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I'm looking for general advice when testing rectifier tubes. I have a 5AR4 that may or may not be good. I seem to recall it is an out of box failure.

I have a Hickok 800A tube tester. I know how to set it up and test the tube, but I remember reading somewhere a bad rectifier tube can ruin a good tube tester. Can anyone confirm this is correct?

Is there a safe way / best practice to test a rectifier tube. I really don't want to put it in an amp and check it either.

Thanks.

Check it for shorts with an ohmmeter first , if has no continuity , it has a bad filament , if the plates are sorted to the filament its bad throw it away , if it passes that , test in the tester as a 5AR4 for shorts without any filament voltage , the filament winding should read shorted but no other shorts . Now test for shorts with the filament voltage present . if ok test it for emission .


http://frank.pocnet.net/sheets/035/5/5AR4.pdf

skidave wrote:.... a bad rectifier tube can ruin a good tube tester.

Actually the saying amongst professionals is a bad tube will separate the garbage tube testers from the ones worth keeping

Thanks for the info battradio.

Geek wrote:Actually the saying amongst professionals is a bad tube will separate the garbage tube testers from the ones worth keeping

Wife said no money in the hobby fund currently. I don't want to find out the hard way

My idea would be to energize the heater with an isolated transformer, and then try to rectify the output of a 110/110V isolating transformer, into an incandescent lamp, of such power that no overload the rectifier. The lamp will be bright at medium lite, because of the half wave. If no light, the rectifier is dead, if arcing or too low light, then the rectifier is out of service. So crude as effective.

Sorry if my English isn't too good.

Be very careful when doing such testing with high voltages. Keep a hand in your pocket.