Ampeg 6146 tube anode cap re-attachable?

[DrGonz78]

It seems that one of the 6146 tubes was already loose. When I tried to pull off the ceramic plate the metal anode came off too. I am pretty sure this problem occurred on a previous repair and the anode wire is present. I would like to re-attach the metal cap part. I read some place that JB weld metal was a success for other people. I think this happened on an earlier service and the only soldered the anode wire to the cap without glueing it properly. Had anyone here had experience dealing with this problem?

[The Dude]

I don't think it's that critical as long as "whatever" can tolerate the temp. I've used silicone RTV in the past with success. I'm not sure what the temp rating of JB weld is. I know there's a high heat version, but that may not be necessary.

[g1]

Does it not need to be conductive? (I guess not if RTV works) I don't think any JB Weld products are.
I have been looking at conductive glue from China lately and have wanted to try some.
https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Conduc...tive+Wire+Glue

[The Dude]

You resolder the element wire to the cap. The glue is just to hold the cap on.

[Chuck H]

If I were using gasket sealer for a repair on a tube I would just default to the high temp stuff as a matter of course. It takes "chance" out of the equation.

JM2C

[DrGonz78]

The original JB weld that I have says it can withstand up 550 degrees Fahrenheit. There's an extreme heat version that will withstand up to 2400F. I don't think that it needs to be conductive since the anode wire is soldered to the cap part. I am gonna first clean the solder off the cap hole to make sure the anode wire is still long enough to apply solder to it.

[DrGonz78]

Well good news is that the anode wire protrudes through the tiny hole enough to secure a connection. I will probably just use the JB weld since I already have some and it is rated up to 550F.

[DrGonz78]

So I re-attached the cap using the JB weld and it went pretty well. Gave me an excuse to bust out the old American Beauty soldering iron to efficiently solder top part. Now I am just worried that the rest of the anode can caps are going to come off when I pull off the cap plug. Well at least I know how to fix them. Thanks again for all the feedback here!!

Edit: Also you can see someone cracked that ceramic cap plug a while back too.

[DrGonz78]

One more update on this matter. Of course my gut feeling was that most of the anode caps were loose and were going to fall off removing the ceramic plug. Yup 5 out of 6 of the caps had to be re-glued and soldered back on.



So hopefully the tubes are not that worn out have some good life in them, but without doing this fix first there would be no fair way to know. I am about to start ordering up parts for a cap job. I will start a new thread with some question about the caps that are in the amp right now and in comparison to the fliptops cap kit. I have the 30uf 600v cap already and a few others so I don't plan on ordering the cap kit for $108 from fliptops.