dougdrake Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 My Fisher integrated tube amp has been in storage since May. With that short period of time, can I just plug it back in and fire it up or do I need to start it up slowly with a Variac or something? Thanks all! Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 After only that amount of time you can use it. No Variac. needed. take care dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I'd be careful there ! I'm sure you don't have a variac so you don't have much of a choice. But at the very least keep a very close eye on it until it has been used for a few hours. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D0N Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I really think you should buy a variac. Also get a 250w, a 150w and a phillips soft 60w (has to be soft or else!) and run them in series between the variac and the amp. Make sure the room temperature is at a steady 71 degrees for 24 hours BEFORE bringing the amp into the room. Bring the amp and the variac into the room and turn the thermostat up to 73.5 degrees. Let everything sit for another 24 hours. DO NOT CONNECT ANY WIRES YET! While the room is warming up to 73.5 you should get some cotton balls and liberally spray them with auqanet. Let them sit in the sun for 12 hours to dry. (the hairsprays only function is to make the balls slightly firmer). Place the dry cotton balls in a square pattern on the table about the size of the amp. Gently lift the amp up and place it on top of the cotton balls. This will help keep any vibrations to a minimum while the amp is being brought up on the variac. Don a pair of heavy rubber gloves and SLOWLY plug in the variac. DO NOT TURN IT ON YET! Remove the heavy gloves and put on a pair of merino wool gloves. This particular type of wool will cut down on any static electicity that could escape into your amp. COnnect the variac to the amp & slowly turn the variac up until the hair on your arms starts to tingle. At this point you can take off the wool gloves and go bare handed. Let it stew like that for about 22 hours. Set a timer! Any longer and you could have devastating results. I'm talking about exploding transistors or transformers. You think hiroshima was loud?! When the timer goes DING you can crank the variac up to full power. At this point your private parts should start to tingle slightly. Especially, if you still have the wool gloves on! Let it stew for another 22 hours. Now, you need to bring the room temperature back down to 71 degrees. Let the amp get accustomed to that temperature for 24 hours. When this is complete, unhook the variac and move it to a safe place about 100' away from the amp. Then, put on a pair of long silk gloves... the kind that go up to the middle of your forearm...(I use red but white are probably ok too). These will help to keep any oily fingerprints and other residues from getting on the amps finished surfaces. While wearing the silk gloves, gently carry the amp into the listening room and hook up the right channel first. Let the amp play for 24 hours and then hook up the left channel. Turn the balance fully to the left so no sound is emitted from the right speaker. Let it play for 24 hours like this. If there is no smoke or fires during this last phase then your amp should be 100% ready for service! This is how I do it with all my old tube finds. It's a bit involved but I think it's worth it. It should work for you too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Well we never did anything in the old days. We just turned it on an let it go. Maybe clean the 1/4" of dust off. If it's real old get the corrosion of the tube pins and redue the ground connections. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 D0N, Did you start celebrating New Year early tonight That was hilarious ! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Great explanation, Don, thanks. I've followed all your steps so far but I'm unclear about when it's okay to take the silk gloves off? Or should I ever take them off? They're kind of nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Turkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middlecreekguy Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Wish I`d never gotten in to tubes. There is so much stuff I need to learn. Damn funny Don. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D0N Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I was in rare form last night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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