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Tube Amp during heat wave: safe?


MeloManiac

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Europe is dealing with a (mild) heat wave (+30 °C). I once had a gaming pc graphics card fail due to a heat wave. So is it safe to play music when the temperatures are up?

My Leben CS300 is like a convector. Nice in winter, but not so in summer...

 

Amp temp getting close to 40 degrees C. 

It now has reached 41.1 degrees C.

 

 

PSX_20210616_173345.jpg

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1 hour ago, MeloManiac said:

Europe is dealing with a (mild) heat wave (+30 °C). I once had a gaming pc graphics card fail due to a heat wave. So is it safe to play music when the temperatures are up?

My Leben CS300 is like a convector. Nice in winter, but not so in summer...

 

Amp temp getting close to 40 degrees C. 

It now has reached 41.1 degrees C.

 

 

PSX_20210616_173345.jpg

remove the top cover and verify the temp again   ,  does it lower ?  - letting the air flow naturally is the idea here , versus adding forced air cooling -

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Is a tube amp heat sensitive? The tubes get much warmer than 40 degrees C anyway.  Or does the Leben amp also contain semiconductors which could be heat sensitive? At least we are still far away from solder becoming liquid or the amplifier housing bending.

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4 hours ago, AndreG. said:

Exactly what I use, although not in German......

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10 hours ago, Bubo said:

Yes Heat Kills

 

Living in FL and running tube pre and power amps into my Belles, you're scaring me.  Define "Heat" in this situation.  What level of "heat" starts doing actual damage to the tubes (or other components, for that matter)?

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Years ago I used infrared thermometer when I thought output transformers were running hot. If tubes are biased correctly and not "red plating" I've never thought about it.

Possibly operating temp on tube data sheet.

 

Bob Carver sells (current production) "cool running" tube amps which I find intriguing (video of him discussing these amps online). https://www.bobcarvercorp.com

In fact, they are the coolest running tube type amplifiers in history, allowing you to actually touch the tops of the mighty KT120's and never be burned! While we caution against grabbing the sides of the output tubes (they must be hot to function), the internal temperature of our amplifiers is a bit warmer than the inside of your mouth, resulting in an indeterminate lifespan.

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Vacuum Tube Plate Temperature vs Performance In Audio Power Output Tubes.wmv - YouTube                 ElPaso Tube Amps

In working on vacuum tube amplifiers, just for fun, I started measuring the temperature of the output tubes with an IR (infra red) thermometer with a laser pointer. Much to my surprise, I think it has real value. I have measured a number of tubes and there seems to ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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Welcome to the Home of The Bias King™

 

 

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I have never used air conditioning and my listening rooms have often hit 90F during the summer.  It has never been an issue.  Considering the fact that electrolytic caps are typically rated for at least 85C it is not likely that they will be damaged if run on the hotter side for a few hours.  Resistors are even more heat resistant.  And remember that the under chassis temperatures will be lower.

 

Maynard

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42 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said:

We are not neanderthals. Crank up the AC and live like a king!

 

Shakey

 

Most of Europe does not have or use AC

 

NYC is the same latitude as Rome, most of Europe is at Canada Latitudes

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58 minutes ago, tube fanatic said:

I have never used air conditioning and my listening rooms have often hit 90F during the summer.  It has never been an issue.  Considering the fact that electrolytic caps are typically rated for at least 85C it is not likely that they will be damaged if run on the hotter side for a few hours.  Resistors are even more heat resistant.  And remember that the under chassis temperatures will be lower.

 

Maynard

 

When I worked in high tech electronics that went into refrigerated bunkers, every unit had it's own fan, plus the fans the customers would mount on racks blowing into the gear, all solid state.

 

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Heatwaves are the perfect time to break out your Class D or T integrated amps, for cool running music listening sessions, without putting any heat into ones room, or worry into ones mind.   That's what I've done over the years.

 On the other hand, I posted a vid some time ago about how hot tubes get.  In the vid, his power tubes in normal operating mode are reaching 280 degrees, or for you guys over the pond, that would be around 137 celsius. For anyone wanting to see some of the readings, just skip ahead to around the 5 minute mark.

  

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