cigarette smoke damaging a tv ?

[Flump]

Panasonic refused to repair a television under warranty as the damage was caused by cigarette smoke

Personally I hate working on equipment that stinks of nicotine, looks like panasonic do too.

When their Panasonic TV went wrong Thomas Defty and partner Denise Head thought the manufacturer’s warranty would cover the repair.

But the pair were left fuming after technicians refused to fix the £800 42-inch set, saying the damage had been caused by their cigarette smoke.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/660406/cigarettes-harmful-tv-manufacturers-refuse-fix-smoke-damaged-set

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Based on the article, can that damage happen? .... yes. I have seen cigarette smoke residue build up on surfaces. It can be tough to clean off some plastics without doing damage.

Bob

[XOIIO]

Seems reasonable to me, the gunk that builds up from cigarettes is absolutely fucking vile, and I have no doubt that as it builds up it can become conductive, or block parts of the backlight.

But hey, second hand smoke totally doesn't affect anyone, right?

[Brumby]

From my experience, smokers are rather ignorant of the effect they have on others - and if they are, they don't give a sh*t.

In a past life, I've had two members of my team 'duck out for a smoke' several times during the day and when you add up the time away from their desks, you're down an hour a day - but try to pull them up and you're the worst bugger in the company.  Their co-workers get peeved about this too, but don't say much in case they offend the offenders.

Also smokers hanging around the entrance door to a building annoys me when I have to run the gauntlet to get inside.

The one thing that irritates me is that when I comment about someone's smoking - because they wreak of it - they don't believe I'm doing anything but being an a**hole.  I don't live in an ashtray - so I can smell it really easily.

I once worked with a guy who gave up smoking (for a while) and after a month he was commenting on just how much flavour his food had.  My boss (also a non-smoker) and I just laughed ourselves stupid.


So a couple of smokers getting antsy about the effect of their habit on a TV is no surprise.  And yes, such damage is entirely possible.

[station240]

I've got a PC power supply that was exposed to cigarette smoke in a work environment. It's been stored for years, so at least doesn't smell.
I've torn it apart to keep the PFC circuit to experiment with, most of the other components are going straight in the bin as I don't need them, and the leads aren't going to be easy to clean.

Will try a bottle of PCB cleaner out on it today I think, see how well that works.

[Someone]

Also smokers hanging around the entrance door to a building annoys me when I have to run the gauntlet to get inside.

The one thing that irritates me is that when I comment about someone's smoking - because they wreak of it - they don't believe I'm doing anything but being an a**hole.  I don't live in an ashtray - so I can smell it really easily.

Working for the government there was a policy that you could not ask a smoker to change their behaviour as it would be "discrimination", even if that behaviour was ignoring all the policies and no smoking signs.

[MrSlack]

I'm actually reasonably qualified to answer this one. Finally 3 months of slaving in a laboratory dripping with nicotine has two minutes of use!

Nicotine is terribly destructive. It's acidic and hygroscopic so what you will find is that first it attacks the surface of anything it gets on. This breaks down any protection particularly encapsulation and lamination. Then the moisture gets in and with the acidic nature of the stuff, boom corrosion.

It also has adhesive properties due to the high viscosity which destroys everything mechanical.

And as if that's not enough it has relatively good insulation properties so forget convection. All your little tantalums now have wooly nicotine hats.

And even more painful. It is entirely impossible to clean off entirely. I actually shaved my head after working in that lab to get rid of the smell.

If I'm honest you should probably just throw anything away covered in it. It's pretty much the most disgusting thing on the planet. I can't even eat Marmite now - looks the same.

[Brumby]

I never could eat Marmite.  It just was never as good as Vegemite, but now you've given me an extra reason.

[Brumby]

Also smokers hanging around the entrance door to a building annoys me when I have to run the gauntlet to get inside.

The one thing that irritates me is that when I comment about someone's smoking - because they wreak of it - they don't believe I'm doing anything but being an a**hole.  I don't live in an ashtray - so I can smell it really easily.

Working for the government there was a policy that you could not ask a smoker to change their behaviour as it would be "discrimination", even if that behaviour was ignoring all the policies and no smoking signs.

Put me into an environment where I was required to endure a smoker's habit and I'd leave the area.  If I was challenged, I'd simply state that I was not willing to work in an unsafe environment.

[Halcyon]

Also smokers hanging around the entrance door to a building annoys me when I have to run the gauntlet to get inside.

The one thing that irritates me is that when I comment about someone's smoking - because they wreak of it - they don't believe I'm doing anything but being an a**hole.  I don't live in an ashtray - so I can smell it really easily.

Working for the government there was a policy that you could not ask a smoker to change their behaviour as it would be "discrimination", even if that behaviour was ignoring all the policies and no smoking signs.

Put me into an environment where I was required to endure a smoker's habit and I'd leave the area.  If I was challenged, I'd simply state that I was not willing to work in an unsafe environment.

As far as I'm aware, all Australian Government buildings and grounds are non-smoking. At least in NSW. Those who choose to smoke (and yes, I'm not willing to accept anything other that it being a personal choice, no matter how addicted you might be) have to go out the door, onto the street somewhere.

It's the most disgusting habit I've ever encountered. I'd be willing to put that above nose pickers and people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom.

I actually think they should take it one step further and ban smoking while driving. I can think of no good reason why someone has to light up while behind the wheel of a moving motor vehicle. Not only is it a distraction but I can bet the majority of smokers also toss their butts out onto the street. (Thank you to the considerate few who don't.)

