Green liquid from AC electrical plug

The AC plug on an older TV is beginning to leak a green liquid from both prongs. Does anyone know what this could be? Is there any cause for alarm that this may be the beginning stage of it shorting?

Reply to
WDS
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Sacred blood of Mother Mary the Vulcan?

Reply to
Flatus Johnson

On 8/30/2008 12:32 PM WDS spake thus:

That's the electricity (commonly known as "juice") you got leaking there, good buddy. You need to get a couple of Johnson gaskets to seal it.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

How do you know it is from the plug and not from something inside the wall that is leaking down onto the outlet??

Reply to
hrhofmann

If there's liquid coming out it's not coming from the plug--something is either leaking on it from above or leaking into the receptacle from behind the wall. Either way find out where it's coming from. In addition to fixing the leak you'll likely need to replace the plug, the outlet, and possibly some of the wiring.

Reply to
J. Clarke

"WDS" wrote in news:gdhuk.19228$IB6.14120 @bignews8.bellsouth.net:

Liquid of any type Electricity plugs/outlets ---- yea I'd say cause for alarm. Remove power source until you figure out what it is. Higher level shock or fire hazard.

I would thing liquid discovered around any household electricity would cause alarm even to those with no knowledge of electricity.

Green is usually the color of when copper corrodes. So, if there is a liquid getting on copper, it must be picking up the corrosion before showing itself.

Reply to
Red Green

-- The AC plug on an older TV is beginning to leak a green liquid from both

-- prongs. Does anyone know what this could be? Is there any cause for alarm

-- that this may be the beginning stage of it shorting?

It can't be a short since you only have 2 prongs. If the hot wire were shorted, it would leak black and if the neutral were shorted, it would leak white.

A short will only leak green if there is a ground wire. Since you don't have a ground wire at the plug, it can't be a short to ground.

OK, so what else would make it leak green?

You said it was an older TV. Is it a color TV or B&W?

If it's color, I'll bet the picture is looking a bit reddish these days since you're losing green out the ass errr, I mean *back* - end. My guess is that the heat sink for the picture tube has a leaky drain. Currently, there is little that can be done in this situatio. I would resist the urge to cap it. That will just a induce a backup.

If it's B&W, and you have a color TV that you watch more often, I'd say it was green with envy and it's just showing it's true colors. You better give it some quality time or it'll get so angry you'll be seeing red. What a mess that will make.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

DerbyDad03 wrote in news:465aeed4-99d0-423a-bfb0- snipped-for-privacy@b1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:

Well if I have any TV questions I sure know who to ping on them. You really know your shit, errrr. mean backsides.

Reply to
Red Green

On 8/30/2008 12:32 PM WDS spake thus:

Score for this thread so far: jokester 5, troll-ees 0.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

I also thought along that line about copper corrosion being green. There is nothing wrong with the outlet. The green liquid is definitely coming out of both prongs on the plug only when current is passing through it. Apparently, the copper wires in the plug are corroding. This is a 24 year old, 10" color set that has been sitting in a closet for years. Still has a great picture.

Thanks for being the only poster that doesn't think he is a comedian!

Reply to
WDS

It's a sensor probe from an alternate universe. You need to soak the plug in a bucket of Clorox bleach, call a priest, and move to New Orleans within the next 12 hours. Those green plugs will crawl up your nose while you are sleeping, and take over your brain. The military has people like you at area

51 in New Mexico, which is top secret. Enough to say, it's not pretty.

OTOH, you could wipe it off with a paper towel, and not worry about it.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

replying to Red Green, George Tveden wrote: If your outlet or wall is stained with a blue goo or "Smurf Juice", and it seems to be coming from the electrical cord... The cord is rotten. This is a common problem with older wiring. There is liquid plastic added to the pvc insulation to turn it from rigid pvc (pipe pvc) into flexible pvc for wiring. If it's old or badly made it will rot and the liquid plastic oozes out everywhere. This chemicaly reacts with the copper conductor and forms nasty green plastic+copper goo. Since this is a cord that will be moved, definately replace it before it rots away and falls off.

Reply to
George Tveden

replying to J. Clarke, George Tveden wrote: If your wall, outlet or appliance is stained with a blue goo or "Smurf Juice", and it seems to be coming from the electrical cord... The cord is rotten. This is a common problem with older wiring. There is liquid plastic added to the pvc insulation to turn it from rigid pvc (pipe pvc) into flexible pvc for wiring. If it's old or badly made it will rot and the liquid plastic oozes out everywhere. This chemicaly reacts with the copper conductor and forms nasty green plastic+copper goo. Since this is a cord that will be moved, definately replace it before it rots away and falls off.

Reply to
George Tveden

replying to WDS, George Tveden wrote: If your vintage Bell & Howell projector, TV, or vaccum is stained with a blue goo or "Smurf Juice", and it seems to be coming from the electrical cord... The cord is rotten. This is a common problem with older wiring. There is liquid plastic added to the pvc insulation to turn it from rigid pvc (pipe pvc) into flexible pvc for wiring. If it's old or badly made it will rot and the liquid plastic oozes out everywhere. This chemically reacts with the copper conductor and forms nasty green plastic+copper goo. Since this is a cord that will be moved, definately replace it before it rots away and falls off.

Reply to
George Tveden

Uncle Monster posted for all of us...

gerbils really miss him. It was a real tragedy. (._.)

If it's green you GOTTA call Ghostbusters

Reply to
Tekkie®
*Take George Tveden's advice. Blue goo began oozing out around the plug prongs on an old unused small countertop appliance I had; it had been completely covered, and there was absolutely no way anything had leaked from above or into it from a receptacle. Thankfully, I saw it before plugging it,*
Reply to
Mozayic

That's not true, it's coming from the cord. I've researched this previously, and there is a plasticiser in older and cheaper PVC cables that decompose over time, it then reacts with copper which produces a green colored viscous liquid similar in appearance to Vick's NyQuil. If it does indeed look like Vick's NyQuil, then don't go tearing up your wall (although I may be a little late for that, but perhaps this might help someone else). See if any other devices end up with the same liquid on them from being plugged into the same outlet. However, J. Clarke is correct in his statement that it is not coming from the plug. It's not the plug, but the cable itself. Just be should you don't have any of that liquid around the outlet. On the outside obviously for aesthetics, but more importantly to avoid having any child touching or digesting the hazardous goo. Also, it is conductive, so one must exercise caution around it. The goo can harden and cause damage to one's home, but the biggest danger with it is the risk of fire. So, if there is goo leaking from your electrical plug, you want to check out the interior of the outlet it was plugged into, either by yourself if you know what you are doing around electricity, or call an expert to assess the situation.

I am willing to put money on it that the goo is coming from the cable, and not anything inside of the wall, unless you have another leaking cable plugged in directly above it on the next floor, but even then, that is stretching things. Newer cables have an antioxidant to help prevent the goo from forming, especially under heat which can accelerate the decomposition/chemical reaction process . . . but even with the antioxidant, it is not guaranteed that the cable will never produce the green goo.

Also, if you want to continue to use whatever device it was that had the green goo, then you definitely want to have a professional rewire the device for you!

Reply to
C C Rider

Late in grammar school I mischievously plugged a telephone wire into the AC 110V wall socket and the silicon on the transformer on the old bell phone melted.

Reply to
vjp2.at
*/Finally, an intelligent response to something I've been thinking about for a while. I took wiring in school many moons ago and have been thinking about replacing this cord for a while now./*
Reply to
Lorrie

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