[TenTec] CENTURION CLEANING

[Richard Schmidt]

Thanks for the reply Joe.  I do have a dust cover on it.  Your
observations are good.  The dust conditions you describe in your part of
Florida sound just like where I live in Idaho. My specific issue is the
cooling fan. A fan sucks air and the dust rides along with it.  I am
wondering if anyone with a Centurion has tried a simple air filtration
medium of some kind on the outside of the amplifier to clean the air
before it enters the cabinet.  That would seem to limit air flow which
is probably a very bad idea.  A dust cover is easy to put on when the
gear is not in use.  All of my stuff has dust covers.  Perhaps simply
going with the Ten-Tec design and manually cleaning the interior from
time-to-time is the best plan.


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [TenTec] CENTURION CLEANING
From: Joseph or Ruth Patrick <hdmc38 at bellsouth.net>
Date: Tue, December 06, 2011 5:55 pm
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec at contesting.com>

Hey Richard

 The best way that I know of is to keep the dust out is before it gets
in. A 
cover. I know this sounds like PIA and your right it is. I learned this
because 
I live in south Florida. We have beautiful weather and that means air 
conditioning which spreads dust all over the house and it means
barbeque's the 
outdoor type. Down here dust gets in everywhere that's just the way it
is. 
Covers help a lot. I have also had several nice gas barbeque's that had
a 
shorter life span because they were not covered. Now after the cooking I
wait 
until the grill or amplifier cools down and put the cover back on.
Compressed 
air works well also yes I have an air compressor but if you are not very
careful 
to much pressure can damage parts. you can use canned air but, this can
get 
expensive. I try to buy a case of canned air when it goes on sale. Very
useful 
and very safe. I also have a few of my XYL'S make up brushes. These are
perfect 
for light dusting.
 73 DE K4XZ Joe Patrick
God Made Man
Sam Colt Made Them Equal 




________________________________
From: Richard Schmidt <k7nsw at ispud.net>
To: tentec at contesting.com
Sent: Tue, December 6, 2011 6:44:30 PM
Subject: [TenTec] CENTURION CLEANING

Just received a new Centurion amplifier.  My first big tube amp and am
anxious to take care of it.  Have been in ham radio long years and
understand the problems accumulated dust can cause.  I am thinking about
the best way to periodically clean it.  The least physical impact upon
components seems to be the use of compressed air at a modest psi level. 
I am not sure how many psi that would be.  Light brushing with a small
natural bristle paint-type brush also seems good, particularly on the
cooling fan blades.  This amp has pc boards and components that look
like small ic chips. The appearance of this kind of construction sends
up red flags concerning generating static electricity while cleaning. 
What do you think?  Suggestions/war stories are welcome.  I use an Omni
VII exciting the Centurion to a big GAP Voyager vertical via the Ten-Tec
high power antenna tuner (current version).  Thanking you in advance for
your comments.

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