The heat of tubes...


I have been auditioning some tube amps in the last few months and now that the weather is getting warmer, I am noticing something very important....MY ROOM IS AS HOT AS HECK!!

How do you tube lovers handle this? I tried turning on the AC, but during soft passages, the sound of the AC just bugs me.

I need therapy...
matchstikman
I don't use A/C and keep the tube gear in a hall closet. I could vent the closet to a second bathroom (or the spare bedroom), but have never felt the need. Maybe if we have an especially hot summer I will try it though.

If your gear is placed next to an outside wall you might look into installing a wisper fan close to the ceiling in order to vent the heat to the outside?
There are really two issues: tube life and room comfort. To assure long tube life, you need to have at least a foot of clearance above the amp for ventilation. I remove the top plate from the amp when in use for extended periods. This helps the amp run cooler, extends tube life and improves the sonics. Next, I have two very quiet ceiling fans. Works well enough.
I live in New Orleans and we have an expression: It's not the heat, it's the stupidity. (There are other expressions like a 12 step program consists of two six packs of Dixie.) You learn down here to simply accept that there's going to be some exposure to tropical weather. Rather than suffer emotionally we simply eat, drink, enjoy music, take it slow, wear light cotton clothing and shower a couple times a day. Keep 'em glowing and have yourself a party!
I live in Seattle, and most of the time tube amps keep the room warm enought during the Winter, Fall and Spring without turning the heat on. What happens during the summer? well between Aug 1 and Sep 1, I open the windows. Tube amps are great in this climate.
Hey, Paulg805, I'm in Seattle too! Love the climate here, though the grey winters get old quickly. Got tubes and keep most in the closet where they heat my shoes and motorcycle helmets. At work the space is pretty large so don't have much of a problem there. I can't recall who it was on another thread...but I thought it was an interesting solution: Someone had their amps hung in the rafters in the basement down below their listening floor with the wires coming up through the floor. This would work to warm a perhaps otherwise cool basement too! Sorry I can't recall who posted that one or I'd certainly give credit.