Save those old tubes

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chester Nimitz
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Chester Nimitz

Chester Nimitz

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Ive had a tube stash for about 15 years. Been in my house now 3 years but before that i managed an apartment building for 12 years the wiring was sub-par alot of grounding issues.

So all the tubes above are Blackburn Mullard & Amperex from the 50's & 60's. Some i had marked as possible microphonic as i was having issues with some, static & strange noise.

I just tested them over the weekend and theyre all good. The noise issues were due to dirty power & not the tubes.

Im glad i kept them even tho they might have been bad.
 
Those are all bad tubes. They are old, microphonic and will never work for you in any amp.





I will buy them all for $75
 
I try to save all my tubes unless it's physically broken.
 
Ive had a couple crack before and loose vacuum.

They turn white and its not hard to see they're shot.
 
Nice stash man seriously. Where do you buy old Mullard?

I have Amperex Bugle Boy and some other old tubes. Black plate Raytheon, RCA, etc. but I have yet to try a true Mullard I-61 or I-63.

Do you have a tech that could test them for you? That would tell you a lot.
 
I've got all mine. None of em are old vintage stuff though.

It cracks me up how many guys replace tubes because they assume they need to like every year., or sooner :confused: I've run my power and preamp tubes for years and years without issue in various amps. I read somewhere once that most tubes are actually good for thousands and thousands of hours, but I guess people like wasting money :lol: :LOL:

Of course if your gigging regular I'm sure the constant banging around might cause the need to replace tubes more frequently, but outside of that I just have to laugh at these guys constantly posting "well my tubes definitely need to be replaced because I've had my amp for 6 months now" :lol: :LOL: :lol: :LOL: :lol: :LOL:

Now tube swapping for tone chasing....well that's a whole other conversation.
 
A Mullard 10M is rated for 10,000 hours. I have one.

I get mine from a variety of sources.

The big tube stores really rape you and i rarely buy NOS at those prices.

I usually replace/change power quads every 5 years and keep the pulled tubes as spares.

I think i have 6 quads in addition to the 2 quads being used.

When buying used [pulls] tubes i only buy those that test close or @ new specs.

If i cant see data i don't but. Ive been burned before.
 
Yeah I got burned from ebay too that is why I asked. Most people don't have tube testers and just take the seller's word for it. I didn't have one either but recently found a really cool tech who will let me come by and test tubes. I have learned some of my "very low hour" and "tested for noise and leaks" tubes were complete garbage.

I also notice now when dealing with used tube sellers on forums and ebay, after bringing up the fact that I have access to a very high end tube tester their tune changes....If they even respond at all.

Those online dealers like Doug's are VERY pricey but at least dependable.

Also to the hours used on tubes, yes I agree. I could go on all day about it but I have some used tubes that were about 15 years old without issues. Still have some life left in them too.

People will say to replace every 6 months. To each their own I guess.
 
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There are reputable sellers that test & post their data alot of times on Military type testers.

They have nothing to hide and know the value of what they sell.

Its not hard to know what to look for.

The sellers that say " 2 Amperex test as new" without measuring gm or mu i wont deal with.

I got 2 smoking hot Amperex closely matched with the Herleen codes test almost new for $90 bucks.

One alone could be sold @ $90.

They're in V-1 of each amp now. Killer tubes.
 
Tube testers will tell you how they rate (Hickock 6000A tester here) for specs, but actually putting them in an amp will tell you if they're microphonic, or have rattling issues. The best tester is your amp, assuming your power is good, yada yada yada.

I've got a stash of tubes here that takes up two 19 gallon plastic storage containers, plus six more boxes of preamp tubes. I wish I didn't like all of my amps, but having 6V6's, EL34's, etc, etc is what it takes to have backup sets.

Yes, I'm a tube whore, and you thought I just bought speakers. Wrong! LOL
 
Yes i did test each of those tubes one by one in my Friedman JMP V-1.

At least 25 times, im lucky my wife is patient.

Took about 2 hours.

I have 3 layers of Furman filtering these days, very quiet.
 
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