Keeping Tube pins and connections clean.

Greetings all you Outlaws!

Most of you who know my posts that I use my tube based system when I want to get serious about music. I will use my Desktop PC out the the 1070/Anthem and that is really nice since I figured out how to get the best sound.

When I do not use my tube system for a while, I do notice some noise from the tubes yet it will go away after a while.

I used Deoxit from Caig to clean the pins on all input/driver tubes. I also used the Deoxit to clean speaker connections and also at the amp.

I am pleased to report the noise has gone away and I hear improved sound. I should use the stuff on all the female RCA inputs.

I picked this up at Radio Shack so I suggest to you, go try some!


Liz Out

read my post.

It is generally not recommended that you use any type of cleaner other than a pure solvent like xylene or alcohol on tube pins. The reason is that because of the heat on the pins of the tube from the filament and plate, the "cleaner" can turn into varnish over time and cause more problems down the road - problems which cannot be solved by any other means than replacing the tube socket.

But considering you never listen to any advise from anybody here, just go ahead and slother that contact cleaner all over 'yer tube pins.

Altec,

I am in an Audiophile club that has Engineers and even Physics and Chenicla teachers. They all agree, the deoxit is great for the tube pins.

They are all wrong. I don't care if Spock himself is in your "audiophile club" - it is not a good idea to put contact cleaner on tube pins. Use pure solvent.

I am a member of an audio club in my area of the country - I have never encountered a larger congregation of well-degreed whackos in my life.

Just being "an engineer" does not mean that person knows anything about the specifics of audio engineering any more than me being an audio engineer means I know anything about nuclear energy.

I have decades-long experience with using Caig R-2 Deoxit cleaner, and to be truthful, I have found many instances where it did NOT do the job. There is however a contact cleaner called Stabilant 22 which I have found to be excellent on audio connections (still don't use it on tube pins). It is used heavily in mission-critical applications such as in the military, defense, and ride control applications on things such as roller coasters where an intermittent connection can mean _death_. I think it is also listed in Stereophile's recommended components listing (not that I agree with much of what they say, but in this instance, they are right).

I have used Deoxit for years on my boat and in my garage. In most cases it is great stuff. I will say that I have had several connections where some heat is generated and the Deoxit turned into a thick varnish like substance. Since they were on Marine applications I didn't think it was necessarily bad because it seemed to seal the connection better. Once I had to take them apart though I had to chip some of the stuff off in order to get a good connection going back together.

I would not apply it to any circuit or connection in my HT simply because it may do just like Altec pointed out earlier and make the situation worse. I find that most connections in my HT can easily be improved just by disconnecting and then reconnecting the male/female type connections as most are self cleaning to some degree.

The heat problem with Deoxit is precisely the reason it is not recommended for tube pins, since they get hot over extended periods.

I have only one experience with DeoxIT. Some years ago, the test equipment maintenance department in the factory in which I worked thought it would better maintain the performance of in-circuit test fixtures if the moving parts of the many pogo pins were given a thorough coating of DeoxIT. I became involved while investigating a high number of erroneous test failures. Some investigation led to suspecting the DeoxIT. Fortunately for us, the factory had vapor degreasers that easily removed all of the contact chemical. After removal, function was restored. To my knowledge, there was no appreciable amount of heat involved in these test fixtures, and there was no varnish-like residue. The substance, and most likely an accumulation of dust from the environment mixed with it, made the electrical contact resistance increase and become unpredictable, so that sensitive electrical measurements were effected. As a result of this experience, I've never used this product on any of my equipment. Your experiences seem to indicate this was a wise decision.

In another instance related to protecting contacts in marine use, a customer felt my employer's product needed additional corrosion protection from the salt water environment it was going to be used in. The chassis was opened and mineral oil was sprayed over all of the electronics inside, including an assortment of connectors. When the unit ceased functioning, it was returned for warranty repair. Seeing the slimy coating inside the chassis, we sent the unit for vapor degreasing. After a thorough cleaning, the unit was fully functional. It took some persuading by the Field Engineering department to convince the customer mineral oil was not needed and was the cause of the malfunction.

Unless connections are getting seriously oxidized, simply removing and reinserting should be sufficient to wipe a light surface oxidation from the leads. I would be careful using many solvents that might leave a residue, and most "tuner" contact cleaners contain lubricant which can also play havoc. Alcohol is a good, readily-available solvent that does not leave residue, but be careful to let all of it evaporate before exposure to heat.

Regards,
Bill