I have a projection TV which has not been plugged in for almost two years now. I’d like to get rid of it, but due to its size and location the only feasible means to do so is to disassemble it piece by piece. I understand there are components within this TV (capacitors? I’ve forgotten what little electronics knowledge I had in my old age) that contain high voltage.
After this period of time devoid of electrical input, is it safe to perform the disassembly of the TV?
Thanks!
If this TV has a picture tube (I’m not sure how many kinds of projection TVs there are) there could be very high voltage capacitors. If it doesn’t, the TV is not very special relative to other electronic appliances. And, yes, capacitors are the components that could hold dangerous voltages.
Do you know the TV has not been plugged in for almost two years for sure? I think that makes it unlikely you could get a shock out of a capacitor. But I have a big capacitor (though it’s a low voltage one) I found on the side of the road (!) that I charged and watched for months, and it stayed charged. I’m not 100% certain your TV is harmless.
If you watch out for cylindrical components that are bigger than AA batteries, you should be OK. These would probably be large capacitors. Any component with two leads will be safe after you used an insulated jumper, or perhaps a metal screwdriver blade set in a big plastic handle, to bridge between those leads. Or, since the thing is scrap, you could also greatly reduce the possibility of anything holding a charge by spraying its insides with salted water from a spray bottle.
If this were my project I’d probably dismantle it happily, but be cautious about bigger cylindrical parts. And I’m gonna guess the odds are 97% that you couldn’t get a shock out of this thing if you tried.
Officially, not safe. There are alleged cases of components holding onto charges for years.
One of the main things in a CRT tv is the tube itself holds a walloping charge. If you have a truly old one, you might have not just one but three of these dangerous little buggers. If this is the case, I’d be wary of disposing it. (Plus they have lead inside them, making them fairly significant toxic waste. Not to mention the hazards of implosion.)
The caps in the power supply and the flyback transformer circuit can also be a hazard. But probably not for years. (Again, only a real problem after all this time if it’s a CRT model.)
If you have CRTs, then you’re going to need someone with expertise on TV repair to help out. Shocks are only one part of the problem.
Discharging caps is fun! Also potentially dangerous. The commercial monitors I used to work were designed to make it easy to discharge the caps with a screw driver. Consumer products not so much all the time. The terminals may not be exposed and if it’s a 3 tube projector you may have 3 times as many caps as a regular TV not to mention the 3 tubes. However, the electronics may not be that big of a package, once you remove the case, and the screen and any mirrors if it’s backlit, then you may be able to remove electronics in one piece.
Thanks all!
As far as I know there is no CRT; it’s a Mitsubishi WS-55857, and yes, it’s been unplugged and taking up room in the master bedroom (functioning as yet another piece of flat surface on which things can be stacked) for nearly two years.
That’s a 3-CRT model. If you can cut the top off and just wrestle the bottom (where the main electronics are) around, you should be okay. Don’t know where you’re going to dispose of it safely, though.
(Googling the model turned up a stale Amazon page. The weight is 1 pound. Should be easy to lift! :))
Check with your town first. You shouldn’t just chuck it in the trash (CRTs are full of lead). But most towns will have some way of dealing with them: bring it down the the DPW or something. For instance, my town will pick them up on garbage day, but you have to call ahead of time and let them know.
Huh, I didn’t realize there were CRTs in projection TVs. You learn something new everyday!
OK, so getting it into two separate pieces sounds perhaps doable for getting it out of there. The town will take old electronics if you pay for a sticker, so I can do that and get rid of it. Yay!
Thanks everyone!