tube damper help

Magfan,
I've been using silicon "o" rings on my KT-88's for over a year have had seen nothing like you describe.They barely get hot to the touch.Maybe we're talking about different types of silicon,who knows?

Please don't do this.

Try 'em for a while to make sure they don't melt

If you want to try "o-ring" type dampers,use high temp silicon,available here in the classifieds and from several vendors on ebay.It's up to you to say if you can hear any difference,not someone else.Good luck.