CRT Picture tubes

[DeanWinchester]

Theres anywhere from 3-5lbs of lead in old CRT picture tubes. Anyone ever tried to reclaim it?

People will darn near give old junk Tvs around here.

[Skrenos]

A lot of the lead in the picture tube is actually on the outside on the back. You'll see that greyish paint on the back all the way onto the neck of the tube. That lead paint is there for x-ray protection. A normal CRT uses about 1KV per inch of diagonal size (a 32" TV uses about 32KV). When you crank a picture tube voltage higher than normal, it goes from emitting electrons to emitting x-rays. Really, that paint is there to protect a service technician working on the back of the TV (why would he be in the front jacking with the flyback?) So, scrape away at the paint if you want, it probably wouldnt make 1 bullet even BEFORE you fluxed the hell out of it to remove the oxides.

[I'll Make Mine]

Even more of the lead in a picture tube is bound into the glass. It's possible to extract; "all" you have to do is grind the glass into a fine powder and leach it in an acid that dissolves lead for a while (a week or two should suffice, if the glass is finely enough ground), then recover the metallic lead from the dissolved salts. FWIW, it's easier to recover lead from ore than from leaded glass...

[357maximum]

The front of a telelvision makes great flintknapping practice....a much more practical use for others garbage in my opinion. I do not think you could self claim enough lead from 2,000 tvs to fill a gascheck, but I could be wrong. I have seen what is left of them after housefires and I have yet to see a puddle of lead while the guys were shoveling out the mess.

[Skrenos]

... "all" you have to do is grind the glass into a fine powder and leach it in an acid that dissolves lead for a while ...

Acetic acid, or vinegar will do that. Makes lead acetate, AKA sugar of lead. It's sweet too. Look it up.

[DeanWinchester]

I didn't know. I just watched modern marvels on tv and they said there were several pounds of lead in each tv set. The bullet caster in me peaked interest.

Thanks guys.

[I'll Make Mine]

I didn't know. I just watched modern marvels on tv and they said there were several pounds of lead in each tv set. The bullet caster in me peaked interest.

Thanks guys.

Well, of course some of the lead in a TV (at least one made prior to EU lead restrictions) was the solder on the circuit boards. Most electronics are soldered with lead-free now (so they manufacturer, somewhere in Asia, doesn't have to make two versions, one for EU and one for North America), so the remaining lead is almost entirely in the picture tube.

[master caster]

I have put some lead into TV's before, never got any out. Thankfully there is not any in there my wife would kill me when i have a huge stack of old junk tv in the yard. Lol

[runfiverun]

yeah well,umm.
if you go messing about back there remember the end of the pic tube is also a capacitor.

[I'll Make Mine]

I have put some lead into TV's before, never got any out. Thankfully there is not any in there my wife would kill me when i have a huge stack of old junk tv in the yard. Lol

If you have tube type TV sets that are old enough to wind up as junk in the yard, they probably do contain significant lead -- both as solder and incorporated in the picture tube glass as shielding. The glass isn't a major problem -- ordinary weather won't leach out enough lead to cause trouble, though the hellish mix of chemicals in a landfill can -- but the solder on the circuit boards is just as mobile as the lead in boolits. Best to get them recycled properly (most cities and larger towns now have places you can take those, a few will even pay you a pittance -- enough to cover your gas for hauling them, anyway) if you aren't going to reclaim the circuit board metals yourself.