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Macbook melted my tray table

M

McFoxy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 12, 2006
18
0
I was flying about a month ago and I borrowed a Macbook to use see if I liked it (I'm used to a Powerbook). I was watching a movie from the HD. After I was done watching I picked up the Macbook to put it away, but as soon as I did that I noticed that something smelled like burning plastic. I ran my hand over the tray table and realized the heat from the Macbook had actually started melting the table.

I have read that Macbooks run hot, but that is ridiculous. Was this just a bad Macbook, or are they all that hot?
 
can you provide a picture of the damage? My iBook has never ran hotter than 169F (but that was after encoding video for 12 hours straight). And can you run coredou temp and tell us how hot that is running?
 
I borrowed the Macbook so I don't have it anymore. I've never had issues with my Powerbook running hot like that. I also had an iBook and it never had any problems. I heard that Apple released a warning not to use the Macbook on your lap because of the heat. Is that true?
 
McFoxy said:
I borrowed the Macbook so I don't have it anymore. I've never had issues with my Powerbook running hot like that. I also had an iBook and it never had any problems. I heard that Apple released a warning not to use the Macbook on your lap because of the heat. Is that true?
Click to expand...
Mmmm, I heard that too from a source that I thought was incorrect.

Yikes.

I hate it if this is true. Apple really needs to address this issues imo.
 
McFoxy said:
I heard that Apple released a warning not to use the Macbook on your lap because of the heat. Is that true?
Click to expand...
Most manufacturers warn people not to use the laptop on the lap, because of the heat (both internal and external). But, apparently this is the warning in the manual for Apple notebooks:
apple said:
Do not leave the bottom of your MacBook Pro in contact with your lap or any surface of your body for extended periods. Prolonged contact with your body could cause discomfort and potentially a burn"
Click to expand...
 
I have a friend who's got a new MB and I was doing some long run processor-intensive stuff with it for him. The thing got insanely hot. Way more than my G3 iBook ever did and way more than his G4 PB does. I placed a barbell freeweight underneath the to help sink the heat. The whole weight got quite hot also.
 
Well, I don't think it was the tray table, from this table of plastics the melting point for most, and I'm assuming the tray table is made of some ABS derivitive, would melt above 300*F.

Thats hot.

Your keybord would have melted first I believe. Still, you may have cooked something while watching the video... hopefully it was some bit of floatsam on the tray table and not something in the MB.

I edited some effects video on site with a MBP and it got annoyingly hot too. I worry how I will take to a MBP when I upgrade.... sigh. The price you pay.
 
well if that is true there is a design flaw in the macbook and apple should fess up. And then fix the problem. The bottom of the macbooks should never get that hot. maybe 120-130F is the absolut MAX the bottom of the mac book should get to.

I dont think hte bottom of mac book should ever get to a tempture that burns to the touch. Yeah prolong it can cause burns but when touch it should never be hot enough to cause pain and reflexs to reacted)
 
Something doesn't add up. Sorry dude, but I just don't believe the OP... melt that hard plastic? Maybe some food that was on there, or some dried sprite, but not that plastic...
 
Trust me LeeTom, if anybody wanted to like a Macbook it was me. I was so excited when they came out, especially because I love glossy screens. I hope they start making iMacs with them.

This Macbook did start burning the tray table. It was so hot that I could not actually touch the bootm of the Macbook. The first thing that tipped me off about the tray table was the smell of burning plastic. I have held a lighter to a G.I. Joe before, I know what burning plastic smells like. =)
 
McFoxy said:
This Macbook did start burning the tray table. It was so hot that I could not actually touch the bootm of the Macbook. The first thing that tipped me off about the tray table was the smell of burning plastic. I have held a lighter to a G.I. Joe before, I know what burning plastic smells like. =)
Click to expand...

I will attest to the temperature being "too hot to touch" on the model I used for a week. It wasn't impossible to touch at all, but it was very close to what I'd consider scorching. I had that sucker doing some very intensive work, though.

I don't think you burnt the tray plastic. It may have been heated enough to start gassing off and smell, but I doubt it began to actually melt, deform or smolder.
 
pseudobrit said:
...I don't think you burnt the tray plastic. It may have been heated enough to start gassing off and smell, but I doubt it began to actually melt, deform or smolder.
Click to expand...

Wait. Macbook? The macbook would have melted out first. Its plastic. :rolleyes:
 
the MB gets too hot to use on bare skin, but on any sort of shorts or anything that I have i've had no problem, especially compared to my dad's Dell Latitude - now THAT gets insanely hot. speaking from experience, i doubt that the plastic was melting, probably something else going on, unless that was incredibly cheap plastic.
 
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