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Yesterday, I was trying out some new speakers. I played them for a while, shut my CJ integrated amp off, waited for 5 minutes, then unhooked the speakers and put my old speakers back, switched on the amp, waited for 5 minutes and then started playing music.
I played a few songs then suddenly one of the 4 power tubes (EH 6ca7) lit up very bright. The room was dark and I thought the amp caught on fire. I stopped cd playback with my remote and rushed to the amp and it seems like the fuse to the channel feeding that lit up tube blew. I turned everything off and went to bed. This morning when I switched on the amp again to check, the fuse light that blew as on and that faulty tube was glowing normally. I am wondering why this happened and if I did anything wrong. The tubes have about 50-60 hrs on them and so far they worked flawlessly.
Obviously I cant play music and need to get replacement fuses, but did I damage anything else in the amp. If I replace that tube will I be OK. It has two power tubes per channel.
Also, the fuse says Buss Fuse BBS-3/4, 600V AC, 10kA. Is this something I can get locally like in a hardware store or do I have to get it from CJ?
TIA....
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I.D.
Follow Ups:
I just bought two fuses from CJ: $15 / each with shipping. Ouch that is expensive for a fuse. Damn!! I better find a local place to get these.
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I.D.
I'd consider those prices pretty cheap if they do a good job of protecting the amp. Check out the prices of those "designer" fuses.
:D I guess I should know better, eh? They charged me $10 for shipping priority, I guess that was a bit too much, me thinks. Oh well, it is what it is. I need the fuses pronto, or else no music for me. :-(
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I.D.
Don't feel bad. When think of the money I've spent on audio items that turned out to be absolutely useless, a $10 fuse is a bargain. Plus it's great peace of mind to know it effectively protected the innards of the amp. When a tube glows red, turn the amp off immediately......which you did. But don't turn it back on without replacing that tube. As one inmate has already said....it might look fine again for a few minutes, but it will eventually turn red again and take out another fuse. Now hopefully it was just a faulty tube and nothing else.
Cj's are fused very conservatively, so chances of amp damage are pretty minimal. You can use KTK or BBs fuses as they are the same size and voltage rating. The BBS are cheaper, if you can find them. Most electrical supply houses do not stock 3/4 amp fuses, you may have to get them from CJ. I often simply use the 1 amp fuse till I get a replacement.Don't know how long that EL 34 stayed lit up. There is a possibility that it may have been damaged and I would recommend replacement of that tube. Overheating the tube for any length of time means that the screen and grid wires may have warped from the heat and the performance of the tube may be compromised. As KTK fuses run over $10 each, changing the tube sometimes can be a money saver in the long run. Often times the tube will run fine with no signal, but once it gets going on more demanding material it can run away again.
I always keep a pair of spare tubes on the side, no matter what amp I run.
I consider it cheap insurance.
Edits: 03/16/14
Thanks. That tube stayed lit up for just a few seconds, but I will replace that tube. I will call CJ for fuses.
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I.D.
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