Triple Recto trouble already!! Rectifier tubes question

[yuzerneigm]

I was playing my Triple Recto tonight when all of a sudden the pilot light went out and no sound came from the amp. The orange indicator light for the 2nd channel was still on but no sound. I then went to check the fuse and saw that it was fine. When I put it back in the socket the fuse holder would not secure and felt as though it was loose inside the socket. Well, I continued to fiddle about with the fuse socket and it finally stuck and the amp came back on but I noticed only 2 of the 3 rectifier tubes were lit up. The farthest to the right was dead. The amp still sounded normal and seemed to function correctly. Does anyone know what could be going on here? Are all three rectifier tubes supposed to be on at all times? Thanks in advance!

 

[MesaENGR412]

The stock Rectifier tubes do not glow very bright in my Triple Recto. I used to think they weren't working as well. Turn the lights off and look closely at the plates inside the tubes (near the top and bottom, the thing that glows looks like a little staple) to see if there is ANY glow at all, because if there is, odds are it's working fine, and was just the fuse that messed up.

-AJH

 

[yuzerneigm]

It's not working. It's not lit at all and it's cold where the others are nice'n warm. Just wanted to make sure they were all supposed to be on. Figured so. Is it unsafe to run the amp with one of the rectifier tubes dead?

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

Pull all the rectifier tubes out and run the amp in the Silicon Diode setting. If it works okay like this, replace the rectifier tubes.

 

[yuzerneigm]

Replace all of the rectifier tubes? Only one is dead. And it does still work in the diode mode. It actually still works in the tube rectifier mode too. Only one tube is not working... Weird!

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

Replace all of the rectifier tubes? Only one is dead. And it does still work in the diode mode. It actually still works in the tube rectifier mode too. Only one tube is not working... Weird!

If you're on a tight budget, you can get away (for a while) with replacing only the bad one. For best reliability, change them all when changing power tubes.

Yes, the amp will run fine in Silicon Diode mode with the rectifier tubes out. Running with a bad rectifier tube will make your amp sound like ****, and you will eventually start blowing fuses...it may also cause other damage... maybe someone with greater technical knowledge will chime in on this.