Is My Valve Amp Too Hot ?

[Bloc Riff Nut]

Hi,

I think I'm looking for peace of mind really.I have an Orange AD200B, which after a 4hr rehearsal felt quite hot. Not so hot that you can't keep your hand on the grille above the valves, but warm enough to have me type this "I'm a bit unsure"t thread.
I can hear the fan running, it's very quiet or I'm a bit deaf. I'm playing through a Barefaced Compact or Midget. One cab is enough for rehearsals, so it's one 8 ohm load plugged into the correct 8 ohm speaker outputput. Master at 10 O'clock, gain at 2 O'clock and the eq at ; trebble 2 O'clock, bass 10 O'clock, mid 10 O'clock)
How warm do your valve amps run, and how long do you wait before putting them in the flight case?

I love the full sound of this amp, amp gas is cured.
Cheers,

Phil.

[discreet]

If you can keep your hand on the grille above the valves, then I'd say you have nothing to worry about. Valve amps get hot! It's the nature of the beast. I don't wait at all before putting mine in its case.

If you're taking the amp from a warm room into a cold car or van, better that it be in its case. In my humble opinion.

Edited April 17, 2014 by discreet

[davehux]

My Little Bastard used to double as a handy croissant warmer.

Valves contain heaters and by definition will get hot.

[discreet]

Handy in winter when driving home from a gig - the car warms up in half the time.

Edited April 17, 2014 by discreet

[andydye]

fan? what is this fan you speak of in an ad200b?

mine gets toasty warm, I give it at least 10 minutes on standby and then another 10 to cool a bit after power down before I put it's roqsolid jacket on to move it to the car boot

[mikhay77]

I woudnt worry,I have a Trace Mk2 v4 200watt 4 kt88s. It gets pretty damn hot which is handy for the kebeb rotisserie mounted on the rear! Hot hot hot...lol

[PURPOLARIS]

[quote name='Bloc Riff Nut' timestamp='1397724895' post='2426747']
Hi,

I think I'm looking for peace of mind really.I have an Orange AD200B, which after a 4hr rehearsal felt quite hot. Not so hot that you can't keep your hand on the grille above the valves, but warm enough to have me type this "I'm a bit unsure"t thread.
I can hear the fan running, it's very quiet or I'm a bit deaf. I'm playing through a Barefaced Compact or Midget. One cab is enough for rehearsals, so it's one 8 ohm load plugged into the correct 8 ohm speaker outputput. Master at 10 O'clock, gain at 2 O'clock and the eq at ; trebble 2 O'clock, bass 10 O'clock, mid 10 O'clock)
How warm do your valve amps run, and how long do you wait before putting them in the flight case?

I love the full sound of this amp, amp gas is cured.
Cheers,

Phil.
[/quote]

Hi Phil

Glad you're enjoying the amp. I was never concerned with the heat from the amp when I used it and it was totally reliable in all the time that I had it. As I said, the only reason I sold it was because of the weight.

[JamesBass]

I leave my CTM300 for about 5 minutes while I pack the rest of my gear down then another 5 minutes with the case on then it's in the car and home

[Bloc Riff Nut]

Sounds like I have nothing to worry about.
I new that really, honest. It's just one of those things; when you have a new toy that's so lovely you want to make sure you don't break it.
The amp is in excellent condition Purpolaris, I intend to look after it, as you have done.
Thanks for easing my unfounded worries.

Cheers,

Phil

[Prime_BASS]

The SVT 2 pro I've used at rehearsals gets really hot, not warm, hot.
I wouldn't worry

[skidder652003]

yep SWR 700 working Pro Solid State in a flight case gets too hot to touch after some gigs when fully cranked at 4 ohms. I used to get a bit freaked by this but its still going after a couple of years (probably just cursed myself..)

[ahpook]

As a convenient temperature guide, if you can keep you finger on something just for about a second before it's too hot then it's about 70 deg C.

Um....just thought I'd throw that in !

Edited April 19, 2014 by ahpook

[JTUK]

Some amps are designed to run hot and as long as the components are spec'd to do that,
then it will be fine. But those units will not be cheap so as long as the companies legislate
for that it should be a problem.
But cheap and hot aren't very good bed-fellows to my mind...