To turn off or not to turn off

Press, 8 July 1986, Page 22

To turn off or not to turn off

An interesting question was put to me recently. “Could my video catch fire if I leave it on all the time?” Many people may be worried about this. However, let me reassure you that there Is no more chance of your video catching fire than a fridge. They are designed to be left on — do you unplug the TV, fridge, water heater, oven, hi-fi system or washing machine overnight or in the mornings before you leave for work? Most probably the answer is

“no,” and most of these appliances are more susceptible to fire than the VCR. VCRs need to be plugged in to work. They are designed to record over periods of up to two weeks or more while the house is empty and have special components built into them to make them safe. They do not consume much power' — most of the popular makes only consume around 40 watts, less than the average light bulb. In fact the VCR should

not be unplugged at all. This can do more harm than good. There are special warming circuits in recorders that keep the heads at certain temperatures, and if the machine is turned off humidity can damage the video heads.

Television sets are a different kettle of fish however. They generate much more heat than a VCR, and it is recommended that they are unplugged if you are away for a period of time.

Fire is always a threat with electrical appliances,

and experts advise that the wiring of all appliances, even the humble VCR, is checked to ensure safety.