Hartke Kilo overheating in bridged mode

[Batsquatch]

i bought the kilo on eBay from Sam Ash in New York used for 500$. I run two 410 cabs (Hartke tp, GK blx). Now, there is only a speakon in the bridged 4 ohm mode so I use a speakon to 1/4 adapter as there are no speakon inputs on the cabs. After ten minutes of playing loud it cuts off. Actually happened twice and then I went to the stereo channels and jammed an hour or so without problems. I hear the fans kick on and off and crank it in stereo only give 200w per channel on 8 ohm cabs but no issues. I've read threads on here and I'm scared cuz I have no warranty. Could the issue be with the speakon adapter?

 

[agedhorse]

Are you 100% sure that both of your cabinets are indeed 8 ohms?

Previous non-factory speaker repairs or modifications do happen and can be responsible for these kinds of symptoms. (from many years of service experience)

 

[Batsquatch]

Interesting but it did not effect pf 500 and the kilo goes down to 2 ohms

 

[Batsquatch]

I gotta return call and they are refunding my money. Very cool dude

 

[agedhorse]

Interesting but it did not effect pf 500 and the kilo goes down to 2 ohms

Kilo does not go down to 2 ohms bridged.

 

[Batsquatch]

No your correct just stereo out

 

[Vince Klortho]

Have you tried it in non-bridged mode? I mean both cabinets on one side or one cabinet on each side.

 

[agedhorse]

No your correct just stereo out

Are you trying to run it into 2 x 8 ohm cabinets in bridge mode or 2 x 4 ohm cabinets?

Can you verify that the cabinets are really what they say they are?

 

[Deezer Butler]

I have a Kilo with 2 8ohm 410 cabs. I have owned it for about a year. The only time that has ever happened to me was on a river boat in the July heat. I was in bridged mode (which I really didn't need to do) and the amp was near a window recieving direct sunlight on its shiny black chassis. Consequently, the internal safety shut the amp off. However, I never had a problem with bridged mode after.
I do not run it in bridged mode that much, however. I found that 200 watts to each side in stereo is plenty for most situations.

 

[Batsquatch]

I have a Kilo with 2 8ohm 410 cabs. I have owned it for about a year. The only time that has ever happened to me was on a river boat in the July heat. I was in bridged mode (which I really didn't need to do) and the amp was near a window recieving direct sunlight on its shiny black chassis. Consequently, the internal safety shut the amp off. However, I never had a problem with bridged mode after.
I do not run it in bridged mode that much, however. I found that 200 watts to each side in stereo is plenty for most situations.

Deez again thanks for the reply. This is an eBay special and I really gotta move or I'll lose my money. The guitfiddlers play on Mesa and orange stacks stereo mode was almost inaudible. The cabs have been played in bridged mode before on another head and no issues there or evidence of modifications so yeah I'm pretty sure they are both 8 ohm.

 

[Batsquatch]

I'm sure you can find "what went wrong" threads on any amp but there seems to be more than normal amounts of people having this same problem.

 

[BassmanPaul]

It’s a terrible idea to run bridge into a 1/4” phone plug. They’re simply not rated to handle the power a bridged amp can give. Secondly both the tip and sleeve are live with respect to ground. Dangerous for you and for your amp.

 

[Deezer Butler]

It’s a terrible idea to run bridge into a 1/4” phone plug. They’re simply not rated to handle the power a bridged amp can give. Secondly both the tip and sleeve are live with respect to ground. Dangerous for you and for your amp.

Kilo only allows Speakon connection for bridged mode. The 1/4 inch jacks are on Output A & B for stereo mode only.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Kilo only allows Speakon connection for bridged mode. The 1/4 inch jacks are on Output A & B for stereo mode only.

I know. The OP is using a Speakon to 1/4” phone plug adapter.

 

[Rick James]

Could the issue be with the speakon adapter?

No, it's because you're driving too low an impedance load, causing it to overheat. You should only bridge into a high impedance load, and the reason you do it isn't watts, it's voltage swing. Bridging doubles voltage swing, which a high impedance load might need for full output. But it also halves the safe impedance load. Since it works fine in stereo there's nothing wrong with the amp.

 

[bassinflorida]

If you have the means, Locate a working verified 4 ohm cab that does have a speakon connection. Run the amp bridged. Play the hell out of it till it gets hot or shuts down. If it overheats then, well, you know what to do. I would do this very soon btw.

 

[Jim Carr]

I bought the kilo on eBay from Sam Ash in New York used for $500...

Get one of these. It is in your budget, and you could actually use any amp with an effects send as a preamp or a VTBass or Tonehammer pedal instead of a dedicated preamp.

Crest ProLITE 3.0 3060 Watt Professional Live Sound Power Amplifier Amp Pro Lite

 

[Vince Klortho]

I'm a fan of Hartke equipment and this is unfortunate. I have two 4x10s and a HA3500 and all have worked great for many years.

Lately, I've become a fan of lightweight amps and Carvin in particular. For $500 (on sale now) you can get a Carvin BX1500 which puts out 1500W into 4Ω in bridged mode and weighs 10 pounds.