Sovtek 5AR4 went bad, what replacements?

[trevorus]

I don't know exactly what was going on, but it was arcing in the tube, and blowing mains fuses in my 2007 Vox AC30CC.

The only spare rectifier I have around is a 5Y3GT. Anyone know the compatibility between the two?

[trevorus]

Eh, I'll just go with a regular 5ar4. Don't want to harm anything else. Hopefully the next rectifier will hold up a bit better.

[captntasty]

It sounds snobbish but buy new old stock. The Sovtek 5ar4 may not be the same as a Sylvania/Mullard/GE/.... 5ar4/GZ34. The 5y3 is not your best bet....
Plenty of rectifiers to be found for = or less than new. You might check the socket, those have been notorious for causing "tube" problems.

[trevorus]

Nah, I saw a nice little lightning bolt inside when I powered up. I just borrowed a Ruby 5ar4 (it's just a Chinese tube) from a friend. If I can get a NOS one, I surely will. I'd also love to find some good EL84's to drop in there too. The EHX's sound good, but I know there are better out there.