dt79
Junior Member
Posts: 343
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Post by dt79 on Aug 6, 2023 16:49:32 GMT
How many hours of play do valves last? Thinking of PCC88 and ECC83 like in the BB3 here.
Also are they getting worn out merely by the BB3 being switched on? I always switch it off when I finish listening but sometimes if I’m coming back to listen an hour or two later it would be nice to leave it switched on and skip the warm-up later, but obviously won’t do that if I’m going to be ‘using up’ my valves.
Cheers
Dan
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,398
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 6, 2023 17:17:07 GMT
How many hours of play do valves last? Thinking of PCC88 and ECC83 like in the BB3 here. Also are they getting worn out merely by the BB3 being switched on? I always switch it off when I finish listening but sometimes if I’m coming back to listen an hour or two later it would be nice to leave it switched on and skip the warm-up later, but obviously won’t do that if I’m going to be ‘using up’ my valves. Cheers Dan Leaving valves on 24/7 is not a good idea to be honest, not IMO anyway. The BB3 is very kind to valves. I have never worn valves out in a BB3 or a BBU, and I have used them pretty extensively. IME, NOS valves are most likely 60 years old, and the life expectancy can be hampered by their age, even when used lightly. I have had more valves fail (go cloudy)on me than I have worn out, so that's an opinion based on experience, rather than any science. |
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dt79
Junior Member
Posts: 343
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Post by dt79 on Aug 6, 2023 17:27:50 GMT
How many hours of play do valves last? Thinking of PCC88 and ECC83 like in the BB3 here. Also are they getting worn out merely by the BB3 being switched on? I always switch it off when I finish listening but sometimes if I’m coming back to listen an hour or two later it would be nice to leave it switched on and skip the warm-up later, but obviously won’t do that if I’m going to be ‘using up’ my valves. Cheers Dan Leaving valves on 24/7 is not a good idea to be honest, not IMO anyway. The BB3 is very kind to valves. I have never worn valves out in a BB3 or a BBU, and I have used them pretty extensively. IME, NOS valves are most likely 60 years old, and the life expectancy can be hampered by their age, even when used lightly. I have had more valves fail (go cloudy)on me than I have worn out, so that's an opinion based on experience, rather than any science. Thanks Ollie. How long between listening sessions would you personally switch off your BB3/BBU vs. leaving it on? |
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,398
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 6, 2023 17:38:31 GMT
Leaving valves on 24/7 is not a good idea to be honest, not IMO anyway. The BB3 is very kind to valves. I have never worn valves out in a BB3 or a BBU, and I have used them pretty extensively. IME, NOS valves are most likely 60 years old, and the life expectancy can be hampered by their age, even when used lightly. I have had more valves fail (go cloudy)on me than I have worn out, so that's an opinion based on experience, rather than any science. Thanks Ollie. How long between listening sessions would you personally switch off your BB3/BBU vs. leaving it on? I used to feel that the BB3 took about 20-25 minutes to start warming up and sounding open and expansive, same with the BBU. An hour in and it would be singing in full voice. I'd switch it on about 30-40minutes before listening and off as soon as I'd finished for the day. I don't like valves left on while everyone is in bed etc. Safety first, and a bit of warm up time seemed to make the most sense to me. |
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dt79
Junior Member
Posts: 343
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Post by dt79 on Aug 6, 2023 17:45:28 GMT
Thanks Ollie. How long between listening sessions would you personally switch off your BB3/BBU vs. leaving it on? I used to feel that the BB3 took about 20-25 minutes to start warming up and sounding open and expansive, same with the BBU. An hour in and it would be singing in full voice. I'd switch it on about 30-40minutes before listening and off as soon as I'd finished for the day. I don't like valves left on while everyone is in bed etc. Safety first, and a bit of warm up time seemed to make the most sense to me. Thanks, makes sense! |
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Post by firebottle on Aug 6, 2023 18:32:29 GMT
With small signal valves such as used in the BB3 and run conservatively 3-5000 hours is expected.
With valves designed for extended duties or 'special quality' (CV and other markings) then 10000 hours is usual.
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Post by rexton on Aug 6, 2023 20:08:42 GMT
Firstly there is no such things as a stupid question. Some of the armed services valves will easily outlast 10000 hours. I would agree with alan regards the other smaller valves.
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