burnt cold cathode inverter

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kuangmk11

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Sep 26, 2006
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3 days old from frys. sunbeamtech dual cold cathode kit. transistor meltdown...



too bad I threw away my receipt. :mad: at least it didnt take anything with it
 
I don't understand why sunbeam and these other companies sell them. They're a huge fire hazard. Vibelights has some aluminum ones that are much better in quality.
 
With every one of these incidents I hear about, I get more and more worried about the two in my case (one of which being run 24/7....and was bought used).

One of these days I'm gonna stop being so lazy and fabricate me a little place to put them that's out and away from everything else.
 
kuangmk11 said:
3 days old from frys. sunbeamtech dual cold cathode kit. transistor meltdown...

too bad I threw away my receipt. :mad: at least it didnt take anything with it
Click to expand...
That sux! Everything hooked up right with no modifications to the CCFL kit whatsoever? If so that is totally unacceptable for a unit to go bad like that. If it was me I'd be making every effort to contact the manufactuer.

BTW ....glad it didn't take out your whole system. Have read about instances like that unfortunately.

Qtip42 said:
I don't understand why sunbeam and these other companies sell them. They're a huge fire hazard. Vibelights has some aluminum ones that are much better in quality.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly!

Here is a lynk to Vibelights ~ http://vibelights.com/coldcathodes.html

You can buy the all metal inverters by themselves. Which is what I have done with several sets of CCFLs - replace the crappy plastic inverter with those sealed metal units. Even if something goes wrong & they get hot, they're much less likely to catch fire like the plastic ones.
 
I actually emailed sunbeam and linked them here and to my picture. they are sending me a new kit. guess Ill hook it up to my testing power supply and sit it in the middle of the garage floor to torture test it for a few weeks. luckily the power supply in my case tripped when it went and I had the inverter in the very top of my case on top of the PS so it was surrounded by metal.

its the worst feeling to walk into your office and notice the silence... and then the burnt electronics smell. thank god it booted! no problems so far!
 
Great effort contacting Sunbeam. Nice of them to provide a replacement. Hopefully the new one will serve you better.

Like Qtip said above, it's a wonder why so many companies sell these things. One can only hope Sunbeam will look into the matter further.
There are countless stories like yours across the forums, not just [H]ard.
 
I've had a CCFL take out my motherboard...

My solution? I removed the blue lids from the inverters, and placed them in the path of a fan... Seems to help.


Couldn't a diode be used to prevent the backwards flow of current...?
 
Just snapped off these images to share here. Figured I'd throw them into the mix while this issue is
fresh on everyones minds.

As you can see it scorched one of the CCFL tubes as well.



That is from a dual 4" Logisys CCFL kit which was purchased from SVC.com roughly a year ago.
The inverter was attached to the case floor with the included velcro right inside the front intake fan.

I would have contacted the manufactuer but since it worked OK for about 4 months figured that
was beyond the typical warranty period. Thought I had tossed this in the trash actually.
 
cathodexc9.jpg



Yet another high quality Sunbeam cathode kit. This one was kind enough to melt cables that were around it into one big gummy mess.
 
Electronics DO fail. that´s why you have a mtbf-rating, mean time between failures. That´s an average, meaning the thing you bought can go poof the next day, next month, next year or even not in your lifetime.
I´ve had two dead inverters on the backlight of my trusty old thinkpad this year, if you think changing a cold cathode inside your PC is a nuisance, try it with a 1mm thick cathode with no protective plastic around it for which you have to dismantle your whole display in order to even reach it.
Thats definitely not a fun way to spend an afternoon.
 
Ok, so it is a different brand, but after about 2 days use my Logisys 15" red cathode is starting to burn black on the end.
Now I know lights burn out, but 2 days? This is rediculous.
And it turns on really dim and grows gradually to full brightness. Not right if you ask me.

3 emails later and not even a reply from them.
I also had real issues with another Logisys product as well:
Model #: CS886CBL
Name: HANDCRAFT LASER CUT 100% ACRYLIC BLUE CLEAR CASE
When I got the case, the acrylic was cracked and scratched all over the case. Guess what? No reply after 6 emails. Not even a blow off or a get lost. Just ignored me.

This is the last Logisys product I buy.
 
CCFL are for n00bs and premods! down with CCFL!

Long live no lights like a real computer should be.
 
Yeah I had those Sunbeam converters do that to me too, never again will I buy those. I don't think I will ever get cold cathodes again either. I put some of those Lazer LED's in and those are pretty awesome, but I moved to a Stacker and now I really don't care for all that noise anymore.
 
dcbiii said:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5892/cathodexc9.jpg[/IMG]


Yet another high quality Sunbeam cathode kit. This one was kind enough to melt cables that were around it into one big gummy mess.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that. :(

As always, replace those pos plastic inverters with sealed metal ones.
I(illa Bee said:
CCFL are for n00bs and premods! down with CCFL!

Long live no lights like a real computer should be.
Click to expand...
whipper sniper :rolleyes:
 
Does anybody know if the vibelights inverters are compatible with the sunbeam and other CC bulbs?
I'm contemplating getting some sent out ($15 international freight) and I don't really want to have to make two orders because I find they won't fit the tubes I've already got.
 
as long as you're within the 30 day return period, it doesn't really matter if you have your receipt. Most, if not all customers are in their computers, along with their purchases. all you gotta do is give them your phone number and they should be able to bring up your purchases. if you paid with a credit card or debt card, it's even easier cause they can search for the card in the database. so, just remember, with fry's, shit may break, but we have a pretty good return system.
 
Legion©;1031318989 said:
Does anybody know if the vibelights inverters are compatible with the sunbeam and other CC bulbs?
I'm contemplating getting some sent out ($15 international freight) and I don't really want to have to make two orders because I find they won't fit the tubes I've already got.
Click to expand...
Yes, I have exchanged the inverters on a couple brands with the metal units.
 
I(illa Bee said:
CCFL are for n00bs and premods! down with CCFL!

Long live no lights like a real computer should be.
Click to expand...
Thats the direction I am heading. I built my system October last year, and sure the lights look cool for a while, but the novelty wears off quickly.

Quiet and no lights is the way for me.
 
I quit using that crap for just that reason. Even the more expensive ones blow up.

Pisses me off.
 
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