Is anyone else here stockpiling CRT televisions ?

[SplashChick]

It's only illegal in some states.

It's still messed up.

[Leo_A]

It's still messed up.

Just to clarify in case someone misinterprets my statement, I never said it wasn't.

I was just was replying to nebrazca78 since he had asked if your statement was accurate. All he had gotten up to that point was you reiterating the same statement again.

My answer was just in regards to the legality of it nationwide. Of course, the environmentally responsible decision anywhere is to properly dispose of your unwanted electronics. It isn't just CRT televisions that have hazardless waste in them. It applies to most electronics.

[SplashChick]

Just to clarify in case someone misinterprets my statement, I never said it wasn't.

I was just was replying to nebrazca78 since he had asked if your statement was accurate. All he had gotten up to that point was you reiterating the same statement again.

My answer was just in regards to the legality of it nationwide. Of course, the environmentally responsible decision anywhere is to properly dispose of your unwanted electronics. It isn't just CRT televisions that have hazardless waste in them. It applies to most electronics.

Yeah, it's just a shame that it's such a widely unknown fact.

[thekeepr]

I started looking in ernest for replacement/back-up CRT's for the gameroom within the last year or so,there are pallets of them at a local recycling place I take my cardboard/pop/beer cans to,I mean like 7 foot high on pallets 6x6 ft square,crammed full of what are surely still good TV's,just being cast out to be sent to TV hell,at a rate of 10-15 pallets a week!!I find them still in some thrifts,alot of places won't accept CRT TV's.I would keep my eyes open for those JVC I'Arts with the silver chassis,along with the Toshiba's of a similiar look,they are great gaming TV's,and have a multitude of inputs for your every gaming need.I also like the Thompson ProScans,they have a great "gaming" picture too!! Rob

[nebrazca78]

Yeah, it's just a shame that it's such a widely unknown fact.

Absolutely. I was under the impression that the government would never allow a product with 4 lbs. of lead (average TV) as well as mercury be produced. Not only that the digital transition has people trashing CRT TVs like never before. I thought mandatory digital transition was stupid, now I think it's borderline dangerous. The stat I saw said that 13 million TVs already get thrown out per year, now with the transition that has probably grown tenfold. Sick.

[Gameguy]

I was under the impression that the government would never allow a product with 4 lbs. of lead (average TV) as well as mercury be produced.

I don't see why not, there's lead and mercury in compact fluorescent lightbulbs and they're being pushed to replace traditional lightbulbs which don't contain any lead or mercury. Sure it looks good to save on electricity usage, but most people will just chuck them into the trash and landfills will still be polluted.

What should be pushed if anything are LED lightbulbs as they are lead and mercury free, use less electricity than CFLs, and last much longer. The main reason they're not so widely produced is that they're bad for business. They cost more to produce and last much longer than CFLs so companies won't make as much money if they make LEDs instead.

This isn't really related to TVs, but it still bugs me.

[Soviet Conscript]

I don't see why not, there's lead and mercury in compact fluorescent lightbulbs and they're being pushed to replace traditional lightbulbs which don't contain any lead or mercury. Sure it looks good to save on electricity usage, but most people will just chuck them into the trash and landfills will still be polluted.

What should be pushed if anything are LED lightbulbs as they are lead and mercury free, use less electricity than CFLs, and last much longer. The main reason they're not so widely produced is that they're bad for business. They cost more to produce and last much longer than CFLs so companies won't make as much money if they make LEDs instead.

This isn't really related to TVs, but it still bugs me.

they arn't very bright and the light they emmit is very displeaseing. though i have to admit my experence with them is limited.

my Samsung CRT HDTV gives me the best picture i've ever sceen even with old games. it has the same ghosting and motion problems you get with older games run on a hdtv but in some way i like the sharp vibrant picture more then even on my sony RGB PVM.

[Compute]

What should be pushed if anything are LED lightbulbs as they are lead and mercury free, ...

