what's wrong with my tubes? - wuzzelbud - Tubes Asylum

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what's wrong with my tubes?

This evening after a long session of listening to my amp I turned my squeezebox off and left the room for about 45 minutes only to discover a very peculiar low level noise when i returned. The noise can best be described as the sound you would hear if wind was blowing outside and your window was slightly open. I noticed one of the power tubes was tilted to the side a bit and as I straightened it the rustling noise became a crackling noise and the tube in question started to light up like a carrot stick. I immediately turned the amp off but I suspect something may have already been damaged because of the lingering smell of burnt plastic. The power tubes are ei fat bottle which I purchased from Upscale Audio last month. Is this simply a case of a bad power tube? Or is it possible that the rectifier tube may have been the cause of the problem, NOS GE branded Mullards? I only ask about the rectifier tubes because I got them around the same time but from a private sale. I have very little knowledge in this area and would appreciate some help. I have since removed the ei tubes and replaced them with the stock el34's. The amp played fine for several minutes but I didn't want to push my luck. The amp is an Eastern Electric M520 if that helps.

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Topic - what's wrong with my tubes? - wuzzelbud 20:57:29 04/07/06 (9)

My guess would be a coupling cap failure - Datubie 21:34:09 04/08/06 (0)

I'm not familar with your amp, but it sounds like your power tube may have shorted out..... - Chuck Y 06:22:56 04/08/06 (7)

Re: I'm not familar with your amp, but it sounds like your power tube may have shorted out..... - wuzzelbud 08:55:51 04/08/06 (0)

Re: I'm not familar with your amp, but it sounds like your power tube may have shorted out..... - Sherlock 08:16:33 04/08/06 (5)

Re: I'm not familar with your amp, but it sounds like your power tube may have shorted out..... - wuzzelbud 09:12:47 04/08/06 (4)

Wuzzel, if you're uncomfortable removing the bottom cover of a tubed amp... - jeffreybehr 10:37:00 04/08/06 (1)

Re: Wuzzel, if you're uncomfortable removing the bottom cover of a tubed amp... - wuzzelbud 13:55:06 04/08/06 (0)

FWIW department.......... - Chuck Y 09:34:34 04/08/06 (1)

Re: FWIW department.......... - wuzzelbud 09:49:14 04/08/06 (0)

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