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Is rectifier tube arcing a problem?

I did some research and couldn’t find a definite answer.  I have an amp that I tried 6 different pairs of 5U4G and 5U4GB. 3 pairs has arcing (RCA 5U4G, TungSol, Svetlana 5C3S) and 3 pairs don’t (RCA 5U4G with hanging filament, EH 5U4GB, Sylvania 5931).  I took the amp to a technician and he checked everything, he can’t find anything wrong.  The problem is, I like the sound of the TungSol and Svetlana which both have arcing.  The technician said it is ok to keep using them, but honestly I am not too comfortable.  But I like their sound.  Is it really ok to keep using the arcing tubes?  Will it damage the amp?

 

 

gte357s
pesky_wabbit's avatar
pesky_wabbit
1,183 posts
 

psu. caps should have bleeder resistor that only takes few seconds to lower charge

dekay's avatar
dekay
5,857 posts
 

Should...

Not the case with my Audion and Bottlehead amps (I’ve blown fuses on both).

Also had the crap shocked out of me by various vintage amps that had been powered down for 8-24 hours (just for fun - because I knew better;-).

Better safe than sorry, plus what’s the hurry?

 

DeKay

 

gte357s OP
281 posts
 

Thanks for the reply.  Actually, my question is, do I need to buy another TungSol.  

And if I buy another one, is there a way to prevent it from arcing.  For example, wait a bit longer (5+ mins) before restarting.  Or this arcing is caused by the design of the amp?  Or due to incompatibility?  I read another thread about Elrog 300B failing on Coincident Frankenstein 300B, while EML 300B works just fine.  But since the TungSol are not that expensive, I think I will try one more time.  

invalid
1,311 posts
 

Where are you buying your tubes from?

noske
783 posts
 

Check with your manufacturer exactly which type of rectifier you amp is designed for.

Brands don’t matter.

Maybe you have a manual?

The technician said that its OK to continue using rectifiers that are arcing? Is this the wild west?

Throw those tubes out and get new ones of the specified type, and if it keeps arcing what would your own assessment be?

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