Oops... 6G15 Clone left on for 3 weeks!

sonar · Sep 9, 2017

Yeah, band has been on a mini, end of summer hiatus and I haven't been to the rehearsal spot since we played last. Went down to grab a guitar a couple days ago and noticed I left my reverb unit on for over 3 weeks! To be clear the reverb does not have a standby.

I was in a rush and didn't have time to turn on my amp and see what was up. Basically grabbed the guitar, turned off the reverb unit and left.

The tubes are (or were) fresh NOS/NIB's when I built the unit last year. The unit itself probably has around 75 hours play time on it, minus the 3 weeks it was on.

So, I ask the forum, what could go wrong and what to expect when I turn it back on next week?

CoyotesGator · Sep 10, 2017

I would expect it to welcome you home and work just fine.

:salude

jtees4 · Sep 10, 2017

All should be fine....just make sure you yell "Daddy's Home!!" when you walk in. It really helps when these units are feeling wanted

eace2 Good luck.

sonar · Sep 11, 2017

Thanks for the kind words.

I guess I'll find out later this week.

DrRobert · Sep 11, 2017

When there's no input the tubes aren't really doing anything. And since the wear on tubes is at least as much from cycling from cold to hot and back as it is from just sitting there warm, I'd expect them to be fine. Think of them as "extra burned in"! As to the transformers and SS components, they're not working particularly hard when the amp is idling. Maybe resistors in the power section might be a few percentage points closer to their wear out date, but they should last forever anyway.

Bottom line, no harm, no foul!

springhead · Sep 11, 2017

The passive components won't wear out, if anything they're better off without power on/off cycling. The tubes are pulling quiescent current all the time, signal or not, so you've put a few hours on them but nothing to worry about.

I do the same with my amps, one in particular that sometimes gets left in standby for a day or two. That's probably worse - hot cathode but no electron flow.

F-Hole · Sep 11, 2017

Some amp builders burn in their new circuits for longer than 3 weeks.

:salude

sonar · Sep 12, 2017

I could consider it burn-in time, but the space is in a gigantic and old warehouse divided up into a couple hundred studio lofts. Needless to say the electricity can be wonky.

also, I used old, period correct tone caps. It'll be interesting to see if there is a difference in performance?

F-Hole · Sep 12, 2017

sonar said:
......also, I used old, period correct tone caps. It'll be interesting to see if there is a difference in performance?

I'd bet they will improve.

sonar · Sep 15, 2017

Played last night and the reverb was fine. I know outboard reverb units can be a pita to lug around, but the 6G15 sure does sound (and play) sweet.

Plus the band was on, which always makes this whole guitar thing we do worthwhile.

Oops... 6G15 Clone left on for 3 weeks!

sonar

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CoyotesGator

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jtees4

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sonar

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DrRobert

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springhead

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F-Hole

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sonar

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F-Hole

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sonar

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