How to clean inside amp

[toyota man]

Hi all how would you go about cleaning the inside of an amp? one of my cats has taken to sleeping on my equipment rack above my amp as it gets quite warm there I would hoist her off but she is getting old and I would feel guilty

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Remove case. Use small paint/makeup brush. Vacuum.(with small.tube extension if necessary). Or use spray.air.canister. Switch cleaner if necessary. Whats to do?

 

[iQ Speakers]

Paint brush and a hoover, job done, if you really want to go to town you could get some Carbon Tetrachloride which you can get from Maplin its used to clean PCB's and switchs, pots etc. Many years ago as a computer field service engineer this solveed many a problem.

 

[toyota man]

Cheers Guys I haven't taken the top off an amp in over 30 years so I didn't know if there was any best practise rules I susspect that it will be mainly cats hair so I will hoover and brush it out *drinks*

 

[Vladimir]

There are good chances you may die doing this. The big caps can hold very high voltage for days if not weeks with the power plugged off. Those need to be discharged first before touching anything with hands or a brush.

Otherwise just use soft brush and vacuume cleaner. For stains dip the brush in alcohol, distiled water or spray PCB cleaner. All pots and switches should be cleaned with non-greasy electronics contact cleaner.

 

[drummerman]

There are good chances you may die doing this. The big caps can hold very high voltage for days if not weeks with the power plugged off. Those need to be discharged first before touching anything with hands or a brush.

Otherwise just use soft brush and vacuume cleaner. For stains dip the brush in alcohol, distiled water or spray PCB cleaner. All pots and switches should be cleaned with non-greasy electronics contact cleaner.

🙂 I've never had problem with that (your bold outline). Either they have to be the size of coke cans or it's an old wife's tale and I had plenty of amplifiers and other components open and on occasions took a solder iron to it.

Having said that, unless the amplifier is overheating or the the pots are noisy, I would leave everything alone unless you know what you are doing. As to taking the hoover to it ... careful. Compressed air is safer.

 

[Vladimir]

🙂 I've never had problem with that (your bold outline). Either they have to be the size of coke cans or it's an old wife's tale and I had plenty of amplifiers and other components open and on occasions took a solder iron to it.

Certanly not a tale or myth. Not all amps have safety implemented (resistors that discharge the caps when turned off).

 

[iQ Speakers]

There really is no need to worry about caps they are in situ, I would of been dead along tome ago I can assure you.

 

[Jota180]

There are good chances you may die doing this. The big caps can hold very high voltage for days if not weeks with the power plugged off. Those need to be discharged first before touching anything with hands or a brush.

Otherwise just use soft brush and vacuume cleaner. For stains dip the brush in alcohol, distiled water or spray PCB cleaner. All pots and switches should be cleaned with non-greasy electronics contact cleaner.

🙂 I've never had problem with that (your bold outline). Either they have to be the size of coke cans or it's an old wife's tale and I had plenty of amplifiers and other components open and on occasions took a solder iron to it.

Having said that, unless the amplifier is overheating or the the pots are noisy, I would leave everything alone unless you know what you are doing. As to taking the hoover to it ... careful. Compressed air is safer.

If you had had a problem, how would we know? 😀

 

[MeanandGreen]

There are good chances you may die doing this. The big caps can hold very high voltage for days if not weeks with the power plugged off. Those need to be discharged first before touching anything with hands or a brush.

Otherwise just use soft brush and vacuume cleaner. For stains dip the brush in alcohol, distiled water or spray PCB cleaner. All pots and switches should be cleaned with non-greasy electronics contact cleaner.

This is a very valid point actually. I would just be aware when cleaning it out. Don't physically touch the caps on the power boards would be a sensible precaution.

For those who have never had a problem, doesn't mean it can't happen. You could be promiscuous and not practice safe sex and never catch anything. Doesn't mean you can't or won't sometime.

As a minimum I would leave the amp off overnight before poking brushes and such like around it's circuit boards.

 

[MeanandGreen]

Oh, I'd go with compressed air over a vacuum cleaner too. Unles you have one of those tiny battery operated electronics/keyboard intended vacuum cleaners that only geeks like me have.

 

[radiorog]

I read somewhere recently that brushes can charge and cause static and should not be used,instead it was recommended to use compressed air but not to close as the force from the canister jet can be strong enough to dislodge some things. ??

 

[Vladimir]

ESD is an issue with ICs. A brush is not recommended for cleaning amps with digital preamps or digital volume attenuation without them being grounded. You can put a discrete circuit in the dishwasher and it wont have issues when it dries off (best way to clean amps owned by smokers).

Small trivia. When you walk on your carpet, by brushing your feet you develop several thousands of volts electrostatic charge. Good thing it's very very few amperes, it can't hurt you. But discharge those kilovolts in an integrated chip and RIP Mr. IC.

 

[Womaz]

If it's that dangerous I am now worried about your cat 🙂

 

[Vladimir]

Many TV repair technicians and cats died from CRT TVs high voltage discharge. Amps are not that far appart in dangerous voltage accumulation but are easier to handle by a professional, therefore less risky.

I spent many hours at TV repair shops as a kid when my dad hauled TVs, VCRs and amps for warranty repairs (he owned an electronics store and mom ran a video store with VHS tape multiplication services). Taking a TV appart and fixing it was a ritual that started with a prayer, lasted several days and didn't cost less than one healthy internal organ. Amplifier and VCR repairs were more relaxed, started with curses and a beer (or two).

