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Can you leave your amp on too long?

#41
left my sunn 2000s on accidentally for about a week (drunken practice session, week long break due to drummer playing a few dates with another band, realized it was still on when i walked into the space for practice a week later). sounded really great when i started playing it though. and the space was a little warmer than usual.

no damage though!
 
#44
sonicblue62 said:
Oh. I guess that is supposed to be an easy fix? I've always heard that opening a tube amp when you don't know what you're doing can kill you. I'll start searching the forums for tips. :hiding:
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there should be a little black circular plastic bit on the back of the amp that says fuse, twist it and pull it out. if the fuse is blown (you can tell just by looking at it, the filament will literally be broken and there should be black cloudy burnt looking stuff on the glass) then just find out what the fuse is buy one and pop it back in. easy peasy, no opening of the amp required:D
 
#49
ngh said:
there should be a little black circular plastic bit on the back of the amp that says fuse, twist it and pull it out. if the fuse is blown (you can tell just by looking at it, the filament will literally be broken and there should be black cloudy burnt looking stuff on the glass) then just find out what the fuse is buy one and pop it back in. easy peasy, no opening of the amp required:D
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Also, keep the spare fuses (they usually come in 5 packs) in your gig bag for future use.
 
#52
3 pages and no mention of fire safety! I guess being a firefighter that's my first thought. Something shorts, overheats, etc and you could have a fire. when I was 15 I played my bass through my stereo system in my room- I didn't have an amp. I was playing at a relatively low volume for a while and then heard a humming sound from the speakers. After a few seconds, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye... well my speaker (a 3-way with 12" woofer) had caught fire! The grillecloth and cone burned within seconds and the burning, melting grillecloth was dripping onto the carpet. I ran over, whipped off my shirt, and beat the flames out.

Looking back, I realize that something inside the receiver had sent DC to the speakers, overheating the voice coil and causing it to catch fire. This could have easily happened when I was not home and had left the amp on.. once the carpet had ignited- goodbye house. Any firefighter will tell you that electrical fires can and do happen- fluorescent light ballasts, power strips, extension cords, etc. I never leave anything on if I'm not in the room/at home.

P.S. time change is coming up- change your smoke detector batteries!
 
#56
I have some old theater amplifiers from the 50's (IPC Simplex) that were designed for continuous use. Most tube gear that we use is not designed this way (some of the best tube designs for long life have the tubes on top of the box, in a cage, where their heat is wicked away and does not so easily damage other components. Putting tubes inside the box, while safer, has always been a compromised design. I knew an ex-RCA tube transmitter designer that showed me designs of transmitters meant to run continuously for years. Neat stuff.
 
#57
ngh said:
left my sunn 2000s on accidentally for about a week (drunken practice session, week long break due to drummer playing a few dates with another band, realized it was still on when i walked into the space for practice a week later). sounded really great when i started playing it though. and the space was a little warmer than usual.

no damage though!
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this amp needs to taken away from you for neglect/abuse.
someone call child protective services..
 
#58
I still use the same method for my amp that I do for my studio. The first time I turn on gear for the day, I leave it on until I'm done with it that day.

For example, I'll get up in the morning, go into the studio, turn on all the gear and do some work for an hour or so. Then I head out to run some errands. The gear stays on. I come back later in the day and put in some more time. Leave to have supper. Come down later, finish what I've been working on and shut down for the day.

Start again tomorrow.
 
#60
SeattleSunn said:
My SVS Plus/2 900watt subwoofer for my audio system stays on 24/7, it switches after 20 minutes without a signal into standby mode automaticaly.
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That's another good example. I've had a couple of powered subs for home systems that were designed to always be on. Didn't even have a power switch, and although you could hook it into your switched 120 on your amp it wasn't required at all.
 

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