Yes, in the old days, with old radios and TVs, there was a metal chassis, housing the electronics. Then that chassis was inside the wooden case. Also a few had asbestos liners. About 20 years ago, I was corresponding with UL, about a several different safety standards, applicable to consumer electronics. UL replied that any could be used, and that they were just chronological refinements of the prior standard. The older ones would eventually be phased out. The point being, that what was considered safe for an old tube radio, won't pass by today's standard.
I'm also a second hand witness to a piece of relatively modern electronics (90's vintage stereo) catching fire, and burning down the house, of one of my friend's girlfriend. It had a plastic case. A short is a rare occurrence, but it does happen, and there can be enough energy to ignite stuff. Safety features, such as fuses, and decent connectors, can greatly reduce the probability, but nothing in this world is absolute. I also have been a first hand witness to power cords igniting after a short occurred. Fortunately, they, in turn, did not ignite anything else. A wallcube, if shorted, will heat up, but don't usually pass enough power to cause ignition. They usually, just die quietly, by opening up. On Sunday, January 26, 2014 5:50:37 PM UTC-8, charles wrote: > > On 14-01-26 03:47 PM, Tidak Ada wrote: > > Old radio and TV cabinets where also made of wood, but I never heard > > they did frequently (if ever) burst in fire... And Mains power came > > inside directly from the wall pug. > > It is all in the design. Most wood cabinet radios have a metal chassis > inside which would trap flames. It was not unusual to have a piece of > Asbestos Paper under the chassis (try doing that these days!) > > Fuses and fusible links can take the risk way down. Consumer units with > power transformers often have the fusible link inside the transformer - > over draw current and the transformer pops open from a link buried > somewhere in the primary winding. > > -- > Charles MacDonald Stittsville Ontario > [email protected] <javascript:> Just Beyond the Fringe > http://Charles.MacDonald.org/tubes > No Microsoft Products were used in sending this e-mail. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/6c8d40b2-61c6-4b06-a446-bdd17b025ccb%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
