Safety Question Regarding Tube Amps

[photonomous]

I'm in the process of locating a local tube amp technician to update / tuneup my Altec Lansing 1568A amp & 1567A mixer amp. They're pretty heavy, so I'll have to remove them from the racks in order to deliver to repair shop; so my question is.

After unplugging everything; how long does it take for dangerous levels of electrical current to drain from the system? I'm pretty self deprecating, but electrocuting myself is a bit much

thanks in advance.

Michael
Los Angeles

[Fort Knox]

I'm in the process of locating a local tube amp technician to update / tuneup my Altec Lansing 1568A amp & 1567A mixer amp. They're pretty heavy, so I'll have to remove them from the racks in order to deliver to repair shop; so my question is.

After unplugging everything; how long does it take for dangerous levels of electrical current to drain from the system? I'm pretty self deprecating, but electrocuting myself is a bit much

thanks in advance.

Michael
Los Angeles

I got Zapped yesterday while buffing out a car....I got my shoes wet....so I just slipped
on a pair of rubber gloves ...and went back to work

[photonomous]

yikes.

I don't think my fingers would be all that nimble with a big pair of rubber gloves & I'm wondering if under the right [I mean wrong] circumstances rubber would stop a strong current ?

I got Zapped yesterday while buffing out a car....I got my shoes wet....so I just slipped
on a pair of rubber gloves ...and went back to work

[hjames]

yikes.

I don't think my fingers would be all that nimble with a big pair of rubber gloves & I'm wondering if under the right [I mean wrong] circumstances rubber would stop a strong current ?

just unplug the amp and wait 5 or 10 minutes before you touch the chassis to move it.
If you are not on a wet concrete floor, and if you wear good shoes (sneakers or something similar),
and you don't stick your hand into the open bottom of a tube amp chassis where all the components are, you should be safe enough.

Reasonable precautions should be enough. - lightening bolts will not jump from the amp to get you for the blasphemy of touching the gear ...
Its not like the flyback transformer on an old CRT type TV set ...

[NickH]

If you have the knowledge to work on a tube amp then you should have a meter. That's how its done. But generally after a half hour caps are dis charged. Most tube amps your only looking at around 400 volts dc.. There are some that use higher voltages. Mainly amps that use transmitter tubes.

If you don't feel confident around electricity you shouldn't work with it. But you should never feel fearless either. A little fear keeps you from making a stupid mistake. Lord knows I've had my fare share that should have killed me. I'm lucky. But there's no reason mistake should be made except for being careless.



lineman wear rubber Gloves when working on power lines. They will protect you but if there's the smallest hole the high voltage can and will find it. That's high current and voltage though and a.c.. In an amp you only dealing with dc except for the main. D.c. Acts different then a.c.. Dc pushes you off, a.c. Holds you. Dc also burns bad.

Nick

[Mannermusic]

just unplug the amp and wait 5 or 10 minutes before you touch the chassis to move it.
If you are not on a wet concrete floor, and if you wear good shoes (sneakers or something similar),
and you don't stick your hand into the open bottom of a tube amp chassis where all the components are, you should be safe enough.

Reasonable precautions should be enough. - lightening bolts will not jump from the amp to get you for the blasphemy of touching the gear ...
Its not like the flyback transformer on an old CRT type TV set ...

Laughing out loud - last paragraph. Make that X 10 for me. Watch out for the blasphemy part! Reminds me of the old Seeberg amp I had "some years" ago. First "hi fi" rig. How have I (we) ever managed to survive. I always figured a few shocks and bruised knuckles were part of the gig. Mike

[Wornears]

You may find this link useful:

http://tubelab.com/safety/electrical-safety/

My tech instructor in 1972 preached "keep one hand in your pocket when working on tube equipment."