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Re: NEON- legal rubber boots

In a message dated 96-09-14 16:37:47 EDT, you write:

>used.  Masters Technology products are CSA
>approved for WET locations.  That is exterior, in the climate, outdoors,
etc.
>CSA is a NRTL, recognized by OSHA, NEC, etc. and probably even the FDA,
>CIA, FBI, and the EPA.  But who knows.  Again, they are the only "rubber"
>(and Herb hates it when I say rubber, because they're not) approved for
>outside, in the weather use.  They are currently attempting to get everyone
>of
>the NRTL to accept the to others standards.  His pamphlets state the UL for
>damp and dry locations.  Somewhere they show CSA approved for wet.
>
>

Excellent research, Gary. But I want to ask one silly question that will
probably vex some of you. What relevance is there in a neon sign doubleback
which is surrounded by air, a GTO connection, if wet with or without a cover?
In other words, what are the actual safety issues concerned with here? Is it
only the problem of ensuring the safety of the sign installer/repairman? Or
is there somehow a fire danger from having the electrode voltage exposed to
water?  Why is a cover necessary, in actual fact, if not potentially exposed
to any metal surfaces? I do use pyrex G-Cups, but have seen a lot of other
signs that have survived for a long time outside without any coverings at
all, and while I don't like them they somehow seem to last anyway, although I
hate to admit it. Masters Tech connectors may be water tight as well, but
they are so tight that they are very hard to install on an electrode
sometimes without breaking off the electrode. We had this same problem with
G-Cups too when they were first introduced and you were supposed to use that
darned O-Ring that didn't fit and didn't work anyway. When you install
channel letters, you don't worry about the neon inside getting wet, you
assume it does and provide a drip hole for the water to drain out of. If you
simply assume that the rainwater will always flow down and drain, as long as
it doesn't accumulate it is safe. Same is true for boots, isn't it?
Does anyone have any practical experience with failures of this nature simply
from exposing the electrode wires to water? Please give some examples.
Jeff Golin
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