I've taken apart some broken laptop screens to get the CCFLs and their power inverters. Most of the CCFLs are matched with their inverters but some came to me already separated. Are they likely to work with each other's inverters? Realistically, is a CCFL liable to explode with another CCFL's inverter? Also, how flexible is the input voltage likely to be? Inverters I see for sale specify input ranges like 10-30 V. If I increase the voltage, will it just reduce the current taken? And is there any way I can figure out which way to connect the inverters without breaking them? What if I connected half a volt and make a measurement - could I use that to distinguish between correct and reverse polarity without breaking anything?

Thanks! I'mma make a pretty light with these...

 

Most I have used are 800v to 1kv output, most are fairly flexible as to inverters.
Usualy the difference is if made for 1 tube or 2 and/or length.
Max

 

I have played around with mix and matching various CCFL tubes with odd inverters and never found them to be all that fussy.

Small tubes on higher powered inverters tend to be impressively bright but run hot and likely have rather short service lives for it similar to running a 250 watt HID bulb on a 400+ watt ballast. They work but service life is extremely reduced.