Power Transformer Temperature?

[iggs]

Hey all ...

... may be a silly question but: just noticed today that the power tranny in my Bogner Ecstasy is quite hot to touch after playing for a while. Is this normal?

I've had many amps and never noticed power transformers generating any heat so it struck me as odd.

Thanks!

 

[MKB]

All transformers generate some amount of heat in normal use. They are designed to tolerate specific amounts of heat by selecting the proper insulation and magnet wire type for the application. The question is whether the transformer in your amp is operating outside of its design parameters.

I once designed a few transformers with a very wise engineer in such things, he was fond of saying "it doesn't matter how small you make a transformer as long as you don't care how hot it gets". He told stories of the tiny and light transformers designed for the Apollo moon missions, they used glass insulation on the magnet wire as they got fiercely hot (very small size and no air to conduct and dissipate heat).

A hot power transformer can be normal for an amp, or it could indicate a problem in the amp. I have also seen power transformer partial failures show themselves as large amounts of heat. Maybe you should ask Bogner if there is a problem with your amp; it might get hot in normal operation.

One very general check you can make is to see if you can hold your hand continuously on the transformer when it is at its hottest. If you can't, you might have a problem.

 

[jay42]

Phone them up or email them at least.

 

[iggs]

Thanks guys, will call Bogner tomorrow for sure, just wanted to check if anyone knew if this was "normal" or not.

 

[iggs]

Bogner guys say it's OK so I'll take their word for it ...

 

[Prairie Dawg]

Bogner guys say it's OK so I'll take their word for it ...

What kind of temps were you seeing?

 

[iggs]

What kind of temps were you seeing?

It gets pretty warm ... bordering "hot" I would say, I can keep my hand on it so it's not skin-burning hot by any means, just much warmer then I'm used to when it comes to PTs ... I know they all generate some heat by design but this seemed oddly hot.

 

[schmidlin]

Yep, if you can keep your hand on it, it's OK. At least in my world.

 

[Prairie Dawg]

It gets pretty warm ... bordering "hot" I would say, I can keep my hand on it so it's not skin-burning hot by any means, just much warmer then I'm used to when it comes to PTs ... I know they all generate some heat by design but this seemed oddly hot.

You can go to Harbor Freight or any cheap tool place and get yourself a keychain infrared thermometer for about ten bucks, made by Centech. It's very useful for such things and I keep one on my workbench for just such things. Never be in doubt.

 

[iggs]

You can go to Harbor Freight or any cheap tool place and get yourself a keychain infrared thermometer for about ten bucks, made by Centech. It's very useful for such things and I keep one on my workbench for just such things. Never be in doubt.

Good call ... I'll get one and check the exact temp. Thanks!