Look what I found this weekend!

[eapavant]

look what I found this weekend!

I was cleaning out some of my grandfathers stuff this weekend and found about ten boxes of tubes! Lots of different stuff. 12ax7 12au7 6l6 813 are the only ones I can remember off hand. A few cool looking tubes with mercury in them. I am not sure what they are. Rectifiers? Then I found some really big ones. Three 4 1000a's a 4 400a and four 4 250a. Anyway I have always wanted to build a tube amp. So no I have no reason not to Here is a pic. from one box.

 

[6h5c]

You are a lucky ****!

I'm jealous This is like finding a treasure with an old map

The ones with mercury are most likely rectifiers. Be careful with them, both mechanically and electrically!


Regards,

Ray.

 

[Peter M.]

Congratulations with your find

Mercury rectifiers, I think I read some place the they should be kept vertical for a couple of days before applying voltage to them..not sure why, maybe the mercury in the wrong place could make a short between anode and cathode?
Anyone, please straight me out here.

 

[i_should_coco]

Mercury rectifiers, I think I read some place the they should be kept vertical for a couple of days before applying voltage to them..not sure why, maybe the mercury in the wrong place could make a short between anode and cathode?
Anyone, please straight me out here.

Sort of - they need to be run on filaments only for a while (the interval varies from data-sheet to data-sheet). I reckon 15 mins to 1/2 hour should be fine. And yes, it is to make sure that there are no blobs of mercury to cause a short.

Regards,
Pete

 

[beamnet]

You could select a few tubes to make an amp, sell the rest to us for cheap and use the money to buy transformers and stuff!

Bas

 

[poobah]

That's very nice... now, I hate you.

 

[SHiFTY]

Cool!

Post a list of all the tubes here and someone will be able to tell you what to build

 

[poobah]

All of those tubes are very hazardous to the environment... send them to me and I will take care of them for you...

 

[Burnedfingers]

Quote:

All of those tubes are very hazardous to the environment... send them to me and I will take care of them for you...


I'll go one better than Rob. I'll pay postage and give you a few dollars to boot.

 

[poobah]

You're a dog Joe... I like dogs... but, you're still a dog!

 

[Burnedfingers]

Quote:

You're a dog Joe... I like dog's... but, you're still a dog!


Be nice to me or NO treats.

 

[beamnet]

PLEASE photograph all these treasures and make these scavengers vomit from jealousy!

 

[eapavant]

you guys are way to funny! I will start to inventory them and post something. there are lots of of the same tube. Some in boxes some with out. Some us navy tubes. I have always wanted a nice tube line stage and now I have no reason not to build one. My grandfather had a tv repair business and was into amature radio. He did have lots of transformers but they seem to have been trashed I did find one left from his transmitter, it puts out something like 10k volts! I was thinking this one http://www.tube.be/4250a.html might make a good power amp? any ideas?

 

[beamnet]

you will be limited by iro cost. There is a thread on how to make a huge power amp.

For some reasons tetrodes aren't suitable forhifi

1 -because they have a "kink"

2 - because of secondary emission

I saw a few other tubes that might make good amps in your box though!

Get those pics online!!!

 

[rdf]

I don't know, 625 watts at 2% distortion in push-pull seems respectable to me.

http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/frank/sheets/088/4/4-250A.pdf

 

[beamnet]

and exactly WHAT iron are you going to use?
the biggest opt is the hammond 275 watt opt

that means using 3 at least! (www.tubecad.com has an articleon multople opt's)

 

[Zen Mod]

I don't know, 625 watts at 2% distortion in push-pull seems respectable to me.

http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/frank/sheets/088/4/4-250A.pdf

and amp must be positioned in backyard (fans) or in chimney (without fans)

 

[eapavant]

So I went through one box. Here is a list of what I found. I will try to get some images up soon. Most of these I have at least two of. Many I have 3 or more.

931a
3db3
12av7
5963
6eab
6x4
6143
6ua8
13jz8
6jc5
61b6
6bb3
3cy5
2e24
3db3
6cj3
6gj7
6al5
12by7a
6b46
837
6l6
12at7
813
12sn7
25l6g7
70l7gt
3at2a
6146
6ba6
12sj7
6sn7
6sc7
12sr7
1629
6s4a
6bq7a
12by7a
6gh8a
6c5
6ha5
2d21
12a66
6be6
12jt5
6j6
6c4

 

[Tubelab_com]

Three 4 1000a's a 4 400a and four 4 250a.

I'm all for building big amplifiers, but these might be too big for someone not experienced with instantly lethal voltages. I built an amplifier that used a 4-400 once, but it was an RF amplifier for ham radio use. An audio amplifier with any of these tubes will be a specialized amplifier requiring custom transformers.

I had two 4-1000's, I sold them on Ebay for enough cash to buy transformers for a more "normal" amp. You might be able to do the same. I got over $300 for the two tubes.

 

[Burnedfingers]

The 250 just has to be a good tube. Anything that takes 14 amps to light the filament is one heck of a tube. Even if you didn't make anything out of it there is potential for a hell of a night light.