Any luck soldering tube socket lug ?

[petemoore]

  I'm wondering if I should try this.
  Is it common for a tube filament lug to start arcing if the B+ caps are replaced ? [lol].
  I replaced the filtercaps and the filament lug of 6v6 [pin2] started arcing.
  It doesn't seem as they'd be related...the work looks good and all the work done in the PS section...over on the other side of the amp, nowhere near the 6v6.
  I reshaped [pinched] the socket with the tube pin in it but it still arcs.
 
  What'd be a good course of action ?
A: Change the socket ?
  Probability still exists that it's root cause is something else I can't trace down causing the arcing [even though it wasn't touched, I looked and tested for stray ground or abnormality in the wiring associated with filament lugs].
B:  Try to get a better connection by soldering the tube pin to the socket [tried this too already...still arcs..hmmm?
Or C:    Go play with my new 10'' speaker in combo, I'm going to try that next.
   

[petemoore]

 The socket developed ~conductive phelonic.

[maarten]

As far as I know, arc traces are conductive and can induce new arcing if not cleaned will.  Brush with a metal broom and maybe use also other cleaning methods as well, or replace the socket. Cause could be dirt, solder / particles of rosin solder core etc., . Even if you wired y unfortunate mistake the B+ to the filaments, no arcing should occur, I think.
Maarten

[petemoore]

  Yupp the phelonic went conducive to arcing, that's for sure...neato little lightning designs, I watched them about 6 times:
  Clean, watch, clean again, watch, remove a socket lug [solder direct to pin]...Whatch !
scrape some phelonic off/watch.
  It wasn't until the two socket lugs and the phelonic was removed from between the two pins altogether that the light show ended.
  Turning into a heater element and flaming slightly made the crispy phelonic easy to remove.
   

[gtudoran]

Sand the phenolic layer and cover it with some epoxy or some resin. I always use ceramic sokets for tubes.

Best regards,
Gabriel Tudoran
Analog Sound

[amptramp]

Swap out the socket before you do some permanent damage.  I have tried to clean arcing sockets before, but have never been successful.  The cleaning, if it is thorough enough to eliminate all carbon tracking, will damage the socket to the extent that it lets moisture in.

[Ronsonic]

1 - Replace the damn socket. It is not to be trusted. It will continue to burn and arc until consumed or the amp is destroyed.

2 - Figure out why it arced in the first place.

3 - For the love of all that is good PLEASE tell us what amp it is that you are asking questions about.

Once a socket or PCB or Tube base arcs it is not to be trusted. At the very least you must carve away everything that might have been subjected to the arc. This is not practical for the socket or base since it leaves no support for the pins or clips and those are compromised anyway.

Now a little more about 2. Are you trying to run an 8 ohm speaker in a Champ or clone?

More about 3 - what the hell makes you think anyone can give you useful advice without the most basic of information. We ain't psychic.

I know, it's a tube socket, a generic part. But please consider this, we aren't a customer support line. We're all here to learn even if all we learn is what sort of problems other people are having. Part of the price of obtaining information is giving information. If you tell me that this was in a TubeBlaster 300, I will have learned something about an amp of which I was previously unaware.

[petemoore]

