Tube Swap Question

[Zap]

I have two amps. One is a Fender '57 Champ Reissue, and the other is a Fender '65 Princeton Reverb Reissue. I bought the latter when the Champ stopped producing sound. I figured one of the tubes crapped out and it was a good excuse to tell the wife I needed a new amp. Anyway, I was bored and figured I would troubleshoot the Champ by removing the Ruby 5Y3GT Rectifier and plugging the 5AR4 Rectifier from the Princeton in to see if I could get any sound. I plugged it in, flipped the switch, tapped the end of of my cable, and it made that popping sound that we're all so familiar with. My question is, was what I did foolish/unsafe and could it have potentially damaged my Champ? Thanks in advance and sorry if this is a ridiculous question. I probably should have asked before I fucked around with it. Amp expertise isn't really my forte.

 

[Zap]

No one?

 

[Anonymous]

The problem could be any tube in the Champ, really

 

[Zap]

The problem could be any tube in the Champ, really

Right, but after I swapped the rectifier it produced sound. I'm just curious if I could have damaged the Champ by using the rectifier from the Princeton.

 

[glip22]

Bad idea. The 5ar4 passes much more current than the other. Like a 100 more ma

 

[Zap]

Bad idea. The 5ar4 passes much more current than the other. Like a 100 more ma

So that means the amplifier is getting much more electricity and could have been fried? It was on for maybe about 10 seconds or so. Do you think I shortened it's life expectancy or anything?

 

[glip22]

Bad idea. The 5ar4 passes much more current than the other. Like a 100 more ma

So that means the amplifier is getting much more electricity and could have been fried? It was on for maybe about 10 seconds or so. Do you think I shortened it's life expectancy or anything?

I think you are ok but would not keep playing it. I might have it wrong. Using one in place of the other is bad. Not sure which one. It might be the opposite of what you did that is the bad one. The 5ar4 passes much more current. I can't remember but it may be the 5y3 in place of the 5ar4 will fry your tubes. Not the other way around which you did. So if you plugged the 5ar4 in place of the 5y3 you could have trouble.

 

[Zap]

Bad idea. The 5ar4 passes much more current than the other. Like a 100 more ma

So that means the amplifier is getting much more electricity and could have been fried? It was on for maybe about 10 seconds or so. Do you think I shortened it's life expectancy or anything?

I think you are ok but would not keep playing it. I might have it wrong. Using one in place of the other is bad. Not sure which one. It might be the opposite of what you did that is the bad one. The 5ar4 passes much more current. I can't remember but it may be the 5y3 in place of the 5ar4 will fry your tubes. Not the other way around which you did. So if you plugged the 5ar4 in place of the 5y3 you could have trouble.

Gotcha. So it's only the tubes that would be fried? Not a big deal since they're like three years old and ready to be changed. Thanks again for your help!

 

[glip22]

Bad idea. The 5ar4 passes much more current than the other. Like a 100 more ma

So that means the amplifier is getting much more electricity and could have been fried? It was on for maybe about 10 seconds or so. Do you think I shortened it's life expectancy or anything?

I think you are ok but would not keep playing it. I might have it wrong. Using one in place of the other is bad. Not sure which one. It might be the opposite of what you did that is the bad one. The 5ar4 passes much more current. I can't remember but it may be the 5y3 in place of the 5ar4 will fry your tubes. Not the other way around which you did. So if you plugged the 5ar4 in place of the 5y3 you could have trouble.

Gotcha. So it's only the tubes that would be fried? Not a big deal since they're like three years old and ready to be changed. Thanks again for your help!

That depends. If you catch the tubes redplating then yes. But you are pushing the tubes. One could arc under the stress and send a voltage spike to your output tranny and ruin it if your fuse doesn't do the job. Could also take out screen resistors and fry some other stuff.