How do Weber Copper Cap rectos compare to the real things?

[CitizenCain]

Are they really true substitutes for their glass counterparts? I see they do provide a voltage drop. I'm not that familiar with glass rectifiers, so are those voltage drops the same between the two?

How about the classic sag and responsiveness? The Copper Cap is really diodes inside, so does it respond like a diode rectifier, or do they have some kind of sag circuit included?

Thanks for any insights!

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

Are they really true substitutes for their glass counterparts? I see they do provide a voltage drop. I'm not that familiar with glass rectifiers, so are those voltage drops the same between the two?

How about the classic sag and responsiveness? The Copper Cap is really diodes inside, so does it respond like a diode rectifier, or do they have some kind of sag circuit included?

Thanks for any insights!

They should last forever if not overloaded or broken. But I don't use them anymore.

It has SS diodes and two power resistors to give them a little sag.
I think they all have a surge MOV maybe a CL70... I forgot now but that is it.
No it does not react just like a tube rectifier and no it does not have a slow start up like many tube rectifiers. They turn on fast.. just a couple three seconds to full B+.
They do get hot as hell if you are running them too hard and flat out plus I've had the solder inside come undone on a couple when they got over heated. That is very scary to me, considering the outer shell is conductive copper!!
They use to be heavy and many have fallen right out of a few Fender amps when set down to hard and some have hit the bottom of the cab too hard, enough to pop the thing in half.
I've dropped a couple off my bench and had them break apart (just like a tube would too so that's nothing new).
I have not bought any since they went to the newer extruded looking tube configuration so they might be fabulous now.

[CitizenCain]

Thanks for the info, Bruce!

[pdf64]

I'm happy with the WZ34 I've been using in my Vibroverb type clone for 2+ years. The B+ is about 5 to 10V lower compared to my old GZ34s, and it sags under load slightly more.
No audible differences though. I'll get more when I next order from Weber.

[ThermionicScott]

It's hard to mimic the curved voltage drop of a tube rectifier with resistors, so they likely picked a "target" drop at a certain current draw and designed accordingly.

I haven't measured the Copper Caps I have, but I would assume that the output voltage will be "too high" at low current draws, and closer to the tube's behavior as you approach the max current rating of the original. (Or maybe they picked a spot toward the center, so it will actually drop a little more at max current.)

- Scott