Disaster Warning for those with CCFLs

I agree. I ended up melting the 5v line and a ground line of a floppy power cable because I was incompetent in attaching it correctly

 

i had one off these and i got a smell off burning it did the same thing but saved it on time

 

well i never really have liked CCFL's never used them. they give a nice effect when glowing in tune with the bass beats but i will never let any CCFL near my computer as reading this, cause even before i was sceptical about it. LED's all the way!!!!!!

 

I liked CCFLs until one almost set my xbox on fire. I had the inverter in a position where it couldn't get much air and so I thought it overheated. Nothing like throwing money into a project just to smell it smoking when you're done.

 

What would be great is for someone to mod a insect killer (those things with several UV tubes and a high voltage grid to kill flys etc....) into a pc mod. I doubt they would be badly made...


I burnt a hole through quite a bit of my finger using a CCFL. Just to see what it felt liek I stick my finger between the output - 1.8kv of low current goodness
I wonder if theres enough current from them to kill though? only needs a few mA (if it traveled acccross your heart, hand to hand for example) and you would die. In that case I think they should have atleast HV warning lables on the inverters.

 

insect killers, thats possible. just need to get yourself an electric racket and two uv lights and youre in buisness. if the electric current doesnt kill them, the fire will.

i personally have two ccfls, uv and blue, both sunbeams and they are both still alive. but not in use. i gave them up in favor of led fans a long time ago. theyre just too bright in my opinion. hehe.

and about bad capacitors, if anybody wants to learn more, you can go to badcaps.net the whole story is quite ugly. bad caps anywhere you can think of. all thanks to this untested beta formula for the electrolyte. heh.

and for the anti moth, i use the insect netting that you use for the windows. it serves to keep insects out (i figured id put some on the pci bracket openings after seing four spider corpses and a moth inside my pc) as well as dust. goes all grey ish after a month or so.

*edit* oh crap. i just checked the dates... @_@ wheres the delete button....

 

I also have several of those light blue inverters laying around and I had one set up and it melted the case but it didnt blow. My CCFL's turned off. I replaced it with another and so far everything is fine.

 

Are you high? This thread is two years old!

 

A knee jerk reaction if ever I saw one. Just because his cheap inverter blew up, doesnt mean cathodes are unsafe. Buy a good quality branded unit ( I can recommend AC Ryan die to reliabilty, and brightness) then you're probably OK. Like any cheap, no name generic imported piece of rubbish, you get what you pay for. Old soviet airliners used to fall out of the sky more than western ones... is flying unsafe?

My cathodes stay where they are. The only reason they shoudl blow up is if they're badly designed. Pay a premium to get a branded, reliable product, and youll be OK.

 

If you're REALLY converned, use the switches they come with or connect a spst on/off switch. If you're alone in your bedroom, who needs to see your lighting anyways?!

Yes, this is an old thread, but I've seen discussions about this recently. It's not a new problem but it's still news to some people.

 

Really? I would have though reliability would prevent them from dying.
Unless of course you mean due.
Spelling people, Spelling.

Anyways, it is fine by me for this thread revival, just to warn people of the dangers of inverters (not cathodes) put in sensitive places, mount them were they will cause minimal damage, if you are going to use them.

 

I'll just put them in a ventilated box far from everything

Problem solved

 

Just bad luck it seems, though it still sucks to be him... I'm going to put mine in a box once I start my case building, don't want to chance it...

 

There are holes on inverters for a reason - they need a bit of ventilation. I think.

 

Ive had one fail before i could even plug it in crap chinese rubbish.

 

Pedant!

 

due to this probs better dont use ccfl. use LED alot!!. thats what i think

 

Sorry to contradict ya pookey but the only cathode inverter that I've had ignite and nearly incinerate my box o' bolts was indeed, an AC Ryan one

I'm using Akasa ones at the moment and they seem fine tbh. I think the CCFL inverter problem is very real and there has been many cases of this occurring. I still use them though (foolishly maybe, after such a close call) but I never have them turned on unless I'm sitting at my desk next to the case.

I'll never forget that smell of sweet burning electronics, sprinkled with a hint of sooty black pcb smoke. Quite frankly, it scared me more than my mother in law.

Oh and by the way pookey - that's one sexy mod you got yourself there

 

Then you had a faulty one. I still see no cause for panic. I'm sure there are many people who've had a microwave oven catch fire on them, but there's no reason to assume they're not safe just because a small percentage aren't. If my car broke down tomorrow, and I start posting on a Mondeo forum that ALL ST220s are crap because mine broke down once, I'd just get laughed at, yet lots of people are removing their CCFLs from their cases on the strength of one person having an unfortunate accident. Well... I best not cross the road ever again, or use sharp implements, or use any other electrical appliances.... damn, what if my PSU catches fire.. should I not use the computer anymore either?

You had an unfortunate incident with your CCFLs... no reason damn them all as unsafe. There's nothing inherently unsafe about inverters if designed and built properly, they're no more unsafe than a switched mode supply, a television, or tons of other things that use high voltages or large amount of current.

You had a faulty one. I feel for you and all... I really do, but I think spreading panic as a result is perhaps just an over-reaction. Like someone else said in this forum, if CCFLs are unsafe then you may as well all stop using your monitors right now.. and your scanners, and your laptops, because they all use CCFLs.

Now can we please stop being silly?

Oh, and Whiskey.. glad you like the case It won't be long before my next build.. already planning it

 

Admittedly, there does seem to be a 'knee jerk, mass panic' reaction amongst the community over the risk of using CCFLs, which is clearly over the top. I personally found it all quite amusing until it happened to me.

To clarify the point, it's not the CCFLs themselves that are the problem it's poorly made/faulty inverters. And Pookey, please don't think that I'm jumping on the 'oust the CCFLs!' bandwagon because I'm not. After re-reading my post, I can see that I sort of gave that impression but it was honestly unintended.

All I was trying to convey was that the problem has occured to me and (unless people are needlessly exagerating) many others. I don't know as many people who have had led's, case windows, UV reactive sata cables or other such 'non-essential, purely for aesthetics' items suddenly turn into a smoldering wreck.

People do indeed need to stop overreacting, but simply consider the facts and make an informed decision. As I said, I still use them, though I ensure that they are installed where there is adequate airflow to dissipate the heat that they create and have them on a switch so that should I have a problem, I can cut them off immediately. Also, Pookey is correct that generally, big name brands are more reliable in this field.

Oh and Pookey - can't wait for that new mod fella . The monolith looks awesome and I was seriously considering buying a Lian Li PC71 until I realised just how big that case really is. It must look amazing in real life (don't you find they always do) but I wouldn't have room for one in my tiny single bed flat