Bleeding Capacitors

  • Thread starter Thread starter Neeklaus
  • Start date Start date
Neeklaus

Neeklaus

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I read up on how to re tension tube sockets and I wanted to do this myself..I can't believe people pay to have this done.

can anyone confirm how to bleed out the capacitors on my mark iv though? I've never done that before.

YES
I understand it's dangerous, possibly lethal.

NO
I'm not going to be modding or otherwise fucking with the circuit.
 
After the amp has been sufficiently warmed and used, turn the power switch off BEFORE the standby switch. The heater elements in the power tubes will draw some of the current from the caps. Then you just have to short them (connect their leads). This can be done with a screwdriver or by shorting the hot lead to the amp chassis via a wire and high wattage resistor in series, couple hundred kilohms should do it. Keep one arm by your side so if you do conduct any current it won't deflect across your chest stopping your heart and killing you in the process. Your amp is easy and cheap to fix, you on the other hand only get one fuse...
 
JakeAC5253":3mwnwepe said:
After the amp has been sufficiently warmed and used, turn the power switch off BEFORE the standby switch. The heater elements in the power tubes will draw some of the current from the caps. Then you just have to short them (connect their leads). This can be done with a screwdriver or by shorting the hot lead to the amp chassis via a wire and high wattage resistor in series, couple hundred kilohms should do it. Keep one arm by your side so if you do conduct any current it won't deflect across your chest stopping your heart and killing you in the process. Your amp is easy and cheap to fix, you on the other hand only get one fuse...
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seems simple enough.

I don't have any resistors laying around.
 
You are going to need a meter to make sure the caps are drained.
 
I just did this on my Marshall. I took my multimeter and checked the voltage in the caps. It started out low, around 17 volts, but I just left the leads connected to the caps while they drained. That way I could watch the voltage drop to know when I was safe.
 
Using a screwdriver across the terminals isn't really good for your caps. Get a higher power rated resistor that doesn't have much resistance and use alligator clips or something to short the capacitor.
 
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