Discharging caps in Triple rectifier.

[Stevenexp]

Is it safe to do so using a insulated screwdriver? If not then what would be best?

 

[MusicManJP6]

I've always read to hit the main power switch first when powering the amp down to discharge the caps (rather than hit standby first and then power it off)...

 

[fdesalvo]

"Unplug the amp, turn it on, and if it has a standby switch, turn that on as well. Touch an insulated screwdriver to pin 1 on any preamp tube, and then touch ground with the screwdriver at the some time, essentially shorting pin 1 to ground. (You are, of course, holding the insulated part of the screwdriver, yes?) Hold this connection for a few seconds or so, and you're all set. "

Before you do the above, you can start by hitting the power switch and continuing to strum. You will hear the sound diminish into silence. Once you do this, follow the instructions above.

Back when I was building my own amps, I had the chassis removed to do some mods. I accidentally laid my finger across the power switch's lugs and shocked the living piss out of myself. The amp was uplugged for several hours. Had the caps been larger, I'm sure the outcome would have been much worse than the little red mark on my finger...

 

[Juancito12]

I use a jumper wire with alligator chips which works really well. Hook up the wires with the amp unplugged and power and standby off... then flip power and standby to on position... a minute later all set. I also do pin 3 of an output tube on top of that just to be sure.

 

[Stevenexp]

Well I tried turning it on with no power cable and then began to take it apart. I used a screwdriver just to check and see if the caps did indeed discharge and they were fine! I did a little work and fixed the problem with my effects loop yay!

 

[LEVEL4]

I want to resolder my FX loop pot back to parallel (the previous owner modified it to serial). There's no capacitor discharge risk in just soldering the leads to the FX mix pot is there?

 

[fdesalvo]

Discharge them. It's less about the area/circuit you'll be prodding and more about what you might accidentally touch.