - or will go buy a new one (not a bad plan anyway).

Didn't know about old CRTs being susceptable so I'll certainly bear that in mind (unless of course you're referring to the plastics used - been there, done that - lost count of how many bits of plastic have disintegrated on me over the last few weeks).

Plug them into the wall, immerse them in a half-full bathtub, and switch on the power.

If you are instantly electrocuted, they work.

[007 (Connery to be precise)] Shocking [/007]