Does your Maverick get really hot???

[GD_NC]

I picked up a used Mav last week and got the opportunity to really put it through its paces today. I was a little shocked at how hot the amp got. I know EL84's run hot, but the back of the chasis was too hot to touch. The tubes don't look like they are red plating and nothing seems unusual, it's just putting out a ton of heat. Maybe, I'm used to a Mark with a fan to keep things cool.

Is this normal?

 

[94Tremoverb]

My 1x12" Maverick got pretty hot, and it had a fan! It seems to be normal. If you're concerned, it certainly won't do any harm to fit a fan. You don't actually need to keep a tube amp *that* cool, but it's not a good idea for it to get really hot either - and it's not the tubes that are the issue, it's the electrolytic caps mostly, they have a rated maximum working temperature of 185ºF/85ºC and will start to degrade faster even below that. Obviously if the chassis gets that hot the heat will build up inside too.

My usual rule is that if I can't put my hand on any part of the chassis or power transformer without it hurting after the amp has been on for a few hours, it's probably too hot - I think this is about 140ºF/60ºC. My Tremoverb gets close to this too, although just the right side of it.

 

[GD_NC]

Can you recommend a fan? Where'd you get it?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

My Maverick gets pretty hot with the fan off, but with it on, it isn't bad.

The issue that I find in these and the DC-3's is warping of the circuit board that the tubes mount to. I've seen a few of them with lifted traces on the board from the heat as well.

I installed a Mark IV fan in my old DC-3 combo and it really made a difference.

The transformers are small and the tubes are really pushed hard, and there is not much room in the smaller Mark sized heads and cabs.