sgguitarzz Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Is it a good idea to use a fan to keep an amp/tubes cool? Can it be detrimental? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanG Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Well yeah, a member of the audience crammed into your amp, thats gotta hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batterypowered Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 ZING! Seriously though, I think it depends on the size of the amp. As long as a smaller amp is ventilated properly, I'd not worry bout it. twoblock.net batterypowered.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Well, the trade-off can be having a lot of dust and general airborne crap blown into your amp; not to mention added noise. They're not often included in amps, as they're not entirely neccessary. There used to be a sleeve-like accessory that you could slide onto a tube to provide heat-sink cooling-fins, called "Tube Coolers". I don't know if you can find them now... If you're gonna install one, locate it outside the chassis, if possible, and have it direcing its airflow directly across the tubes. Use the best quality, quietest fan you can afford, maybe even one with some kind of thermal-sensor and multi-speed capability. If you plan on wiring it's power up interanally, be sure that the added current is within the operation capabilities of the power transformer, or else add a transformer or take it's power from the "wall" side of the incoming A.C. wiring. If you're micing a combo-amp, you'll want to be sure that the fan isn't leaking into the mic, or turn it off during recording/performing with a mic. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgguitarzz Posted December 25, 2003 Author Share Posted December 25, 2003 I have one in my Boogie Mark IIB and it has always worked well and the tubes stay very cool. It is quiet and I have never had a tube problem with this amp in over 20 years. I have an Ampeg Reverberocket R212R and was thinking of maybe adding one. I have always been curious though as to whether cooling off the tubes affected the sound in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 I think the Marshall MG solid state models from 50 watts up use them. Not a bad idea for the SS stuff. I haven't seen many complaints from users about the fans in those amps. Seems like a good idea, especially if the chassis is heavily enclosed like the MG amps. sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Some DIYer's used to run 6L6's in Class C, with the tubes inverted and in an oil bath to cool them down!! Not something I'd recommend for the normal gigging musician. The fan isn't a bad idea, but you want to avoid noise too. Using a DC powered fan will be the quietest method, and also place the fan at the power supply end of the chassis, as far away from the input stages as possible. If you can arrange it, have the fan blowing on both power tubes evenly. I don't believe that the preamp tubes will get hot enough to need additional cooling. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Originally posted by bluestrat: "Some DIYer's used to run 6L6's in Class C, with the tubes inverted and in an oil bath to cool them down!!"WHOA, that's hardcore!! I love stuff like that! Tell me more, blue'! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Originally posted by Caevan O'Shite: Originally posted by bluestrat: "Some DIYer's used to run 6L6's in Class C, with the tubes inverted and in an oil bath to cool them down!!"WHOA, that's hardcore!! I love stuff like that! Tell me more, blue'!I've also heard that old timers used to spit on their power tubes to tell if they were biased right. Something to do with it sizzling but not evaporating immediately. That's hardcore! There's all sorts of ways that tubes can be operated, same with transistors. It all gives you different tones, and if you haven't found your sound yet, it's worth experimenting. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baronedo Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 Excessive heat is detrimental to both the sound and longevity of any amp - tube, solid state, or hybrid. Heat can cause components to fail and your sound to get muddy and distorted. It definitely will not hurt to add a small fan and install it in the amp so that it blows over the hottest parts (tubes etc.) and allows the warmed air to vent through the vented openings of the amp. You may have to make a small connecting bracket from aluminum or steel bar stock to mount a fan in your amp, but the installation if fairly easy. To avoid any potential warranty issues, I would not wire it to your amp's circuitry, but rather wire it to its own AC plug or AC/DC adapter (depending on the model). I've used the small PC Computer cooling fans which Radio Shack sells and they are farily inexpensive, quiet and effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steam Posted December 28, 2003 Share Posted December 28, 2003 On tube amps they seem to sound sweeter when they are toasty hot at the end of the night. Maybe I'm more toasted at the end of the night and they just sound sweeter. Hhhmmm......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Novak Posted December 28, 2003 Share Posted December 28, 2003 It makes all the difference for an old Marshall if you want them to sound consistent and not ratty. Get on of those $9.95 clip-on deals from a drug store and take the back off the amp - better bass response, sensitivity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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