[continuo]

If it looks similar to this, you likely won't get a warranty repair 

[Psi]

While i agree smoking is bad, and the user brought the problem on themselves, the product should be fit for purpose.
People smoking inside their houses is something to be expected and you can argue the manufacture should have built the product to be able to survive that.

If the situation was the same, but it was residue from the users asthma inhaler i think people would all be in agreement that the manufacture is being stupid.

[MrSlack]

I disagree. It's misuse of the product along the same lines as cleaning it with acid.

[Halcyon]

While i agree smoking is bad, and the user brought the problem on themselves, the product should be fit for purpose.
People smoking inside their houses is something to be expected and you can argue the manufacture should have built the product to be able to survive that.

If the situation was the same, but it was residue from the users asthma inhaler i think people would all be in agreement that the manufacture is being stupid.

I agree -- But to expect a product to live up to years of torture due to smoking and other 'unnatural' chemicals introduced into an otherwise natural environment, no, I don't think so. When things like durability of a product comes into question, it needs to be what's "reasonable". Whilst smoking in someone's private residence might be common, I don't think it's reasonable to assume household appliances, fixtures and fittings would stand up to that kind of environment for very long and still be in some kind of original condition.

I don't think an asthma inhaler has quite the same effect. Most people can puff away at an inhaler all they like (despite not suffering from asthma) and have no ill effect. I remember years ago doing tests on old breath analysis machines (the types used by Law Enforcement Agencies to test drunk drivers). It was a common misconception that asthma puffers had an effect and altered the reading (they don't), and we're talking about precise, calibrated instruments there.

On the flip side however I think it's reasonable to assume that a person would look after their equipment, particularly if it's not sealed, has vents and fans. That includes regular cleaning/dusting and not subjecting them to harsh chemical, particulates or gaseous environments.

Based on the fact that the television in the article was purchased in 2012 and 4 years later has developed a problem (evidently due to smoking), I don't think that's unreasonable at all. Maybe if it were 3 months, yeah OK, design could have been better.

[DimitriP]

Panasonic refused to repair a television under warranty as the damage was caused by cigarette smoke

Personally I hate working on equipment that stinks of nicotine, looks like panasonic do too.

When their Panasonic TV went wrong Thomas Defty and partner Denise Head thought the manufacturer’s warranty would cover the repair.

But the pair were left fuming after technicians refused to fix the £800 42-inch set, saying the damage had been caused by their cigarette smoke.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/660406/cigarettes-harmful-tv-manufacturers-refuse-fix-smoke-damaged-set

The obvious solution is to take it to a place that employs smokers that eat meat...and drink alcohol. 

[wraper]

I'm wondering, for you long his new TV will withstand those toxic conditions.
When somebody brings a device for repair taken from the room where people were smoking, the first thing you want is to get it out of the door. If you dare to open it, then half day ventilating the room is needed to decontaminate it from this shit.

[TheWelly888]

As a medical equipment repair technician, I have come across medical gear reeking of nicotine. 

Usually nebulisers for dosing inhaled medication! 

My hospital lends out apnea alarms to parents of premature babies on discharge as such babies are at higher risk of stopping breathing when asleep. They are used for a year before being returned (we have a good network of community nurses who can get them back!) and recently I had one smelling of nicotine! 

[wraper]

[Kjelt]

Here is a $20000 projector, smoked to death within one year beyond repair. They tear it apart and show the ugly effects of cigarette smoke on the optics.
Mind you that a projector differs from a tv in that it actively cools the whole time by blowing the air from the room through the projector to cool it.
Unfortunately only german language but hey we can all watch the pictures 
[youtube][/youtube]

[filtatosv6]

I had repair PC units in the past that had the nicotine blanket like the above pictures but it takes from 2 to 5 years for the nicotine to build up like that and make any significant problem to the unit.
I can't understand how did it destroy a TV inside the frame of the warranty.

p.s.The only nice thing is that you can easily visualise the air flow inside a unit.

[Brumby]

I can't understand how did it destroy a TV inside the frame of the warranty.

My read of that article doesn't indicate that the TV was 'destroyed'.  I just see mention of 'shadowing'.  As I see it, this could mean a loss of brightness due to electrical fault - OR - simple obstruction of light by the build up of nicotine and smoke residue.  The latter being repairable by mechanical cleaning (in theory).

[Kjelt]

Repair a tv by the official service centre? 
They can only replace pcb's or the entire panel, the latter with the added labor costs usually making the total tv repair costs > price of a new tv.

[Kjelt]

I had repair PC units in the past that had the nicotine blanket like the above pictures but it takes from 2 to 5 years for the nicotine to build up like that and make any significant problem to the unit.
I can't understand how did it destroy a TV inside the frame of the warranty.

I am not sure it was in the standard warranty:

The couple bought the set in 2012

So four years of smoke abuse does not surprise me one bit.

[Brumby]

.... but I can bet the majority of smokers also toss their butts out onto the street.

More than once I've pulled up behind someone at a set of lights and seen a LIT butt tossed out the window, to end up on the road... smoking away.  More than once I've seen this happen on TOTAL FIRE BAN days.  One day I'm going to yield to the urge of getting out of my car, picking it up and throwing it back into their car saying "You dropped this."

[botcrusher]

Reminds me of when i got an old ruby G3 from a smoker. I managed to get it all out of the plastics, my only problem with the G3 is that the underside is low voltage, and the top side... Well, let's just say the cable coming out the back of the CRT looked, and still looks like, a furry tarantula. No way in hell I'm going anywhere close to that thing with my bare hands.
Seems to have been enough though, it chugs along quite merrily after that. Quite rugged little guy, i would have assumed 10+ years of smoke would have toasted something.