Burning smell coming from CRT

[t3h l337 n3wb]

I just bought a monitor from of my friend, who was going to recycle it at a local tech drop. It's a 17" eMachines CRT that came with a computer he bought on Black Friday during 2005. I opened it up and connected it to my desktop today to run dual monitors, and it's been working great. However, I smell a pretty strong burning smell coming from the monitor, and whenever my parents come in the room, they say it smells terrible. It smells kinda like what the inside of my computer smells like right after I turn it off, just stronger. Is this normal? Will I like get sick from breathing in poisonous fumes or anything?

 

[xitshsif]

Smells like trouble to me

 

[BMANZZS]

Well, I'll tell ya what. I've had an eMachines 17" CRT for about 3 years now, and I've had this problem before. If it doesn't go away in 2 days, there's probably trouble.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Okay, maybe it just has to like burn in.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Haha, "burn in" XD

 

[oynaz]

Sounds like ozone. Should go away in a week or so. Ozone is actually slightly toxic, so make sure to open a window once in a while.

 

[harobikes333]

lol ozone is bad...( if its not in the atmosphere^ ^ )

oo and oynaz, you play that game thing too^ ^ my user is pyroharo

 

[Captante]

Be careful ... the last time I noticed a burning smell from a CRT , my co-workers Nokia 21 incher was the source ... first it started smoking & then it actually caught on fire briefly before we chucked it out in the parking lot.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

From what I've looked up on Google, monitor burning usually means monitor failure, but since this is new, I guess it's probably just ozone. I hope I'm not like poisoned or anything.

 

[oynaz]

Ozone is only dangerous in either very large concentrations, or if you are exposed to it for a long time (years, at least).

@harobikes333

Yep, I am a very evil (and thirsty) vampire. I'll PM you if you are on the same server. Or attack you if you play a werewolf

 

[Harvey]

The smell could come from accumulated dust inside the monitor. Unless you know what you're doing and how to be careful around the inside of electronic gear, don't try to clean it out, yourself. If that's the only problem, you may be able to find a qualified repair tech who will do it for a minimum charge.

If you do know what you're doing, unplug the power, and leave it off over night (a few days may be better) to let the high voltage caps discharge. Then, put it face down on a towel to protect the screen, and carefully remove the back. If you find a lot of dust, you may be able to blow a lot of it out with a can of compressed air or an air hose.

ALWAYS be careful inside a CRT monitor. The high voltage caps can retain a charge for some time after the power is removed.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: Harvey
The smell could come from accumulated dust inside the monitor. Unless you know what you're doing and how to be careful around the inside of electronic gear, don't try to clean it out, yourself. If that's the only problem, you may be able to find a qualified repair tech who will do it for a minimum charge.

If you do know what you're doing, unplug the power, and leave it off over night (a few days may be better) to let the high voltage caps discharge. Then, put it face down on a towel to protect the screen, and carefully remove the back. If you find a lot of dust, you may be able to blow a lot of it out with a can of compressed air or an air hose.

ALWAYS be careful inside a CRT monitor. The high voltage caps can retain a charge for some time after the power is removed.

Yeah, I think it's dust also.

 

[Oyeve]

If the monitor has never been used, or used briefly then you get that smell. If on the otherhand it has been used for a while, and then stored for a long time, you may still get that smell. But, if its been in use for a while it could be dust or imminent failure. Check for dust first, if any vents have dust on the outside you can be sure its dusty in there. If all looks clean, give it a few days being on and see if the smell goeas away. I had an old Sony Triniton 20" that had so much dust I could built a new monitor out of it. Started to get that smell because the dust was causing it to overheat. Vacuumed that sucker and was good as new. NEVER open it tho, not work the risk.

 

[bigsnyder]

Probably a component failing. The burning smell is good sign IF you want to fix it on your
own. Chances are you will see which component is going bad. I have a Micron 17" monitor
that had a burning smell and an occasional arcing sound. It eventually quit working, so I
took it apart to inspect. I had a bridge rectifier to short out. Matched the part at my local
electronic supply dealer, only took a few minutes to solder the new one in. I should say this
was a very high quality monitor, so it was worth fixing, not sure if an emachine would be
worth the trouble. I wouldn't bother trying to fix it until it completely quits.

C Snyder

 

[Kirby64]

It's a 17 inch eMachines CRT monitor. Why risk a fire?

Just chunk it to the curb and go find another one on craigslist or something.
It's pretty hard to sell 17 inch CRT monitors, I bet you could find someone giving them away.

 

[Zepper]

A lot of makers have gone back to the phenolic PCBs (instead of fiberglass) to save money - I suppose that would be even more prevalent in the low-end CRT segment (I've seen them in PSUs too). The phenolic PCBs can stink badly for a while - really do need to burn in. The smell will never totally go away but will become tolerable as the hot spots bed in. Soon we northerners will be able to open our windows and air such stenches out. If you actually see smoke, that's another story... If you had grown up in the presence of tube-type radios and TVs, you'd know what it was.

.bh.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Yeah, I don't think it could be dust because it's pretty much brand new and was in a never before opened box. I guess that just leaves "new monitor smell".

 

[Ken90630]

Yeah, my Viewsonic CRT had a burning smell for a few days when it was new. I was concerned enough to call the company and ask about it, and they said it was "normal" and that it should dissipate in a few days. It did, and all has been fine since.

Give it a few days. :thumbsup:

BTW, I have no idea if the smell was from ozone, as has been speculated in this thread, but I do know that ozone is an irritant and not good to breathe. Most copy machines (except ink jets) have high voltage corona wires that produce ozone, and most of such machines have actual carbon filters called (appropriately enough) ozone filters to absorb the ozone so that we humans (and animals) don't breathe it. It can irritate lung and nasal tissue and actually cause headaches if someone is exposed to enough it. Ozone filters need to be replaced at regular intervals, but techs almost never do it 'cuz they're too lazy.

CRTs don't have corona wires, so I don't know what inside would be producing ozone. Not saying they don't -- just saying this is just the first I've heard that theory. I spent more than 6 years as a copier tech in a previous career, and I've smelled a lot of ozone (in small doses), and the smell I noticed with my new CRT was nothing like that. Ozone smells more 'chemically,' whereas my CRT just smelled like something was burning inside. Very different.