dp1954 Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Do you guys with tubes handle your tubes directly? The reason I ask is because when I got involved with tubes about 4 years ago my dad told me to never put my fingers on the tubes, to handle them with either a tissue or cotton gloves. He's an old air force guy who was around during early radio and all through the tube and ss changes. His rational was that by handling the tubes directly you put fingerprints on the tubes that contained dirt and oils that could cause a tube to burn hotter in one spot than another and thus would burn the tubes out prematurely. Because of this I always put on cotton gloves when handling them. Any thoughts? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Dave, There is some truth to that, I always use gloves. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I personally think its complete mystical and over emphasized tube lore. For instance I have a set of Chinese made KT88's in my own VRD's right now that have no less then 8000 hours on them over a 3 or 4 year period. I would venture to say these tubes have been in and out of the amps at least 50 times with me using my bare hands. I have probably given them a light cleaning maybe a half dozen times with just a damp cloth so as to not wipe the lettering off. I would say having heavy grime on tubes would be a detriment causing hot spots on the glass but being totally anal about the way you handle them is not required in my experience. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 It's really difficult cleaning dirty vintage tubes without removing the lettering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Cayin thoughtfully provides a single white, soft cotton glove. So the glove is NOT so tweaking audiophiles can dress like Michael Jackson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dp1954 Posted December 5, 2006 Author Share Posted December 5, 2006 I don't know if its a wifes tale or not, but at the price of nos tubes these days using gloves is cheap insurance. At least that way I"m not having to wipe off the tubes and chancing removal of the lettering. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hardy Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 It isn't necessary; tubes (even power tubes) don't get hot like halogen lamps do. On the other hand, it won't hoit! If you enjoy wearing gloves when handling your tubes... hey, it's a free country :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I don't know if its a wifes tale or not, but at the price of nos tubes these days using gloves is cheap insurance. At least that way I"m not having to wipe off the tubes and chancing removal of the lettering. Dave Just to be clear I never said you shouldn't use gloves especially with expensive NOS tubes. But realize unless your living in a completely dust free and moisture free house that you will end up washing them sooner later anyway. The natural dust and moisture that is attracted to the hot/cold cylce the tube go through is of much more detriment than what your fingers touch them will result in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dp1954 Posted December 5, 2006 Author Share Posted December 5, 2006 Understood craig.. My house is neither moisture nor dust free. this is just a question that I thought about the other night while I was trying a quad of nos raytheon el-84's. I hadn't seen anything about this on the forum before so I figured I'd ask. I used gloves on those raytheons.... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Cool biz..........How did you like the rays?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Well, this is a problem. My favorite time to fondle my NOS tubes is right after I've had a bucket of extra-crispy KFC. Not sure why, but I'm a go-with-the-flow kinda guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackpod Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Years ago my neighbor who was a service guy in the tube era gave me a hint about wiped off lettering. Take a lead pencil and lightly smear where the letters were and the lettering will magically reappear, until you wipe the graphite off. But at least you can see what it is. And you don't want to know where Michael Jackson's other glove is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Tubes are pretty tough. Lots of intended tube service was in aircraft and war ships subject to, well warefare and all the shock, vibration, concussion, salt water, dust, etc. That said, oily fingerprints might effect the distribution of heat on the glass or something, who knows? I do know that different folks' personal chemistry varies. As a guitar play one keeps track of the degredation of strings with playing. Mine last a long time without visible corrosion, but I have known folks that absolutely must carefully wipe off their strings after each playing to keep them from quickly corroding... even with that the strings are shot in a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dp1954 Posted December 6, 2006 Author Share Posted December 6, 2006 Thanks for all the replies. In response to Craigs question on the raytheons, they really sound pretty good. Not quite the upper clarity of a set of teles I've got, but very nice lower end and mids. I tried them out with a scott 222c and a pair of lascalas. Really a pretty nice combo. At half the price I paid for the teles they have turned out to be a pretty good buy. I ran across 2 matched quads of them last year for 90 bucks. The quad I am trying out now hasen't been burned in properly yet and the upper frequencies may improve with time. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hey Jackpod how do I go about the trick with the lead pencil? What type of lead pencil? Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WopOnTour Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 I slip on a nitrile rubber glove when I'm pulling tubes. Not that I'm worried too much about perspiration or oils on my fingers, but because I like the positive grip and tactile feel that allows me to roll the tube out more easily and handle them with less chance of a "whoops. Sure cure for "butter-fingers" [] WOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I never wear any gloves while pulling tubes, because I never grasp the tube by its glass. I always grab its plastic, metal, or ceramic base (unless they're 9-pins, which in that case I use a cotton cloth and gently pull 'em with that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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