Anyone ever had issues with One Electron?

audiowize · 11th October 2008, 06:42 AM

So I decided to give One Electron a try in my current amplifier project. So far, it has been a nightmare.

First, the power transformer had so much varnish on it that all of the end bell screws fell apart when trying to remove them, leaving four studs stuck in the transformer and no way to put the end bells back on. I bought another power transformer and decided that paint wasn't so important on that.

Next, I built up the amp, and upon firing it up, I noticed that all the voltages were spot on except both plates of the output tubes. This seemed very, very odd, so after some measurements, I realized that the output transformer primaries are both open.

This seems like a lot of bad luck. I've never had a single ended transformer open up.... I think instead of replacing the output transformers with more One Electron products, I will stick in cheap Edcors instead and close the financial black hole.

kevinkr · 12th October 2008, 09:56 PM

Before going a whole lot further down this path have you talked to One Electron or the seller you bought these from. (if not One Electron) Given their length of time in business and good reputation I would have to think your experience is a complete fluke.

One obvious thought (not having used these myself) is to make sure they are actually wired correctly, and relying on wire color codes is not always fool proof either. (Make sure you have not inadvertently swapped a primary and secondary lead - it has been known to happen here..

)

audiowize · 12th October 2008, 10:33 PM

Yeah, the first thing I did was to make sure that the connections on the secondary made sense and measured properly, which they all do. I'm 1/2 tempted to pop one of these off and start examining the connections.

I contacted One Electron also, but haven't come to any kind of resolution.

-Paul

Jeb-D. · 12th October 2008, 11:16 PM

I concur regarding the varnish and end-bell screws. The finish of the transformers when received wasn't very good. I tried to remove the end-bells to re-finish them and one of the screws snapped. I ended up gluing the screw head back in for looks and then painted over them.

Never had reliability problems with them though. They always worked well, just aesthetically they were no bueno.

11th October 2008, 06:42 AM	#1
audiowize diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Seattle	Anyone ever had issues with One Electron? So I decided to give One Electron a try in my current amplifier project. So far, it has been a nightmare. First, the power transformer had so much varnish on it that all of the end bell screws fell apart when trying to remove them, leaving four studs stuck in the transformer and no way to put the end bells back on. I bought another power transformer and decided that paint wasn't so important on that. Next, I built up the amp, and upon firing it up, I noticed that all the voltages were spot on except both plates of the output tubes. This seemed very, very odd, so after some measurements, I realized that the output transformer primaries are both open. This seems like a lot of bad luck. I've never had a single ended transformer open up.... I think instead of replacing the output transformers with more One Electron products, I will stick in cheap Edcors instead and close the financial black hole.

12th October 2008, 09:56 PM	#2
kevinkr diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Blog Entries: 6	Before going a whole lot further down this path have you talked to One Electron or the seller you bought these from. (if not One Electron) Given their length of time in business and good reputation I would have to think your experience is a complete fluke. One obvious thought (not having used these myself) is to make sure they are actually wired correctly, and relying on wire color codes is not always fool proof either. (Make sure you have not inadvertently swapped a primary and secondary lead - it has been known to happen here.. ) __________________ "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

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12th October 2008, 10:33 PM	#3
audiowize diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Seattle	Yeah, the first thing I did was to make sure that the connections on the secondary made sense and measured properly, which they all do. I'm 1/2 tempted to pop one of these off and start examining the connections. I contacted One Electron also, but haven't come to any kind of resolution. -Paul

12th October 2008, 11:16 PM	#4
Jeb-D. diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: SoCal	I concur regarding the varnish and end-bell screws. The finish of the transformers when received wasn't very good. I tried to remove the end-bells to re-finish them and one of the screws snapped. I ended up gluing the screw head back in for looks and then painted over them. Never had reliability problems with them though. They always worked well, just aesthetically they were no bueno.