 

[iQ Speakers]

I think you are all being very silly. And i can assure you i have changed many CRT tubes on computer monitors and we are talking 20Kv, now that is dangerous if you dont know what youre doing.

But as for the rest, the man wants to clean his amp he can brush, hoover it etc with out a problem you are making people paranoid without good reason or little knowladge or being very "presious" Stop it.

 

[Vladimir]

It is a Sunday... *angel*

 

[radiorog]

I think you are all being very silly. And i can assure you i have changed many CRT tubes on computer monitors and we are talking 20Kv, now that is dangerous if you dont know what youre doing.

But as for the rest, the man wants to clean his amp he can brush, hoover it etc with out a problem you are making people paranoid without good reason or little knowladge or being very "presious" Stop it.

when it comes to the possibility of someone getting an electrical shock, there is always a risk of death. It may be small, but depending on the individual it is there. I think people are being wise and mature by highlighting these risks. Otherwise,they could be deemed partially responsible for someone's death, and no one wants that on their conscience. You must always highlight the risks in these matters. Thats my take.

This was one of the articles I was looking at the other day

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/eqptcleaning.html

It also states to give an amp 24 hrs to discharge before cleaning.

Personally, not being an electrician, I would only use air I think to clean, and not risk the brush strokes. I'm sure the air would remove most of the dust

 

[TrevC]

🙂 I've never had problem with that (your bold outline). Either they have to be the size of coke cans or it's an old wife's tale and I had plenty of amplifiers and other components open and on occasions took a solder iron to it.

Certanly not a tale or myth. Not all amps have safety implemented (resistors that discharge the caps when turned off).

On a transistor amp I would expect the charge to last about a minute and the voltages involved aren't going you kill you anyway. A valve amp, well that's a different kettle of fish. Use a brush that has no metal on it and you won't have any problems in any case.

 

[radiorog]

ESD is an issue with ICs. A brush is not recommended for cleaning amps with digital preamps or digital volume attenuation without them being grounded. You can put a discrete circuit in the dishwasher and it wont have issues when it dries off (best way to clean amps owned by smokers).

Small trivia. When you walk on your carpet, by brushing your feet you develop several thousands of volts electrostatic charge. Good thing it's very very few amperes, it can't hurt you. But discharge those kilovolts in an integrated chip and RIP Mr. IC.

Thanks Vlad, interesting as always!

I have been trying to think of a way to reduce the amount of dust getting into the k2bt when it arrives, as it has quite a few air vents, whereas the rega had none. I think I'm a bit of a worried when it cones to dust as I had my brio r sent back to rega as the back plate wasn't a perfect fit and I was worried that it was going to let dust in. Rega changed the back plate for me which was great. But my audio gear is in my bedroom and it does get dusty quickly. I'm thinking of trying to makeshift some kind of dust cover to go over the amp. With maybe a gap of 2-3cm between the cover and the amp to ensure air stiil gets in to cool, but hopefully reduce the amount of dust getting in. Do you think this might suffocate the amp..ie: be too close fitting and therefore not allow enough air in to cool? Or any other suggestions anyone?

 

[TrevC]

ESD is an issue with ICs. A brush is not recommended for cleaning amps with digital preamps or digital volume attenuation without them being grounded. You can put a discrete circuit in the dishwasher and it wont have issues when it dries off (best way to clean amps owned by smokers).

Small trivia. When you walk on your carpet, by brushing your feet you develop several thousands of volts electrostatic charge. Good thing it's very very few amperes, it can't hurt you. But discharge those kilovolts in an integrated chip and RIP Mr. IC.

Thanks Vlad, interesting as always!

I have been trying to think of a way to reduce the amount of dust getting into the k2bt when it arrives, as it has quite a few air vents, whereas the rega had none. I think I'm a bit of a worried when it cones to dust as I had my brio r sent back to rega as the back plate wasn't a perfect fit and I was worried that it was going to let dust in. Rega changed the back plate for me which was great. But my audio gear is in my bedroom and it does get dusty quickly. I'm thinking of trying to makeshift some kind of dust cover to go over the amp. With maybe a gap of 2-3cm between the cover and the amp to ensure air stiil gets in to cool, but hopefully reduce the amount of dust getting in. Do you think this might suffocate the amp..ie: be too close fitting and therefore not allow enough air in to cool? Or any other suggestions anyone?

I was always pleased to find a nice carpet of dust when something came in for repair. It shows that nobody has been poking about inside!

 

[iQ Speakers]

This is the problem, we live in a nanny state, I assume Toyota man has the intelligence to unplug it. I did not want to insult him by instructing him to do so. THERE IS NO, NO DANGER FROM A CAPACITOR THAT IS SOLDERED IN THE BOARD which i assume for the purpose of the exersize they are. Even if they were not, a jolt from a full charged capacitor with the bodies resistance, at worst would not be very nice. Even turned on you would not do much harm, unless its a Switched Mode PSU which has nasty DC at high levals this is the dangerous stuff. Most normal amps do not have them, oh and they have very small capacitors so turned off all is good.

So go ahead and clean your amp with a brush. When you send your amp away for a service all the do is clean the dust out clean contacts etc, they dont wait 2 weeks to touch it or you would all be moaning. NO danger.

 

[drummerman]

If it's that dangerous I am now worried about your cat 🙂

Cats are immune to electric shock.

Leave the lid off and prepare to be amazed ...

 

[drummerman]

How much is a cat these days?

 

[CnoEvil]

How much is a cat these days?

I seem to have got 6 for free.....anyone want one (is trading cats allowed on here?)