You may want some kind of assurance from the mfr before assuming that the bulbs were assembled using lead-free solder. The few vendors I have asked have been unable to tell me if the bulbs they sold were in fact lead free. Those bulbs were not touted as being lead-free, however.

[AB Positive]

(With apologies to Yahtzee...)

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooo.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

I don't see why not, there's lead and mercury in compact fluorescent lightbulbs and they're being pushed to replace traditional lightbulbs which don't contain any lead or mercury. Sure it looks good to save on electricity usage, but most people will just chuck them into the trash and landfills will still be polluted.

What should be pushed if anything are LED lightbulbs as they are lead and mercury free, use less electricity than CFLs, and last much longer. The main reason they're not so widely produced is that they're bad for business. They cost more to produce and last much longer than CFLs so companies won't make as much money if they make LEDs instead.

This isn't really related to TVs, but it still bugs me.

I'm not sure if the amounts of contaminents are high enough to pose a threat with the CFL bulbs. The non-compact fluorescent bulbs are much bigger and have been around for decades and are still used for most commercial lighting. Nobody rasied a stink about those. It seems like they would have more toxins in them than a CFL. I know a lot of people who purposely shatter them while throwing them in dumpsters.

CFL's can actually lower the amount of mercury being released into the environmnet because it takes less coal at the plant to light them. Burning coal releases mercury.

Your right about LEDs though.

[Gameguy]

they arn't very bright and the light they emmit is very displeaseing. though i have to admit my experence with them is limited.

I'm also annoyed with CFLs because someone I know is visually impaired and the light from CFLs give her headaches for some reason, and since traditional lightbulbs are going to be eliminated within a few years this could pose a big problem for her.

CFLs also emit UV light which can damage art work among other things. There's also potential health problems that can be caused by long term exposure to the UV light, especially if you remain close to the bulbs while they're operating(like in a lamp that's right beside you). That's something else to think about.

You may want some kind of assurance from the mfr before assuming that the bulbs were assembled using lead-free solder. The few vendors I have asked have been unable to tell me if the bulbs they sold were in fact lead free. Those bulbs were not touted as being lead-free, however.

I'll have to check some packaging again, there were a couple of LED bulbs in Wal-mart and I know the packaging said they were mercury free but I'm not sure about lead. I thought they were but I'll have to check again.

I'm not sure if the amounts of contaminents are high enough to pose a threat with the CFL bulbs. The non-compact fluorescent bulbs are much bigger and have been around for decades and are still used for most commercial lighting. Nobody rasied a stink about those. It seems like they would have more toxins in them than a CFL. I know a lot of people who purposely shatter them while throwing them in dumpsters.

CFL's can actually lower the amount of mercury being released into the environmnet because it takes less coal at the plant to light them. Burning coal releases mercury.

Your right about LEDs though.

The thing is not all power generating stations are coal powered, plenty are nuclear or Hydro-electric. If you get power from a plant that's nuclear or Hydro-electric you won't be saving any mercury emissions. But CFLs get worn out and replaced far more frequently than monitors so they'll create a ton more waste. And though most bulbs just get thrown out in the regular trash(as you've mentioned), they aren't supposed to be disposed that way. I'm currently saving up a big box of old CFLs because they're actually supposed to be brought to the local hazardous waste depot to be properly disposed of, just like old paint or old electronics. It's a pain to have to save all that up, but it's not worth a trip to just drop off a single bulb whenever they wear out. Most people just don't care so they throw them out in the regular trash anyway.

I should point out that most of the vaporized mercury becomes fused with the glass by the time the bulb wears out, but if you accidentally drop a bulb that's new, then you'd have a bigger problem of contamination in your home. It may not be all that much, but it's more than with traditional lightbulbs.

I'm convinced that the main reason why CFLs are being pushed is because municipalities can't keep up with increased demand for electricity, and rather than find a way to produce more, they find ways for people to use less. It's not really because of environmental reasons.

There's articles on Wikipedia that go into further detail with the pros and cons of CFLs and LEDs, I don't want to read through them again but most of the info is there with references.