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Sherwood S5000 tube why is does it run so hot

vintagefeel

vintagefeel

New Member
My Sherwood S-5000 tube amp runs extremely hot, can't touch protective plate without burning fingers. I tried a voltage regulator set at 110v, no luck, still burn fingers. All original tubes except rectifier which is Sovtek 5AR4. Any ideas why it is running so hot? What can I do to make it run less hot?
 
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Possible its malfunctioning but these things were ovens by design. The tubes are packed tight and not run super gently.

Have it checked out and stop touching it. My S7000 has a fingerprint burned into the shield from me after rebuilding it. I left it as a reminder to not do that again
 
thanks gadget73 for finger sacrifice! i was told by someone that these vintage amps were designed for 110v while modern homes run from 120-130. but from your experience, i guess they just run hot. can't imagine running them with the cover on and stacked like originally intended.
 
vintagefeel said:
My Sherwood S-5000 tube amp runs extremely hot,..All original tubes except rectifier.. Any ideas why it is running so hot? What can I do to make it run less hot?
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When did you acquire it? what was the condition (original stock?) when you acquired it.

Agreed with regards to Post #2 & 3 re; having someone look it over.
 
dswankey, i acquired from flea market where was shown it worked, i didn't note any extreme heat when he demonstrated during the 30-60 second trial run. while transporting home, however, i broke the original rectifier tube so i replaced it with the sovtek and noted the heat. if i turn amp on with out sovtek tube inserted, amp gets hot but you can still touch protective plate without getting burned.
 
vintagefeel said:
... acquired from flea market where was shown it worked, i didn't note any extreme heat when he demonstrated during the 30-60 second trial run.
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Turns on and makes sound for 30-60 seconds does denote it turns on & "works", however not trying to be a jerk but that doesn't mean it was/is working as it was designed to.

If you're not sure that it had been serviced before hand, there's a very good possibility that the unit is stock with original 60+ year old parts that would greatly benefit a thorough going over.
 
I've got one of those myself, I've recapped it for reliability. To bad you broke that rectifier, they aren't cheap as you know now. Mine runs hot too with the shield in place. I was considering taking the shield off but from what I've read it's better to leave it in place. I'd be watching the tubes, the EL84's, for any sign of "redplating", you don't want that. As they all say here, standard is to replace the filter caps which are the silver cans. I restuffed mine but you can buy new cans which is easier. Also the selenium rectifier for the bias circuit could be replaced with diodes. There isn't much room underneath to put individual capacitors if you want to do it that way. Maybe take a look at the coupling capacitors and consider replacing them depending on what's in there now. If they are the brown shiny ones then probably leave them be.
 
wally1956 said:
I've got one of those myself, I've recapped it for reliability. To bad you broke that rectifier, they aren't cheap as you know now. Mine runs hot too with the shield in place. I was considering taking the shield off but from what I've read it's better to leave it in place. I'd be watching the tubes, the EL84's, for any sign of "redplating", you don't want that. As they all say here, standard is to replace the filter caps which are the silver cans. I restuffed mine but you can buy new cans which is easier. Also the selenium rectifier for the bias circuit could be replaced with diodes. There isn't much room underneath to put individual capacitors if you want to do it that way. Maybe take a look at the coupling capacitors and consider replacing them depending on what's in there now. If they are the brown shiny ones then probably leave them be.
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do you really think it's wise for someone like the op who apparently has no knowledge of how a tube amp works to get in there and replace components that operate in high voltage circuits?
 
It's unfortunate this nice sounding amp runs so hot, even w/o its top.

Just look how close the opts are to each other. Plus, the opt tubes are abused, electronically.

There are at least two versions and they both heat your room.
 
I've had an S-5000 for a long time. If you're using the 7189s it's designed for, it does not eat power tubes. I run it with the tube shield and the case on it. Yes, it gets very hot, but tube life has not been an issue.

Somehow, the guy I bought it from was using JJ EL84s in it.
 
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