Dell 2209WA (remember them) potential safety issue.

I don't see a sub forum for this (I think we had one in the old forum) so I'll start here. My 2209 fell off it's mount when the case sort of crumbled due (a guess) to aging plastic. Luckily it fell onto a large desk & still seems to work OK but I'll need to invent a new way to mount it. Wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

cicopo wrote in post #18345599
I don't see a sub forum for this (I think we had one in the old forum) so I'll start here. My 2209 fell off it's mount when the case sort of crumbled due (a guess) to aging plastic. Luckily it fell onto a large desk & still seems to work OK but I'll need to invent a new way to mount it. Wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

Remember the 2209WA, I've been using mine for over 5 years, fantastic monitor.

Thanks, I'll give my 2209 a looking over tonight.


jason

Out of interest, was yours in sunlight (UV) or not?
I still have an old one stored upstairs and gave it a quick look and it still looks like new to me.

I have two of them in front of me right now. Just checked the base and the mount, everything looks solid.

To answer the questions re use & location it has always been indoors & in no way would have been subject to UV from the sun. It's been in my garage for at least the last 5 years. I came out 1 morning & it was laying on top of the paperwork & other stuff on the desk which was a very short fall which didn't damage the monitor further. The weight is ONLY supported by the plastic case, which appears to seems to be turning into a crumbling form of plastic with no structural strength now. I have reported this to Dell but don't think they took it seriously. Because I have about 40 years of Corvette body repair experience I have repaired the case & painted it this afternoon & will get it back together (I hope) tomorrow. I may have to modify the latch (put a shim to it's mounting hardware) because I thickened the plastic by 1 layer of fiberglass matting. I took these photos But when working on it more of the plastic crumbled so I filled a larger area than shown in the first bunch of photos.

That look more like someone or something fell on it or pushed on it really hard. There are stress cracks running all the way up to the top of the case. Nice repair job though.

These are of the plate that supports the monitor & the latch below that plate. The latch is mounted to the chassis cover. The tabs on the top of the plate should be flat like the bottom ones but I have bent them back allowing my fiberglass repair to be about 1/8 inch thicker than the plastic lip was. The 2 metal tabs & the plastic trim plate covering it are what supports the full weight of the monitor.

Gravity did this. My wife said she heard it (a bang) late into the night. There isn't anyone else here that might have pulled, or pushed on it.

Weird. I have a Dell 2007WFP that's just as good today as the day it was new, and I still use it from time to time.

cicopo wrote in post #18348736
Gravity did this. My wife said she heard it (a bang) late into the night. There isn't anyone else here that might have pulled, or pushed on it.

The OP has explained the cause and it should be noted it is not a Dell issue!

I don't understand your underlined remark. The plastic which the case is made from & is all that holds the weight of the monitor has changed from a nice strong plastic to a crumbly form with no structural strength. May have been caused by heat, the elements, or poor chemistry but whatever caused it (& I doubt it was heat because it's not on much of the day) could let one fall onto someone while sitting in front of it. That is all I'm trying to point out. The case is roughly 3/32 inches thick where it failed & there is nothing else behind the plastic that spreads the load.

cicopo wrote in post #18350823
I don't understand your underlined remark. The plastic which the case is made from & is all that holds the weight of the monitor has changed from a nice strong plastic to a crumbly form with no structural strength. May have been caused by heat, the elements, or poor chemistry but whatever caused it (& I doubt it was heat because it's not on much of the day) could let one fall onto someone while sitting in front of it. That is all I'm trying to point out. The case is roughly 3/32 inches thick where it failed & there is nothing else behind the plastic that spreads the load.

Didn't your wife make the following statement? Do you expect Dell to design against things falling?

cicopo wrote in post #18348736
Gravity did this. My wife said she heard it (a bang) late into the night. There isn't anyone else here that might have pulled, or pushed on it.

Yes I do. It fell from the mount THEY used to support it when it crumbled. It didn't come with any other way to hold it up. Maybe I was supposed remove it from the original mount & base plate & wedge it up against the wall with it's bottom sitting on my desk.

cicopo wrote in post #18355986
Yes I do. It fell from the mount THEY used to support it when it crumbled. It didn't come with any other way to hold it up. Maybe I was supposed remove it from the original mount & base plate & wedge it up against the wall with it's bottom sitting on my desk.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Google this monitor and cite one other instance of a similar issue.

Maybe this is the first failure. Someone gets to be first but unless they tell others no one will know. In my opinion (50 years of auto repair / restoration) the mounting system should have been stronger. I have corrected that but not many owners would have the skills / tools to do that.