What is life expectancy of a monitor?

[Chalenge]

can't use a lamp, if you use a lamp the power goes out.  if the power goes out we have zombies on the streets.

but seriously if you live near Los Angeles I have 3 used monitors.

I have more than a dozen monitors in the house that have been upgraded with improved capacitors after the originals failed in the first three years. If you read through the articles online you will discover that there is a method to improve not only the quality but the lifespan of the caps, so your repair will not have to repeated for quite awhile. I use a Hakko soldering station with temperature control that cost something like $150. If all that I ever did was fix two monitors then it would have already paid for itself.

It's not voodoo or deadly dangerous as Ripley suggests. Humans have got a very solid handle on electrons and the basics are very easy to understand. I must give people more credit than some, because I believe anyone can do this type of fix. So, if anyone has a house that burns down I would scan the neighborhood for Ripley.

@Ace, it's obvious you have discovered that you are one of those people that should never try to do this yourself. Well done!

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Chalenge can accept the law suits then later when people get hurt by his advice

Untrained people have just no business even opening the power supply housing by themselves. If you don't know exactly what you're doing you can get in serious trouble. Chalenges advice is down right hazardous considering he just tells people to do stuff and then fails to tell about the risks and how to prepare for them, such as draining the capacitors before touching anything in the power supply.

If there are more of you like Chalenge, no wonder you make such hilarious home videos!  

[MrRiplEy[H]]

While I was in tech school we studied electricity. I don't know how many micro frauds (I think I spelled it right uF is the symbol on a volt meter) but caps as you are talking about is capacitors I assume right?  If so yes they can kill you. In bigger appliances absolutely. In a monitor I'm sure they are very small I wouldn't know. Nonetheless, the smallest amount of electricity can stop your heart though it's unlikely.

Yes exactly, Chalenge is just plain dumb. He thinks because he learned to replace a couple of caps by reading teh internets he's a certified electrician now. A professional would never give advice like he does.

[guncrasher]

I remember the old days when they used to say that if you build you own computer you ran the risk of burning your own house,  building computers should be left to the professionals.

not saying changing capacitors is right or wrong.  but learning is always good.

btw most of the house fires that were started by electronics were caused by electronics that were built by professionals.  main thing is do your homework and understand the risks. 


semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I remember the old days when they used to say that if you build you own computer you ran the risk of burning your own house,  building computers should be left to the professionals.

not saying changing capacitors is right or wrong.  but learning is always good.

btw most of the house fires that were started by electronics were caused by electronics that were built by professionals.  main thing is do your homework and understand the risks.  


semp

Building computers is not regulated and limited to professionals, electrical installations are. There's a defined difference between inserting standardized components into slots and replacing soldered components into a power supply. The first can at most damage the hardware, the latter can pose a life threat to the person and a fire hazard. A badly made solder can overheat and light the device on fire for example. I'm not saying it's very likely or that it happens every time even when you botch up a solder, but it has happened. And this is why you should leave this kind of stuff for professionals unless you get trained by someone who knows his stuff. And even then any work you do on an electric repair is at your own risk. You'll be responsible for any personal injury or property damage that results from it.

[Shamus]

I rewired a large portion of my house 20 years ago after reading books and building codes, never got any formal training, still waiting for the place to burn down.

shamus

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I rewired a large portion of my house 20 years ago after reading books and building codes, never got any formal training, still waiting for the place to burn down.

shamus

Heh, good luck with that. You're not the only one - but you void your insurance by doing so. Don't you have building codes where you live? No building inspections and stuff?

[Shamus]

Naw you don't void your insurance coverage. I also replace the brakes on my car and installed a new water heater not long ago, all without being licensed. Now if I do that kind of work for others, I have a problem.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Naw you don't void your insurance coverage. I also replace the brakes on my car and installed a new water heater not long ago, all without being licensed. Now if I do that kind of work for others, I have a problem.

It seems that some states actually permit DIy electrical work, very surprising. In most countries they're totally illegal. http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/CodeEnforcement/HomeownerElectrical/Pages/default.aspx But remember that the insurance companies will not leave a rock turned to be able to deny any claims.

Even the Mecklenburg county issues a warning though:

In the U.S., anyone, including the city issuing building permits, may face a civil liability lawsuit (be sued) for negligently creating a situation that results in loss of life or property. Those who fail to adhere to well known best practices for safety have been held negligent. This means that the city should adopt and enforce building codes that specify standards and practices for electrical systems (as well as other departments such as water and fuel-gas systems). This creates a system whereby a city can best avoid lawsuits by adopting a single, standard set of building code laws. This has led to the NEC becoming the de facto standard set of electrical requirements. A licensed electrician will have spent years of apprenticeship studying and practicing the NEC requirements prior to obtaining his or her license.

[guncrasher]

rippley here in the USA you are allowed to build your own house even if you have no experience but it still gets inspected. just the same as if it built by a licensed contractor.  and you have to meet the same codes.

you made a good point that you should think twice before working with electricity but you sometimes push it a bit to hard specially when it comes to laws in a country you don't live in.

semp

[ACE]

For my fathers business we work on a lot of commercial equipment for restaurants. We are not licenses by the state. We don't have to be either. Our job involves a lot of electrical work. Granted, we are not working on wiring the building or touching anything from the breaker box to the road.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

rippley here in the USA you are allowed to build your own house even if you have no experience but it still gets inspected. just the same as if it built by a licensed contractor.  and you have to meet the same codes.

you made a good point that you should think twice before working with electricity but you sometimes push it a bit to hard specially when it comes to laws in a country you don't live in.

semp

I agree. I just wanted to point out that it's not necessarily a smart idea to start fixing your electrical appliances if you lack even the basic knowledge of electronics.

[Chalenge]

I'm calling horse hockey. There is no such law in your country.

[ACE]

I saw a guy arc a 240VAC 35uf cap in class. I wasn't even looking his way and I still saw the big blue flash.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I saw a guy arc a 240VAC 35uf cap in class. I wasn't even looking his way and I still saw the big blue flash.

Yup the charge in a cap can kill. Most people do not realize this, they think the appliance is safe once you unplug it. A potentially mortal mistake.