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).

 

[GeForce]

They should be fine. You say they've been kept dry, which is good: moisture is definitely a bad thing for electrical equipment, especially TVs.

Try and get as much of the dust off as you can, but it shouldn't make much difference as they are designed to cope with being covered in dust.

To be on the safe side, plug them into the mains via an RCD. Then, if anything does decide to explode, you'll be a lot safer (not untouchable, however).

Jon

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

 

[Sankari]

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).

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

If you are instantly electrocuted, they work.

 

[Berserker]

...

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]

 

[GeForce]

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).

The plastics do get a bit tired, and break more easily, as I think you've discovered!

I was referring to the actual cathode ray tube itself, which gets more fragile as it ages. I can't remember exactly which component it is, but I know that a knock to an old CRT will cause more permanent damage than if it was new.

Jon