Cooling fan for Studio .22+

[Mr. Blues]

Recently acquired a .22+ and it runs pretty hot so I'm considering a fan to reduce the cabin temperature.
Any suggestions as to placement and/or brand/model of fan?
The transformer is significantly hotter than the tube section, so should I place the fan
beneath the trans or under the tube section or does it matter?
I thinking some kind of AC computer fan that I can just plug in to a power strip instead of doing surgery and tapping into
the amp power supply. Thanks for all replies.

 

[tonejam]

Can't advise on what kind of fan, etc, but....

I've had my 22+ since 1990, and gigged continuously since then. I'm in Australia, it gets pretty hot here.
The amp can get pretty warm, but in all that time, I've never had it fail due to overheating.
I know its a budget model, but maybe it doesn't come with a fan because it doesn't need it. Just sayin'.

 

[Mr. Blues]

WOW!
That's good to hear. I was really concerned about the heat. The entire top of the amp
gets quite warm (understatement) after an hour of playing compared to other amps. I'm thinking longevity....
it sure gets hot ...even the handle covers get toasty. Is Kirk Lorange still the best slide player in Oz?

 

[McBarry]

MrBlues,
I'd suggest keep you idea of a fan.
They're well known for getting mucho-warm - the fact your handle gets "toasty" is significant.
Also, the yardstick of "no problems yet" is not such a good idea.
Bit of preventative maintenance is encouraged - along your original thought lines.

Kirk's work with Richard Clapton was truly spectacular.
I hear he does a heap of teaching these days, and don't really know what live stuff he's into.

Tonejam - where RU located? I'm Canberra..

Dave

 

[himmelhund]

I know I am coming in here late, but maybe you should consider upgrading the transformers????

I have a Studio .22 with a complete Mercury refit - power, output and reverb trafos. I even asked my tech to put a choke in it!

I love that amp.

I am not a metal player, I play clean to crunch and occasionally I even use the footswitch lead position... my amp has never gotten really hot and I suspect you are just heating up the transformer(S)

Trafos have a HUGE effect on the amp's performance. This is not a cheap upgrade (I probably spent about 400 bucks total on trafos, not counting the cost of the work) but the amp is great. With the choke I think the sound is soft and rounder but it is definitely a classic and a keeper.

By the way, I am not a mercury salesman although I am fond of their products. I just believe that asking a tube amp to sound great without OPTIMAL power is kind of optimistic. I am ex-army in germany and work for a consumer goods company here, just play guitar with a rock and roll band in my spare time.

 

[tonejam]

Hi McBarry, I'm in Brisbane (to the north of it). I'm ex Sydney. How you doin'?
The fan is an inexpensive upgrade, so yeah, why not? I've just never needed one.
To Himmelhund,
Regarding the transformer upgrade, it may make the amp sound better, but again, you don't NEED it.
I used to run my 22+ into a 120 watt slave amp, running out from the nifty outlet on the back with the volume control. No speakers connected to the 22+, just a power soak as a dummy load. It used to be a great system, you could turn the Boogie up to get some power amp grind, and control overall level from the slave amp.
One night, the inevitable happened. I forgot to connect the power soak. The 22+ worked faithfully for the first couple of HOURS, before it started to smoke!
I took it to a tech, who told me the power amp sockets/tubes had literally melted through the board. I was amazed at how cheaply the problem was fixed, he was totally amazed that the transformers had suffered no damage whatsoever.
I rest my case, these are tough little bastards, and I absolutely would never part with mine.

 

[McBarry]

Gee-zarse.. that's a pretty amazing story TJ!!!

Bris-Vegas prolly bit far to go for a jamm though...
Got some friends in Bris who are Ovation fans, and one is a luthier who includes Michael Fix as regular client.
see him on Facebark - Armstrong Handmade Guitars.

Totally recommend the fan idea.
My all-time fave is the Globe A47-B15A-15T1-100.
beware it's close cousin the A47-B15A-15T3-100 - much noisier. And then some.

Re trafo's - I have a guy near Canberra who handwinds trannies and chokes.
He's a bit of a rock tech royalty - original owner of Phoenix Amplifiers, designed all the original Australian Monitor series, and kicked around with Jands,Graftons etc etc in the 70/80's/90's etc etc.
Custom designs stuff and sensible price, just not super-fast..
Dave

 

[tonejam]

I'll check out Armstrong guitars, assume he does repairs?

And I must confess my ignorance....what does a choke do?

 

[McBarry]

Randall says it much better than I could...

http://www.aikenamps.com/Chokes.html

Yeah, Andrew does repairs. Very, very well..