The web is full of fact and OPINION so be careful which content you choose to believe [we all know this]. AFAIK the usual electros that we encounter are not a PCB problem, but ARE various other problems. If standard electros have PCB content I definitely want to know - but I really avoid contact/association with any leakage anyway. I worry about the aroma that can be detected from certain brands. I have some small green electros from the 1990s that are stored in small sealable plastic bags with a small square of paper inside as a label. Many of the pieces of paper show brown stains where they have been in conact with the capacitors [particularly the seal around the legs]. They obviously do leak - and who knows how much gas comes off too. These particular ones I kept because there was a spate of these exploding during product testing. The very obnoxious "dead fish" smell given off bothered me. The management made poor attempts to garner information from the manufacturers. I kept them in case health issues arose.
[On the subject of outgassing:- last year we had twenty light bulbs/CFLs replaced free through a system forced on power companies by the government. The Edison screw 10W bulbs were OK. The bayonet 10W bulbs produced an acrid chemical smell. The opaque white plastic of the base was the culprit. I had quite a bit of difficulty getting replacements out of that supplier. They may or may not have been in discussions with the lamp manufacturer/supplier BUT were exceedingly annoyed when I kept a single sample back from the exchange. That probably says something ! I made a couple of simple attempts to interest government and goverment utilities in the possibility of a danger. I would have to push quite hard for it to go anywhere. I currently have serious health issues that have put that on hold.] Here is a nice document for those in Australia:- http://nepc.gov.au/system/files/resources/378b7018-8f2a-8174-3928-2056b44bf9b0/files/anzecc-gl-identification-pcb-containing-capacitors-information-booklet-electricians-and-electrical.pdf John K ----- Original Message ----- From: gregebert To: neonixie-l Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 10:55 AM Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: Half-digit neon bulb 25/15 mm long If I had to guess, one or more electrolytic caps has probably dried-up and is no longer working as a capacitor. Probably a good idea to replace all of them with fresh ones. Keep an eye out for corrosion on the PCB from leaky electrolytics, and be aware that some probably contain PCBs (not printed circuit boards, but highly toxic Poly-Chlorinated Bi-phenyls). I always got a laugh about cost-cutting by using a neon bulb instead of a nixie tube for the leading '1' digit. I bought 2 Fluke 8000 DMMs several years ago (they are LED, not nixie) because they were very reliable when I was a technician. But they have accuracy issues, and some of the pushbuttons dont work very well. I'll probably give them away as-is to anyone willing to pay shipping costs. Some things dont improve with age.... -- 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 neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/6ec70545-bcc4-479a-8061-16b9870932e2%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. Virus-free. www.avg.com -- 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 neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/D06225E44B7442E982F860467480E4DB%40compunet4f9da9. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.