 1 - Replace the damn socket. It is not to be trusted. It will continue to burn and arc until consumed or the amp is destroyed.
2 - Figure out why it arced in the first place.
Is that an order ? Not sure I can figure it out. High probability the electrons found a path across or through there or heat made carbon out of it or some other reason-s.
3 - For the love of all that is good PLEASE tell us what amp it is that you are asking questions about.
  SE supply, 5u4, 6v6GT blackplate, 12ax7 blackface preamp I put in there, very nice sound.
Once a socket or PCB or Tube base arcs it is not to be trusted.
  I'm figuring that one out since I have had an arc there that was persistant, even growing.
  At the very least you must carve away everything that might have been subjected to the arc.
  #1, I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, never had a phelonic pilot light before/.
  This is not practical for the socket or base since it leaves no support for the pins or clips and those are compromised anyway.
  Figured that out too.
  Now a little more about 2. Are you trying to run an 8 ohm speaker in a Champ or clone?
  You are correct, it was a champ schematic eased into a reel to reel amp.
  More about 3 - what the hell makes you think anyone can give you useful advice without the most basic of information.
  Thanks for the advice, the question was about tube sockets, if you require more information you should give a basic idea of what you'd like.
  We ain't psychic. Sure you are, you just haven't registered the idea yet, I believe it's trained out of most people at a very young age.
  I know, it's a tube socket, a generic part. But please consider this, we aren't a customer support line.
  You aren't ?
  We're all here to learn even if all we learn is what sort of problems other people are having.
  I figured somebody may have had the same experience and be able to chastise for lack of info, or just say something like what you said, change the socket...figure out why in the first place.
  I know it's not information, but do sockets ever do this for no particular reason or malfunction besides age/heat/age or dust etc. ?
  Part of the price of obtaining information is giving information. If you tell me that this was in a TubeBlaster 300, I will have learned something about an amp of which I was previously unaware.
  Oh, I didn't know that, I thought it would be more appropriate to keep it brief and consice as possible for starters.
  It's an old RTR amp that had a cats eye and another tube + a socket multi-pin output for something else. I measured the voltages on the heaters and tubes and decided I liked them, then installed the Champ to make Dual Mono amp. Most of this is outside work and the bright light illuminates top and under the top plate, so I know it's on. Pretty good for many years about turning amps off, this one unplugs...
  The dual mono idea subsided because of oscillations and other.
  New caps installed because the old caps were voltage dropping the B+ [sounded like caps from previous bad cap experiences], volume and performance was restored with the re-cap. A few capacitors are wrong value for B+ [22uf where first 40uf was, another 22uf for 40uf later...plan involved some caps I have around, and building it back to original values upon next order of parts...I figured a few caps might do it so started with a few at a time, then spread the Uf I had around so there'd be filtercap where filtercap was.
  This is the kind of thing I was hoping to avoid, as it opens my can of worms project up to be observed and commented on.
  Now I'd like to think I was hoping the main gist of my question was should I look elsewhere for the cause of the problem or do tube sockets 'just do that' sometimes.
  Amp works and all's calm, it sits waiting for the caps and socket, so the post is 1/2 moot aside from what I've gathered which is "kind of assuming sockets do this" and who knows exactly for what reason[s, then the amp lights up or the socket is worked with or changed, preferably changed.
  Anyway, interesting lightshow on the phelonic, also quite catastropic and dangerous dangerous especially if the amp is left on/unattended.
  Fire in amp is no fun...all put out !
   

[Ronsonic]

  I know it's not information, but do sockets ever do this for no particular reason or malfunction besides age/heat/age or dust etc. ?

It isn't that sockets do this, but that sockets in some amps are prone to this.

Usually, the initial arc happens when an amp is run without a load or with a mismatch. The usual path is between pins 3 and 2. In high power amps this takes out the 100 Ohm resistors or the hum balance pot. I'd really like to see the pilot light during such an incident. Once that initial arc has turned some of the phenolic in conductive carbon the deterioration continues whenever the power is on. As you've noticed it can be pretty entertaining. I'm sure the fumes are toxic.

Fender Champs are especially prone to this. Apparently so are the clones. I replace as many burned sockets in Champs as in everything else put together. Invariably they have some nonstandard 8R speaker stuck in there.

Sorry to go ranting on you about that, not your fault that nobody else names the amp and I get frustrated by it. But that's all I was looking for.

[petemoore]

  Yupp, seemed mighty strainge considering the distance between socket pins.
  Looks cool too.
  Next time...hopefully there won't be a next time.
  I soon figured out I was just scraping ''re-habbed, recooked burnt toast'', putting it back in the toaster wasn't going to help.
  The stink was in small dabs but can't recommend it for easy breathing or eye maintainence. [I had the 6-way power bar switch right there for turn-offs]..it just took me a few times to figure out that the scraping only refreshed the phelonic lightshow and though it seemed like this couldn't happen, it was happening.
  Profound curiosity about if it'd be any good to change the socket...and what caused it...struck me and I figured burnin' sockets'd make a good post, if I was reading along and saw this thread before having tested it 6 times, Idda just shelved the project, tried something else or order the socket right away.
  Local place only has the ''skinny-pin'' 8 lug sockets.
  Meanwhile the little 'The Sound Room' amp shed it's reel to reel machine, and is working perfect SE stereo-tone [smallwatts...7591 per output], so I have 2 SE amps and one on the shelf for future socketwork...it works, but every trace of material between pins 2-3 has been removed.
  Arcs flames 'n sparks...look cool but aren't worth the effort, rather ineffecient light show..