tigerwoodKhorns Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 I just sold a pair of Wright SET amps on Audiogon and they arrived at the Buyer's yesterday. I had them on for 7 hours straight and played them for an hour before sending them out with no problems at all. I told the Buyer that it was very important to install the tubes correctly. I got an email this morning from him saying that he wants his money back because one of them is "smoking" from one of the 2A3's. He tried the backup tube and it did the same thing. I emailed him and daid that I would make good on this, which I will if this is my fault. If these things were defective when I sent them out, I will refund his money as I have a duty to get a working pair of amps to him as I described them (they were in great condition). My only problem is how does a pair of amps that I ran for 7 hours just before sending produce smoke from a tube? The SET's have a very simple circuit. If the tubes are installed in the wrong socket or in the correct socket but in the wrong pin holes can this cause a short that would produce smoke? I am just having a problem with this because they were fine when I used them less than a week ago. Can the transformer be fine and then just go and short to produce smoke (at exactly the time when this guy got the amps adn had to install the tubes) ? I need an answer quickly because I want to call this guy and settle up if I owe him. I want to do the right thing but if it is his mistake I do not plan on paying for his actions. Help!!! Chris PS - I put a call in to George Wright but I don't think that I will hear back before I need to call this guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 send Erik a email about this. He is usually up by 4:00-6:00 AM and he knows about 2A3 SET amps. You might send Luther/Wardsweb a emial also not sure he will get it in time to help you. I just posted about selling my Moondogs and Ground Grid tube preamp for sell and this is a fear I have. I sold a piece of equipment on Audiogon that Had a scratch that I did not see. It was my fault so I refunded his money. How long did you have the amps before you sold them? Good luck with it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painful Reality Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 Unless something went really wrong in the transport, he probably inserted the 2A3 the wrong way. The Wright uses chinese wafer type socket that are not idiot proof. Sadly for you too many idiots roam free on this earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted June 24, 2006 Author Share Posted June 24, 2006 send Erik a email about this. He is usually up by 4:00-6:00 AM and he knows about 2A3 SET amps. You might send Luther/Wardsweb a emial also not sure he will get it in time to help you. I just posted about selling my Moondogs and Ground Grid tube preamp for sell and this is a fear I have. I sold a piece of equipment on Audiogon that Had a scratch that I did not see. It was my fault so I refunded his money. How long did you have the amps before you sold them? Good luck with it!! Thanks. I sent Erik an email. I only had these for a month or two. I bought B&W's and went in that direction (I'l use a Teac where I was going to use the SET's). Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAPTORMAN Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 I put tubes the wrong way before and I just blew the fuse. Good luck--Hope you find a fair solution for this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 How old are the Wrights? The older models "allowed" you to put the 2a3 tubes in incorrectly. I've done it myself and it smokes more than the fuse. I would contact the buyer and do a "where are the big pins and the little pins" check. George put mine back together for about 80 bucks on the pair. JBSL, Moondogs going? If so, let me know your price to get them back. Somedays I miss 'em (sniff). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 Kevin, I hope I'm first in line. I've wanted a pair of those for a looong time and I'm a low volume kind of guy. Plus, I still have my higher powered amps. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 Bruce, You would really enjoy those Moondogs (which I sold to JBSL). Pretty as all get out and wonderful sound to boot. Like I said, sometimes I'm sorry I sold 'em! Shoot me an email if you get them. I have a fresh pair of AVVT 2a3 that are not currently being used that I could lend to you. You might find it fun to compare these to other 2a3 types. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codhead Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 If a tube went in sideways, it may have taken out the cathode resistor. No big deal to fix, just a little smoke and ugliness to clean up. Be thankful that it's point-to-point wired. If this was the case, those Chinese tube sockets may help you out. Sticking a tube in sideways will spread the contacts farther apart for the small pins. Find a drill bit that's the same diameter as a small tube pin, and insert it (non cutting end first) into the small socket holes on the good amp. Do the same on the bad amp, and if there's almost no contact tension on the drill bit in one of the small socket holes, the contact was probably stretched by having a pin inserted the wrong way. I did this once with a 300B amp I built, and you could literally see that the socket's small pin contacts were spread farther apart if viewed from the bottom. I used a needle nose to squeeze them back together, so that they would again make good contact with the tube pins. Hopefully, this is all it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 What he said. A friend of mine did that once. Tossed in the tubes, fired it up, and a big cloud of grey smoke enveloped. Turned it off, put the tube in right way, and the amp stilled worked fine. That was pretty trippy....... Didn't even phase the 5930. He did eventually replace the cathode cap..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 What smokes and burns is a 100uF capacitor when the tube is inserted wrong in a Wright. Don't ask :-( Easy enough to fix. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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