my crt exploded, 56 packard bell

[jbivy]

So its 97 degrees and im attempting to nap on the couch, I hear a boom which to me sounded like a .38 being fired off. I stumble around and cant quite pin point where that sound came from. Then i notice my feet were bleeding..

I look at the floor and realize id passed my 56 packard bell tv and that the safety glass was shattered but mostly in one piece. After my wife cleaned and bandaged my feet, we swept and pulled the tv out of its nook and realized the dang crt exploded and thats what shattered the safety glass. Now this tv hasnt been used in six months, not after it was restored and used for a black and white movie marathon.

It was unplugged, why the heck did the crt implode on me? Was it because it was a real hot day or? Perhaps theres gremlins in my home.

Any idea why an unplugged tvs picture tube would just pop like this?

[old_tv_nut]

Wow.

What size CRT?

Only wild speculation here to start:
Could the CRT have been badly scratched at some time?
Is it posible something was tightened with a sharp pressure point (like a mounting point that had a deteriorated soft pad of some kind) that eventually got too tight due to temperature?

[jr_tech]

Let me get this straight... are you saying that the safety glass shattered *first* then *after* you cleaned that up the CRT imploded?

jr

[jbivy]

old_tv_nut

I believe this was a 24" crt, ill dig out the photofacts tonight and find exactly what size and type thistube was. Best case scenario, it was used in a few tv's, so theres a chance i can find another out there.. The strap that held the crt in place had a deteriorated rubber pad. I "cured" that with using a few strips of inner tube glued to that band, so it would cushion the crt.

I saw no scratches on the tube itself during the restoration and didnt think i over tightened anything, though heck, maybe i did.

jr_tech no, the crt had exploded and took out the safety glass all at once. Sorry if i didnt make that clear.

Frankly im just severely ticked off that this happened and unsure if im too blame or its just a natural accident.

[jr_tech]

Do you have central air conditioning? ... perhaps very cold air blowing on the front of the TV in a warm room?

jr

[jbivy]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Do you have central air conditioning? ... perhaps very cold air blowing on the front of the TV in a warm room?

jr

Ive a few fans blowing, but no air conditioning, the fan wasnt even in the direct path of the tv. All i can guess is that the near 100 degree heat somehow did it.

[Paul Knaack]

Open window, and neighbor kid with bb gun?

[miniman82]

I've had CRT's let go for seemingly no reason before, but none explosively. Mainly cracked neck glass, but it's always due to stress in the glass that hasn't been annealed out. All it takes is the right combination of temperature gradients, and BOOM! My main guess is that sometimes if you watch the set for short periods, the glass near the hot cathode gets hot while the rest of the tube is relatively cool. No idea what caused your tube to let go, but I bet you needed new drawers...lol

[marty59]

Wow, glad you're okay. What an experience!

[Kevin Kuehn]

Yeah, glad you are OK, besides your sore feet. Scary to think that I've got loose CRT's and chassis scattered around our basement, and we're down there amongst them often. I have this weakness for watching a set out of the cabinet, so I can see all the tubes glowing.

[Boobtubeman]

That must have been one HELL of a fart...

Thats a scary senario...

SR

[Eric H]

There are massive amounts of pressure on a 24" tube, maybe some small defect finally let go after nearly 60 years. The only other point of stress I could imagine would be the band, it wouldn't be hard to over tighten I think but it seems odd that it would be okay this long then let go. Perhaps the heat expanded the CRT and increased the pressure.

At least the safety glass seems to have done it's job for the most part, seems to have contained most of the glass?

[jbivy]

Well the Photofacts is.. somewhere. I checked the label on whats left of the crt, it says this is a 24aep4. From looking online it seems that a few tv's used this. Some motorolas, sylvanias and packard bells.

So I suppose I have a chance at finding another one, probably from a donor set. Though ill need a sheet of safety glass cut for it as well.


Im glad to hear that its rare for these old crt's to "grenade" like this, since this did scare the pants off me. I didnt need to change my drawers, but it wasnt the nicest way to wake from a nap. lol

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by marty59

Wow, glad you're okay. What an experience!

Yes Im glad you were OK........... I hope it wasnt 97º inside!! (That might cause something)


Im so sorry buddy!

[holmesuser01]

Did you remove the tube while you were restoring? I never tightened up the CRT bands terribly tight. Just snug.

Glad you had no more damage than you did. An imploding CRT makes glass go everywhere.