Bat 150 SE replacing 6C33-B power tubes problems

Were the sparks internal to the tubes or inside the amp? Something might be wrong with the amp. Anyway, when I change the 6c33 b tubes on my vk75se, it does take a little breakin on the tubes...not much...like a few days. And I don't notice a very big difference. The input tubes do make a larger differnce. The power tubes just seem to have a little more "umph" when I change them.

Try your old tubes again as a test. If you have more than 40-50 hours on new the new tubes, swap to the old. Now I notice a definite change in sweetness when you power down the 75se and turn it back on like 5 minutes later. After a hour of it settling down all the magic is back.

Good luck.

FWIW there are no 'current production' 6C33s- they are all NOS. The factory that made them was dismantled about 3 years or so ago.

When 6C33B's blew in my VK-60s, the fuses never saved some conponents from getting fried. This happened on 3 different occaisions.
Good luck!
Jeff

Thank you all for this info.
The sparks were inside the new power tubes that blew the 3 amps fuses. The amps suffer no damages. Guess I very am lucky. With the old original BAT factory tubes the sound is normal and sweet. However, several of the old tubes would not allow the green LED to stay on reason being why I had to have them replaced. I have about 8 hrs on the new set, so I will just keep the breakin going. After cleaning the pins with 400 sandpaper a bit of improvement is heard.
Jfrech, can you tell me which are the input tubes and can you suggest what type and make of others tube so I try some tube rolling.
I was not aware that the power tubes are no longer made. This a concern for BAT owners. Are ther any other suppliers around ?

Hello Terry,

Sorry to hear about your problem. Yes the 6c33 tube can be a pain in the neck sometimes but BAT has done a good job of seeing to it that the amp is well protected.

From what I've heard there is a HUGE supply of these tubes so there is no need to worry about a shortage for a very long time. I'm sure the amps will be sounding as good as ever in no time.

Best of luck,
Tom

I have RCA red base 5692's in the 6sn7 spots in my 75se. Much sweeter sound. Also I replaced the 6v6, but can't remember the actual tube.

Good luck !

I like to thank everyone for their advice about the 6C33-B power tubes promblems that I was having.
300 music hours have now passed both amps are singing like I have never heard before, just amazing what new tubes can do. I would like to mention that Kevin Deal suggested that I clean the pins of each tube with grade 400 sandpaper and by applying a thin film of Walker SST contact enhancer really helps.
All eight new tubes glow at the same brightness also, since some of them used to be deep red on the large vertical black plate.
THX Terry

Hi Terry,

I'm glad to hear all is well with your BAT 150se monoblock amps. I did however want to give you a word of caution about applying the Walker SST or similar type of products on the tube pins. There have been many reported problems of this causing tubes to fail and taking the amp with them in the process. I have NOT heard of this being a problem with BAT tube amps but I do feel a phone call to BAT to inquire about this would be reasonable.

All the best,
Tom

Hi Tom, thank you for the heads up. I have contacted BAT about the SST and their response is 'use at your own risk/void warranty'.
SST appears to act as conductor between contacts and since it is in paste form it can also create electrical shorts if it gets in contact with any other components especially the high voltage parts as explained to me by my supplier. I have been using this product to treat interconnect and speaker connections.(low voltage) and just started with the tubes. I think the way the application of the SST is made is extremely important. As mentioned I touch the tube pins forming a tiny dot without creating any drips and never painting the entire pin. I will post any problems created by the Walker SST.