Neon Signs Service & Maintenance

The cost of repairing a simple break runs about $50 if neon and $60 if it had argon gas, as the tube has to be cleaned prior to being repaired. Often a break will destroy several feet of glass and you may be better off having a new tube made. On older signs that used argon gas, mercury vapors have clouded the glass.

Carton boxes are the cheapest and most efficient way to ship neon signs. However, if you are to ship them to a faraway place, crates could be the better choice. Either way, the most important thing about shipping and packaging neon signage is the attention to detail and careful and proper packaging.

Never handle a sign while it is turned on, since the transformer can produce anywhere between 4,000-12,000 volts of electricity. If you have an older neon sign, do not attempt repairing or maintaining it by yourself. ... Sometimes, older neon signs can also have leaded glass.

The cost of a neon sign varies based on its size. You can get a 13x32-inch neon sign for as little as $220 with an additional $7 per letter. Generally, a custom neon sign costs between $200 and $1,200 per square foot.

A red neon light's typical energy consumption is at 3 1/2 to 4 watts per foot. ... If you continuously run a sign for 12 hours, a foot of red neon sign would typically use about 15.33 to 17.52-kilowatt-hours of electricity per year while a fluorescent model will take up 50 percent more than that.

Neon is perfectly safe to the touch and will not burn you. When manufactured and installed correctly, neon will only ever run warm. The electrodes that are attached to each piece of neon tubing, that create the start and end point for the current to travel, do get hot and should not be touched.