Turn Your Old CRT Computer Monitor Into A Fish Tank ! ! !

Step 2 Removing the CRT

I began by removing the old speakers attached to the side of the monitor by unscrewing two bolts on each side. I then promptly plugged then into my ipod. They worked great giving me amplified music to work by.

Next I removed four screws that held together the plastic housing, opened it up, and removed the monitors guts...very interesting stuff. The Cathode Ray Tube its self was attached to the very front of the plastic housing with four more metal screws that I, of course, removed (make sure you save all the mounting screws as you will need them later).

Comments

[shortwave]

Not to worry folks most newer CRT type monitors have capacitors that contain discharge resisters or on board discharge. Be careful with the CRT it in itself can contain residual high voltage. To discharge that get a set of gator clips from radio shack or make your own discharge rod with wire gator clips and a really long piece of wire .. Use a flat head screwdriver preferably a long one and with a good handle. ground the one end and clip the other to the screwdriver push it under the anode cap and POP discharged that simple ;] CRT's can implode thats the only danger i would be worried about nothing like getting a shard of thick glass flung at you

[dustinandrews]

Warning: TV's and Computer CRTs have some big capacitors in them. Those things can hold a charge for a long time. They also have enough power to injure you if you bridge the contacts with your flesh. The label on the back on one of mine says it can cause death. So be careful when scavenging them for parts.

[UbuntuNinja]

How do you safely ensure that these potentially deadly capacitors are discharged before working with the things insides?

[bFusion]

Agreed, I've heard some pretty awful stories about people accidentally discharging those capacitors. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL when disassembling CRTs and TVs... sometimes things aren't very well labeled on the inside.