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Has Anyone Here Thought Of The Possible Fire Potential Of Tube Amplifiers?

sKiZo said:
... and once again ... ignore the GFCI feature on this and similar adapters when used with tube equipment! It's the "non-latching" breaker trip that requires a manual reset when the power blips that's important in this application. That's saved my bacon a few times here. When the house flashes for whatever reason, none of the house breakers trip, but I know my amps are safe when hiding behind the ShockShield.
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I'm aware, I was just pointing out that a GFCI function is not going to do anything, just in case anyone had the idea of converting an outlet in their home to GFCI to use with a tube amp with the notion that its going to keep the house from burning down. I would actually specifically NOT use a GFCI just because they are prone to tripping with tube gear due to the way a lot of vintage amps were designed.


I'm also not big on double fused cords. Opening the neutral will open the circuit, but the device is still "hot" relative to ground. Its just not a complete circuit. Fuses should only be on the hot side of the service, the path to ground should never be opened. This kinda gets back to the need for polarized cords though. Without one, you've got a 50/50 shot at which side your fuse is on.
 
Much of the cheap chinese electrical stuff arriving here in the last few years is far more of a fire hazard than any older TV sets or amplifiers.
 
So it's the surge protection function that you get with this 'portable' GFCI plug that does the trick?

Cheers

Lar
 
petercapo said:
There was an interesting discussion related to this a while back in Dynaco Doctor forum: http://audioasylum.com/forums/dynaco/messages/1/12676.html

Also, my Stereo 35 had a mica cap in the feedback loop go bad that resulted in a momentary flame and smoke show: http://audioasylum.com/forums/dynaco/messages/1/16074.html

I would think that with the kind of voltages at which tube amps run, there is more potential for fire than with solid state amps.
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Its not so much about voltage but rather about amperage. Solid state devices concentrate a larger amount of amperage in a smaller area. So a LOT more heat in those areas which equals potential fire hazard. Heck if you ever want to burn away a finger print just touch a modern computer CPU without a heat sink sometime. (Don't ask me how I know this)

If a device no matter what type is not properly fused , ventilated or protected fires happen.

I worry more about Christmas trees which are the real fire hazard and burn down many a house.

Heck I had a "Modern" box fan do a massive spark and smoke show a few years ago because it was not fused and the motor shorted.

Frannie
 
If someone wants reliable protection, then GFCI along with using three wire power cord, standard slow blowing fuse in hot leg, and chassis grounded is what needs to be done. Also adding fast acting fuse at B+ rail helps a lot. Of cause you need to think about thermal problems and have proper cooling (including addition of fans).
 
buglegirl said:
Hiya,

Its amazing anyone over the age of 40 is alive with all these fire hazards in homes during our youth.

Frannie
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Aint it the truth. Not just tube stuff, but old Knob & Tube wiring, copper penny 'fuses', portable kerosene heaters. Just making toast was sometimes an adventure.

buglegirl said:
...Heck if you ever want to burn away a finger print just touch a modern computer CPU without a heat sink sometime. (Don't ask me how I know this) ...
Frannie
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Ah, In the end we all learn in pretty much the same way don't we. :biggrin:
 
Re:The silver mica cap.
Whao, that would have been the last suspect on my list. I thought those where pretty much bullet proof. Well wrong assumption.

BTW guy, on that topic, I sometime use 9 pins tube saver on my amp for heat dissipation. Works great as I like to keep the chassis cool and not hot.

Anyway, last night after finishing a great amp, tested all good, put the last screw in, put tube savers, and as a final test before moving the heavy critter I decided to power it up once again and play some music.

Well that was a good idea as just after 5 seconds of power up, I saw to my horror some smoke coming off the amp.

Long story short, the soldering done inside those tube savers is very bad. I had a short between 2 pins: no QA done obviously... Beware and check for short before playing with those.
 
I just hung a small photo-electric smoke detector over my Hi-Fi. It might ring as the near-by lace curtains go up in flames, God forbid.
 
ive got 4 tube systems in my home @least 1 is usually running part if not all day long..That and 2 wood burning fireplaces...do I worry about fires ,sure but I run a fat home contents insurance policy and renting after 30 yrs of owning reduces the stress..

hunter
 
cubby01 said:
Aint it the truth. Not just tube stuff, but old Knob & Tube wiring, copper penny 'fuses', portable kerosene heaters. Just making toast was sometimes an adventure.
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Thanx for reminding me ... one of my winter projects to keep the walls from closing in ...

dynaco-toaster.jpg


I imagine you could start a three alarm fire if you tried stuffing bagels in it. <G>
 
sKiZo said:
Thanx for reminding me ... one of my winter projects to keep the walls from closing in ...

dynaco-toaster.jpg


I imagine you could start a three alarm fire if you tried stuffing bagels in it. <G>
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A bit of tweaking, and something like that would make a cool tube cage...
 
sKiZo said:
Thanx for reminding me ... one of my winter projects to keep the walls from closing in ...

dynaco-toaster.jpg


I imagine you could start a three alarm fire if you tried stuffing bagels in it. <G>
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A pair of those in half size would probably work OK to toast bagels and muffins off my Bogen amps. Those KT120's run a bit warm.
 
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