Quote:
Originally Posted by Carmine
Hmm, that 1970 article does list GE sets as more prone to catch fire than many other popular brands. (No data was submitted on Japanese manufacturers)  |
Note: only certain models.
Also note that the reporting of TV set "fires" is historically extremely sloppy. It undoubtedly includes some cases of smoke but no fire due to operation of a circuit breaker or fuse, and some cases where the fire started in some other way, but the TV set was blamed because it was convenient. Still, the engineering evaluation of materials present to support combustion is valid, and I believe these kinds of things were addressed by UL with stricter criteria for materials and tests. I personally can recall upgrades of PC board materials and wire insulation temperature ratings, although the details are lost to memory since I did not work in product engineering.
All that said, I do not leave my 1967 Magnavox plugged in when not in use.