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Post subject: tube life
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:10 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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I know next to nothing about amps but was wondering how to get the most life out of the tubes. I have 2 Fender tube amps that are not played often and I read somewhere (Premier Guitar?) that tubes should be replaced once a year. I noticed that a little 4w night light I have will last about 6 weeks if I turn it on/off every day. However, if I leave it on it will last at least 6 months. Tubes must be similar with hot/cold cycles being the killer? If true, is there any way to slow down the warm up and cool down, and would that even help? What else can I do (now don't anyone be smart and tell me to leave the amp either on or off all the time), but that might be the only solution.
Thanks,


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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:29 pm
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tvr1979 wrote:
I read somewhere (Premier Guitar?) that tubes should be replaced once a year.


BRAVO SIERRA!

I have tubes in many of my amps that are older than three quarters of the members here on this forum. Older tubes (especially US-built milspec JAN's) will routinely last several decades or more if they're treated respectfully. The same to be said of vintage UK-made Mullard, Dutch-made Amperex, German-made Telefünken, and some Japanese-manufactured bottles. Observing the proper protocols for warm-up and cool-down will help extend the life of any tube, whether NOS vintage or contemporary. The amp's standby switch is your friend.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:29 pm
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" I have 2 Fender tube amps that are not played often and I read somewhere (Premier Guitar?) that tubes should be replaced once a year. "

This must be a statement from a tube seller. :lol: :lol:

Don't sweat the details. If you turn in the amp on, leave it on, if you plan on coming back to play in minutes (like less than 15 minutes). However, I would NOT leave the amp on for more than 30 minutes, unattended. Just turn the thing off.

Life expectancy depends on a lot of things. Like how well made the amp is. How heavy duty is the chassis and the transformers. How good is the power supply. How good are the tubes. Hell, I've see MANY old Fender amps with original tubes. You can't believe how many OEM RCA, Sylvania, GE, Tungsols test higher than many newer tube replacements. It's one reason I never toss an old RCA 7025. They often test off my Hickok's meter. Very few brand new 12AX7's do this.

If the amp burns out tubes after short use, you prolly have other issues besides power cycling the tubes. Just my 5¢ worth of 2¢. :D


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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:25 pm
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If you want to extend tube life point a fan at the back of your amp. The more heat you remove from the area around the tubes the longer they'll last.


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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:05 pm
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Skip the fans, they can do more harm than good. If you need a fan on your tube amp, something is wrong with the amp and it should be fixed instead of blowing crap into the back of it. Tubes are made to run hot, and there are plenty of decades-old tube amps out there that have never seen a fan in their life. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:37 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
Skip the fans, they can do more harm than good. If you need a fan on your tube amp, something is wrong with the amp and it should be fixed instead of blowing crap into the back of it. Tubes are made to run hot, and there are plenty of decades-old tube amps out there that have never seen a fan in their life. :wink:


+1

There are a few applications where a vacuum tube might require a fan, forced liquid, or even cryogenic cooling such as transmitter tubes for microwave, radar, and broadcast radio use. Audio amps seldom qualify for such extraordinary measures. Aside from the ambient effluvia that fans generally blow into an amp, they often create a lot of extraneous noise.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:29 pm
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Arjay & Shimmy, most correct!

You only need to worry about massive heat dissipation with transmitting tubes. Most Fender amps use receiver tubes.


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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:57 am
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tvr1979 wrote:
...Tubes must be similar with hot/cold cycles being the killer?...


Yes, and it's the same for nearly anything electrical. As stated, proper use of the standby switch will help. When do light bulbs blow? Almost always when you first turn them on, and rarely while they have been on for awhile. A tube's heater is similar to the filament in a light bulb. :wink:

It seems reasonable to turn the amp off if not being used for awhile, however, in my experience, leaving it on even if you don't play for an hour or more is preferable to on and off a few times a day. I often leave my amps on all day, and periodically play throughout the day, switching to standby in between sessions. As Retroverbial does, I get decades of life from my tubes.

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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 9:14 pm
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I totally disagree with the fan naysayers, if they were bad for your amp why would amp builders such as Mesa/Boogie and others build them right into their amps. I've been using them for years and have NEVER created a problem with any amp I've used a fan on.They DO however extend tube life.


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Post subject: Re: tube life
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 9:54 pm
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In order to know if tube life were extended with use of a fan, you would have to have two identical amps, one with a fan and one without, and see which tubes lasted longer (all else being equal). Since you don't have that, you are assuming that the fan has anything to do with cooling the tubes instead of removing the heat from the rest of the amp. At any rate, I've removed many of those MB fans, and none have had shortened tube life because of it, but what has happened was much less dust-bunny and smoke residue build up in those amps. :wink:

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