Tube amps and cold weather?? Very week sounding cold amp.

[Adambomb]

I left my Recto in my car today for 2 hours before I played. It was about 35 out and very cold. The amp had major volume lose and sounded muffled and weak. The head was cold but I let it warm up for about 30 minutes before I played.

Is this a result of cold weather?

 

[fishyfishfish]

Could just be coincidence, but start with a simple power tube/pre-amp tube trouble shoot and report back.

 

[primerib]

as long as you left it on standby for abit, the heaters will take care of the glass bottles.

 

[nomad100hd]

just be conscience of condensation inside the amp. Which if you don't know what damage that can cause you can give me your gear before it's dead.

 

[fintan]

I always let my tremoverb warmup for at least 5-10 minutes before I play a show. When it is cold out, you definitely need to give the amp ample time to warm up.

 

[jab]

I asked this same question in a post last winter, and all of the feedback said that storing in cold should not be an issue.

 

[R_ADKINS80]

I left my amp in my car overnight on a mid 30 degree weather and the condensation on the amp was so heavy when I brought it in i was scared to turn it on for fear of short circuits inside the amp. I let it set for a day and over night and had zero issues when i turned it on.

 

[nomad100hd]

i had a friend turn on my amp with condensation it blew a fuse and caused red plating

 

[212Mavguy]

Hey Jab,

I was one of the guys to answer your previous post. Cold by it self is no problem, but another poster (stokes?) said that bringing a cold amp into a warm room and firing it right up could cause condensation issues with chassis components. That makes sense. If there is a lot of humidity in the air it might be a real good idea to let the amp warm gradually. That is another reason to have an amp covered. In a pinch one could turn on the tube heaters and leave the cover on to hasten warming the chassis up. I would not put the standby switch on though, just use the heaters. I have several amps, and they are stored in an unheated storage unit that sees down to 10-20 below in the winters, no problems.

 

[nomad100hd]

the key is how cold is the amp chassis and what is the condensation temperature that day or the previous days.

 

[angelo]

I'm no engineer (I just ride the train), but it only makes sense to let stuff warm up. In Chicago we expose our gear to very cold weather.

When I was gigging, we would always do set up first, then fire up on stand then play -- maybe an hour total time of just getting to room temp? Never really worried about condensation because the cold air is so dry indoors and out.

Was your cab in the cold too? Cause those speakers need some time too....

 

[Adambomb]

Yea. my cabs were in the cold. The two 412 cabs are always in the cold until we get to our jam space and turn the heat on.

 

[tetsubin]

Speakers are a good point: I find my speakers to sound a little strange when the humidity is high.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Yep. The problem with condensation is "sweat".

Water.

Water and electricity don't mix. It takes us an hour to do the load in and hook everything up. I don't flip my amp on until it's been in the club for an hour.

Best to ya.

Murph.

 

[Elixir]

How long should a Mark IV be left to warm up? Sometimes I feel my amp doesn't kick in until about 30min.

Is that normal?

 

[Adambomb]

All Mesa head should not be started with the chassis cold or the tubes cold. Let them come close to room temp, leave on standby for at least 10 minutes before firing up. But Mesa heads do seem to get meaner after about 30 minutes.

 

[fishyfishfish]

If your ears tell you it sounds better after a 30 minute warm up then go for it. Diezel recommends about 30 min warm up time to let the tubes/board get to a uniform temp. I usually let my amps warm up as long as I can before switching to full volts. As for the condensation issue, you could use a fan or hair dryer to gently bring the amp to room temp before plugging in. Did the tube swap work or is the amp toast?

 

[FEUD]

Had my amp fail on me this week - went from nice warm venue to cold car to warm house & condensation immediately built up (on H & K perspex front)

Fired it up after 3 days & I cant change channels & nothing lights up. In with the repair man tomorrow

Went out and bought a flight case today, but too little too late

 

[suedehead]

is it safe to let the amp warm up on standby without a load? i know it sounds stupid, but..

 

[nomad100hd]

yes it's safe on most amps because the High voltage is not on in stand by mode.