Old Equipment Power Up - Variac

T

technoplayer

Recovering Gear-aholic
This may not be the correct place for this, but........

I have several vintage pieces of analog equipment (R2R's/ power amps/processing gear) that have been in storage, some for over 20yrs. I understand that just plugging these in and hitting the power switch might be somewhat disasterous in terms of blowing electrolytic capacitors, etc.
It has been recommended that these units be powered up slowly with a Variac.
Can anyone explain in this is really necessary, and if so, what the correct procedure is. I did not think it was "good" to run low voltage into gear, although it would presumably be for a very short time. (no pun intended).
I just sdont want to damage the gear either way... thanks
 
Maybe this will get you started.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=power+up+vintage+variac&btnG=Google+Search

I have an old Phase Linear amp that didn’t want to power up. I bought an antique Variac (crinkly black paint complete with original box – cool vintage piece in itself) and was going to power it up slowly, but didn’t have an amp meter. At least I didn’t think I had one, until several months later I noticed one I had forgotten about sitting just a few feet away. That was about a year ago…I still haven’t gotten around to checking it. Someday…really…soon…really…I mean it.
 
I would think that sending too low a voltage to equipment is very very bad....unless it's highly regulated somehow.

I've heard the term BROWN OUT before-- basically the opposite of a surge -- (a period when voltage doesn't drop out completely, just a tad of voltage remains,) can seriously damage gear as much, if not more, than a surge would.

Then again, I'm no electrician. Just be sure you talk to somebody who knows what they're doing before you take the plunge and fry this stuff

-callie- :eek:
 
Perhaps it's best to fore-go the variac and just let the chips fall where they may. ;)

If there are any weak components, they'll be sure to blow themselves up and expose themselves for the true failures that they are; thus allowing you to spot them by various signs of death such as arcs, sparks, fires and explosions! :eek: :p

Electrolytic caps do have a longer lifespan then 20 years and I have several that closer to 40 years old and are still going strong.

If we're talking about older reel to reel gear, I would safely assume that rubber parts such as belts and pinch rollers would be far more sensitive to age related deterioration then then caps.

Good luck.

Cheers! :)
 
Muckelroy said:
I would think that sending too low a voltage to equipment is very very bad....unless it's highly regulated somehow.

I've heard the term BROWN OUT before-- basically the opposite of a surge -- (a period when voltage doesn't drop out completely, just a tad of voltage remains,) can seriously damage gear as much, if not more, than a surge would.
:eek:
Click to expand...
That's why you want to use the amp meter in conjuction with the variac. :rolleyes:
 
The Ghost of FM said:
Perhaps it's best to fore-go the variac and just let the chips fall where they may. ;)

If there are any weak components, they'll be sure to blow themselves up and expose themselves for the true failures that they are; thus allowing you to spot them by various signs of death such as arcs, sparks, fires and explosions! :eek: :p

Electrolytic caps do have a longer lifespan then 20 years and I have several that closer to 40 years old and are still going strong.

If we're talking about older reel to reel gear, I would safely assume that rubber parts such as belts and pinch rollers would be far more sensitive to age related deterioration then then caps.

Good luck.

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...
As for you young man, put the bottle down and get some sleep. :rolleyes:
 
Thanks all. I am mostly concerned with some vintage Crown amps, which have these god-awful huge capacitors on them. I'm not concerned about them detonating as much as the impact on my wallet and even the possibility of finding replacements! I'm not much for trouble shooting this stuff, so I'm just trying to avoid a potentail pitfall

Thanks as always..............
 
ooohhhhhhh............

I have this old Bogen 50 watt 2-channel mono amp that has a couple of 5-inch long polar caps :cool:

I've wondered what kinda damage they could do with a bit of hot-rodding. ANyway, it'd be some nice pyrotechnics while performing on stage w/ it. End of the show, OK hit the self-destruct switch. BOOM! :rolleyes:

-callie-
 
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