UK voltage Fender EVH mod - really?

darius

Is this legit?

https://youtu.be/7fw58fj-z8c

I have an EVH5150iii. 

I can’t see how this would be a thing, and if it is it needs to be in the vicinity of Urgent Recall surely?
Any amp techs aware?

RiftAmps

We’ve been aware for years. 230v is the official voltage for the UK, so supplying them wired for such is ‘correct’. The fact that we actually have 240v is irrelevant as far as compliance is concerned.

Blown Blues Juniors single-handedly paid my rent for a long time 

phil_b

UK domestic voltage is 230V has been since 2003 to be in-line with europe. but it does vairy

darius

Well now i'm even more confused.

I can blame Brexit right?

Modulus_Amps

phil_b said:

UK domestic voltage is 230V has been since 2003 to be in-line with europe. but it does vairy

What is is meant to be and what it is are two different things. Normal wall voltages in the UK are 239v - 246v 

darius

So it is a thing?

I should change the wire in the amp and protect the as-supplied circuit from the actual UK 240V supply? Shouldn't Fender have done this for me, or the distributor, or the shop?

ICBM

phil_b said:

UK domestic voltage is 230V has been since 2003 to be in-line with europe. but it does vairy

No it hasn't...

The *definition* of the voltage has changed, that's all. The tolerance specifications were widened to cover both the old European 220V and the British/Irish 240V.

darius said:

So it is a thing?

I should change the wire in the amp and protect the as-supplied circuit from the actual UK 240V supply? Shouldn't Fender have done this for me, or the distributor, or the shop?

It's very much a thing.

You should re-set the amp for 240V to maximise component (including valve) life and reduce the risk of arcing. The reason Fender don't is that in order to comply with EU/UK regulations - which I don't think are likely to be different even now - the amp must be supplied for 230V.

The only reason the amps are even fitted with the 240V tap is because Australia, New Zealand and probably some other former British Empire countries still officially use 240V.

darius

How do i do it without dieing? I can wire a pickup and change valves. If i open up the case and just change those two wires around, is there anything there that will kill me like all the videos tell me?

And then does that need a re-bias? I'm def not going to try that.

Might have to wait until things are open again...

darius

Also - surely if its compliant to UK/EU it needs to be compliant with the 'new' tolerances so needs to cope with 230-240V PLUS its old tolerance so another few%?

ICBM

darius said:

How do i do it without dieing? I can wire a pickup and change valves. If i open up the case and just change those two wires around, is there anything there that will kill me like all the videos tell me?

And then does that need a re-bias? I'm def not going to try that.

Might have to wait until things are open again...

If you're careful to just swap those two wires on those two terminals then there is no risk of dying - just make *certain* that the amp is unplugged from the wall and has been off for some time, and try not to poke around anywhere else on the circuitry.

To be extra safe, when turning off for the last time before you do it, simply turn the amp straight off *without* using the standby switch first - that will allow the filter caps to discharge through the valves as they cool down.

It does not need re-biasing afterwards.

darius said:

Also - surely if its compliant to UK/EU it needs to be compliant with the 'new' tolerances so needs to cope with 230-240V PLUS its old tolerance so another few%?

It will cope - they have to be proof-tested at 253V, which is the highest allowed under either EU or UK regs, so it's not going to suddenly fail even running at the wrong voltage. But everything in the amp runs slightly too hot, which over time shortens the life of some of the components, including valves (worse in amps like the Hotrod Deville which operate at the highest voltages) and in some amps (especially the Blues Junior) it can increase the risk of a specific non-valve failure.

darius

"and has been off for some time" - thats not going to be a problem. A few weeks and counting due to zero gigs.

If there's no re-biasing i might give it a go. But its a few years old now, its had plenty of use without a single glitch. Wish i'd known about this before now, but its probably not too late if nothings blown or cooked yet.

Van_Hayden

darius said:

Well now i'm even more confused.

I can blame Brexit right?

You can probably blame Europe to be honest. 

I think every decent tech in the country knows this. They just don’t want to generate sensational YouTube videos. 

It has caught a number of overseas manufacturers out. 

It’ll need the bias checking ideally. 

ICBM

Van_Hayden said:

It’ll need the bias checking ideally. 

Ideally, but I can't remember ever finding one that actually needed adjusting, assuming it wasn't wildly out beforehand. They usually bias very slightly cooler, but not enough to matter.

fatherchewielewie

Thanks for that..... a wee job for tomorrow. I had to do the same on my HR Deville after seeing a post from ICBM about it. Easy enough to do.

darius

Van_Hayden said:

darius said:

Well now i'm even more confused.

I can blame Brexit right?

You can probably blame Europe to be honest. 

I think every decent tech in the country knows this. They just don’t want to generate sensational YouTube videos. 

It has caught a number of overseas manufacturers out. 

It’ll need the bias checking ideally. 

Do you think it’s a sensationalist video? I think it’s very helpful, contains facts, a wiring diagram and an actual amp. 

It does need more hot bikini girls helping him though.

phil_b

is there a plug in voltage regulator available that could solve the problem without having to mod the amp

ICBM

phil_b said:

is there a plug in voltage regulator available that could solve the problem without having to mod the amp

Yes, you can get stepdown transformers with 240V input and a variety of output voltages.

Although they're big, heavy, quite expensive and completely unnecessary when all you have to do is move two wires - which is not a 'mod'. You also may need a different mains plug on the amp because all the ones I know of have the 220V output on a Euro-style socket, for obvious reasons.

fatherchewielewie

phil_b said:

is there a plug in voltage regulator available that could solve the problem without having to mod the amp

It took me 20 minutes this morning. All you need is a pair of cutters and a Philips screwdriver. And like ICBM and your man in the video says, all you need to do is unplug one cable and replace it with another. Do it.

ICBM

fatherchewielewie said:

All you need is a pair of cutters and a Philips screwdriver.

The cutters are only for the cable tie too! And often, they're loosely fitted enough that if you're careful, you can swap the wires without even needing to do that.

Headphones

May I offer some clarity to the specs:

In the UK, the declared voltage and tolerance for an electricity supply is 230 volts -6%, +10%.

This gives an allowed voltage range of 216.2 volts to 253.0 volts.

Any equipment supplied must be safe to operate at these values.

darius

Yes, it’s safe. But it will have a lower life and reliability rate when used in the UK compared with a nominal 230V country.