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I purchased an HF 22 from a friend. He said it had not been used in many years,but that it had been run on a variac before he gave it to me. I am playing it now, and it sounds great. It is original with no updates or mods. As I sit here watching tubes, feeling transformers, and looking for any signs of trouble, I realized, I am not really sure what to look for in the way of trouble. I dont see any signs of red glow in tubes, and no smoke, but besides that, I am not sure what the early warning signs are. Is it normal for the 6L6GB tubes to have a blue glow?
Finally, should this unit be checed and updated in any way, our should I just enjoy the music?
Follow Ups:
You should replace the coupling capacitors, and also the high voltage filter caps (the "cans" as the other poster called them). Also, I'm not familiar with this unit but if it has a selenium rectifier (and it probably does) then it MUST be replaced with a modern diode and dropping resistor. It's not a question of if the selenium rectifier will fail, it's only a question of when, and when it does it will give off noxious fumes as well as possibly damage other parts of the amplifer.You might, of course, be able to run it for a few years before anything happens...then again, you might not! It's better to be sure. If you aren't familar with this work, look for a tech to do it, it's worth the money as you'll get many years of reliable service.
nt
Yes it is normal for most pentodes to have a blue glow, although it's usually not very prominent.I would say if you want to go forward with confidence that there will be no surprises, I'd get someone to check it out. As many here will tell you, it is likely the PS caps (cans) need to be replaced period. You might find that as good as it sounds, it will sound better when running exactly at spec.
It is likely that it could continue working for some time as is, but you just never know when something is going to go.
Any plans to get a partner to make a stereo pair?
Thanks for all the great replies, (I was sick when I read today that the site was being sold). I do have a stereo pair, and as the owner of a rather expensive 2A3 PP amp I am very pleased with this purchase of the Eico's. Consensus is the caps need replacing. Any suggestions as to brand or type would be appreciated. At this point. I am so pleased with the sound, I will be willing to put in the best available components to maintain, or improve, the sound quality.
ps. I would have bought the website where it not for the recent purchase of these amps.
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