Solarus fuse problems...what's going on here?

[loopyreed]

My Solarus kept throwing the fuse breaker thing today, probably three times total.  It happened once, then again about two hours later, then I reset it again and it tripped about 5 minutes later. 

Is this a problem with the amp or should I blame in on the house wiring?  I'm thinking it's the latter, but I want to make sure.  It's never done this anywhere else and I use it a lot in a lot of different places. 

[mckinnon audio]

  Hi there,could be a couple of things,you might have a fault in the power supply,(bad/leakey diode or filter cap),output tubes could be going bad,or the breaker might be damaged or worn itself.It could also be the power transformer,(hope not).I'd check my voltages and do a visual on the filters to see if they're swollen or leaking.You could check your tubes also,but a lot of the time it's the breaker,they get banged around quite a bit where they're located.Pull the output tubes and fire up the amp,let it run for a couple of hrs.,if the breaker pops,it's either the power supply or the breaker.Hope this is of some help,good luck Mel.

[pickinatit]

My Solarus kept throwing the fuse breaker thing today, probably three times total.  It happened once, then again about two hours later, then I reset it again and it tripped about 5 minutes later. 

Is this a problem with the amp or should I blame in on the house wiring?  I'm thinking it's the latter, but I want to make sure.  It's never done this anywhere else and I use it a lot in a lot of different places. 

Take it to one of those different places and see what happens ?

[Isaac]

You are using slo-blo fuses, yes?

[mckinnon audio]

  Hi there,if it's the 70's Solarus with 6550's for outputs,they have a circuit breaker instead of a fuse.I've got both and I like the 60's ones with EL 34's/6CA7's over the 70's ones with 6550's,but they're both great amps,Mel.

[loopyreed]

I tried the first test, using it somewhere else.  Unfortunately I didn't get to try it before a show - that's where I learned that it wasn't the house's electricity causing the problem.  Luckily the second band already had their stuff set up, so I just used their amps.  But it was a huge bummer...

  Hi there,could be a couple of things,you might have a fault in the power supply,(bad/leakey diode or filter cap),output tubes could be going bad,or the breaker might be damaged or worn itself.It could also be the power transformer,(hope not).I'd check my voltages and do a visual on the filters to see if they're swollen or leaking.You could check your tubes also,but a lot of the time it's the breaker,they get banged around quite a bit where they're located.Pull the output tubes and fire up the amp,let it run for a couple of hrs.,if the breaker pops,it's either the power supply or the breaker.Hope this is of some help,good luck Mel.

I'll try this next, although I can't imagine the amp running for a couple of hours let alone more than a few seconds without throwing the breaker.  When I fired it up yesterday it stayed on long enough for some weak sound to come out, then threw the breaker.  I reset the breaker, then tried again, it stayed on for about 20 seconds and then threw the breaker again.  Which tubes are the output tubes?

You are using slo-blo fuses, yes?

Honestly I don't know.  I bought the amp used and I haven't cracked it open yet.   

  Hi there,if it's the 70's Solarus with 6550's for outputs,they have a circuit breaker instead of a fuse.I've got both and I like the 60's ones with EL 34's/6CA7's over the 70's ones with 6550's,but they're both great amps,Mel.

So I guess I'm not using slo-blo fuses?     My roommate has the 60's Solarus with EL34's, it's the 2x12 combo version.  I hate to say it but sometimes I like his amp better although mine seems so much louder when it works.  How do I always end up with the messed up amps?  I don't get it. 

[mckinnon audio]

   Hi there,the output tubes are the 2 large ones at the back of the amp.If it has a breaker,there will be no fuses unless some one modded it,good luck,Mel.

[loopyreed]

   Hi there,the output tubes are the 2 large ones at the back of the amp.If it has a breaker,there will be no fuses unless some one modded it,good luck,Mel.

Ok good, that's what I thought.  Pretty sure this amp hasn't been modded except for the 3-prong cord.  I'll give it a try and report my findings, thanks for the help!