Straightening Bent Fins

If you're in Arizona.....DanD'ag is in Cave Creek....about 1/2 mile from me.

Alpha-Gt

Contact Patrick direct through email.   

pbresnahan (at) krellonline (dot) com

You may be right ebm, I'm sure it affects the value. But the original exterior box was undamaged, and I guess I wasn't up to the hassle of returning it over what seemed like a small thing at the time. But, I love the amp, it sounds amazing, and other than that fin I am very happy with it. If it's the last amp I ever own, then it's accidemic.

I emailed Krell, and have not received a return message. I have the worst luck with manufacturers. Everyone goes on and on about how great Krell is, and they won't even respond to a polite, simple question? I'll call them on the phone, perhaps I'll have better luck. 

I would never have taken it.Was it in the original box??

After I have lived with the amp for over a week now, I am not quite as upset about the fin as I once was. But I'd still like to fix it, to maintain the value of the piece. And there are 3 heat sink plates per side Jetter, the 300's have 3 per side and the 600's have 4 per side. 

Im not sure, but the heat sinks on the later FPB models may be the same? On the C and Cx models? So perhaps Krell will still have them in stock? Anyway, I've sent an email to Tech Support at Krell to inquire about a new heat sink, I suppose it's a holiday weekend for them, so hoping to hear from them later this week. I was an electronic tech in a previous life, so am confident I can make the swap. 

You could try to buy a non functional FBP-600 and use it for parts, if Krell is unable to source the fins.

Meant to say bent heatsink fin will be on the back.

I assume that to buy a new heatsink, if you find one, you will need to replace the whole side as it is one piece per side.  If so, you may want to replace both sides in case there has been fading over the years. 

Alternatively, if possible, if you move the left heatsink to the right, and vice versa, the bent heatsink will be on the back?

Hi Alpha_gt
Ok,first I want to say your writing style is very funny ,and yes I mean it in a good way. You think positive and that’s good.
In regards to the bend fin, because I work with aluminum material and know how it behaves. Understand that the fin on your Krell amp is made of aluminum and then black anodized. The anodizing process makes the aluminum harder but also brittle. So even if you succeed in bending it back to straight ,I am afraid the anodize will be affected and will show discoloration at the very least,most likely a white shade where the metal got stressed.Have you ever seen pictures of big Krell class A amps with blue fins from the heat discoloration?
If it was me and I cherished the amp I would go straight into ordering a new fin. By the way my dream amp is a Krell FPB-600 but out of my price range in my area.
Thanks
George

Nice video pbn! I did a search on "Bent Fin" and it turned up many stories about others who have had many episodes like mine, most were way worse. And, looking at used amps, it's not uncommon at all to see one with a slightly bent fin from some previous encounter. It happens way more than it should. 

Yes it was in a factory box, but the foam padding failed, and the amp twisted in the box. And no it wasn't bent in the seller's photos.  This thing weighs 130 lbs, I know they weren't ginger with it. And the amp works fine, sounds amazing! No internal damage that I can see. Perhaps a new heat sink would be the way to go? If Krell even makes them or has one to sell. It's an FPB-300, not the lastest model for sure. 

I was thinking more like Erik suggested, possibly some wooden shims to prevent scratching. And applying some heat. No, not a torch or anything, just a heat gun like I use for shrink tubing. To help prevent cracking. If it's 200 degrees it would be a lot less likely to break. If my only other option is buying another, then I have nothing to loose? If, they have another. And what is connected to it? Some heat sinks have transistors attached to them, others are only against them. 

But it is a testimate to the solid build quality of this amp! It's like a tank, the rest of it is completely unharmed. No rattles or wracking, of course it feels like solid lead anyway. Wow it's heavy! At some point they should think of separate chassis, and I guess they do? I don't have to worry about some theif snatching it up and running off with it! 

so thanks guys, I guess my next step is to contact Krell. 

Is almost impossible to do, any repair will always be visible  Your best bet would be to get a new heatsink and replace it.

You might want to lift the lid to see if anything else got knocked loose in shipping.

This btw is why this happens  :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q6_9A90cUk

Best of luck

Peter

 
Of course, you could contact Krell and ask their opinion. If it took such a hard hit, there may be additional damage. Proceed with caution.

Did the sale ad pictures show the front fin as ok, not damaged ?

I know this is a fairly common thing to happen during shipping.

Really ?

It’s not severe enough that I don’t want the amp, I’m not going to send it back over one bent fin.

Those fins are thick. That amp took a real hit. What does the box look like? Is it the original Krell box?  If the box looks ok, then it happened during the prep for shipping. I would be getting it checked out and/or contacting the seller.

Unfortunately this can’t be fixed like you fix a bent boat prop.

Depends on how thick it is! Thicker = more likely to break.

Use something like the Sears Robo Grip pliers which will give you the most control and leverage.

Use a towel or similar in between the pliers and fins to protect finish.

Instead of trying to fix it all at once, do it in increments, approaching your goal.