LMII Maintenance

[Fajah]

Admittedly, I'm a bit of a clean freak. House, cars, garage, doesn't matter. Periodically throughout the year, I open up the PC's in my house and blow out dust that accumulates, for electronics and heat build up don't go too well most of the time. I'm like this with my gear as well.

So I'm unpacking my LMII last night after a jam session and noticed some dust starting to build up on the fan blades. After a year and a half of ownership, it's performed flawlessly. The build up isn't much now, but preventative maintenance doesn't hurt.

I'm just wondering if any of you periodically open your amps and clean them out. I could easily do this myself (to save a buck) but then I'm thinking about the warranty and whether a dealer should do this when the time is right.

 

[john_g]

Admittedly, I'm a bit of a clean freak. House, cars, garage, doesn't matter. Periodically throughout the year, I open up the PC's in my house and blow out dust that accumulates, for electronics and heat build up don't go too well most of the time. I'm like this with my gear as well.

So I'm unpacking my LMII last night after a jam session and noticed some dust starting to build up on the fan blades. After a year and a half of ownership, it's performed flawlessly. The build up isn't much now, but preventative maintenance doesn't hurt.

I'm just wondering if any of you periodically open your amps and clean them out. I could easily do this myself (to save a buck) but then I'm thinking about the warranty and whether a dealer should do this when the time is right.

I wouldnt consider opening my LMII up to just clean it unless it was causing some problems. And even then, if it was still under warranty, I would take it somewhere that covers it.

 

[T. Alan Smith]

I have, and will, about every other year or so. No biggie.

 

[lefty007]

I opened mine a few months ago to change the jumper for the DI to be pre-EQ, and found that the heat sink was pretty filthy. They are hard to clean, because the blades are very close together and the way it's positioned, but I managed to remove the dust with some damp Q-tips.

I would recommend everybody to at least check for dirt built-up once a year (depending on use). I play in bars twice a week and mine amp is 1-year old, and it definitely needed cleaning the heat sink and fan blades.

It will take a few year for an amp to fail from dirt built-up, but in my case, I play loud in sometimes 90-degree stages, so I need all the cooling efficiency and can get.

 

[TripleDouble]

I've looked under the hood of a LMII just to see how it worked, it's very easy to open and is lego-esque in its assembly (in a great way). Go for it, you sound meticulous, so you wont hurt anything.

 

[jkdahlman]

Go for it. I go through all my gear a couple of times a year. Electronics get a good going over with a soft brush, vacuum and a can of compressed air. All contacts get cleaned with Caig unguents and all jumpers and internal plugs are checked for tightness and any sign of oxidation. Speakers get the crossovers looked at to make sure all parts are mounted properly and solder joints are still solid, connections cleaned and all mounting screws are evenly tight. You should see what the basses go through...

 

[fretno]

I opened mine a few months ago to change the jumper for the DI to be pre-EQ, and found that the heat sink was pretty filthy. They are hard to clean, because the blades are very close together and the way it's positioned, but I managed to remove the dust with some damp Q-tips.

I would recommend everybody to at least check for dirt built-up once a year (depending on use). I play in bars twice a week and mine amp is 1-year old, and it definitely needed cleaning the heat sink and fan blades.

It will take a few year for an amp to fail from dirt built-up, but in my case, I play loud in sometimes 90-degree stages, so I need all the cooling efficiency and can get.

ah good idea , anyone have any pics under the hood ? Gut shots !

 

[Fajah]

Thanks for input guys. I'm going to first check to see what the shop would charge for something like this. If it's some ridiculous amount of money, I'll just do it myself.

 

[lbwdog]

I'm going to first check to see what the shop would charge for something like this. If it's some ridiculous amount of money, I'll just do it myself.

Just remember, after the service tech gives you that puzzled look and then thinks to himself "Here's an easy way to pick up an hour's labor", you'll probably end up DIY if you still feel compelled to clean it!
Just blow it out with some canned air.

 

[Ezbass]

Played an outdoor gig in a dusty and windy car park, first thing I did when I got home was to take the covers off my LMII and Schro cab and vacuumed them out. Did my pedal board too, but eventually had to strip and clean my octave box as the footswitch started to play up.