Cleaning valve pins

**Marco** · 12-09-2008, 20:57

Hehe...

Marco.

**Cotlake** · 12-09-2008, 23:00

A word of warning when using fiberglass brushes/pens. As you use it, fragments of glass break away. These can seriously irritate the skin as one former member of the old WAD forum found out, cleaning his valve pins whilst naked.....I kid you not

He itched in his nether regions for days afterwards

I also use this tool. Works very well but keep yourself protected when using it.

Best wishes,

Greg

**Marco** · 12-09-2008, 23:05

These can seriously irritate the skin as one former member of the old WAD forum found out, cleaning his valve pins whilst naked.....I kid you not...

Oh the action-packed lives some people lead!

I hope he didn't get a splinter in his 'filament'

Marco.

**Marco** · 23-09-2008, 21:48

Hey those fibreglass pens are good, but no-one said they wear out PDQ!

I had expected a 'harder' more durable tip...

Not to worry, I'll order half a dozen

Marco.

**Mike** · 23-09-2008, 22:18

Refills are available Marco...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fibreglass-pen...d=p3286.c0.m14

**Marco** · 24-09-2008, 07:31

Aha... I presume that these are compatible with the pen on Ebay you linked to the last time, Mike? I.E, they're all a universal fitting.

Marco.

**John** · 24-09-2008, 15:46

I also clean pins once a year and clean all cable runs etc I even put walker EST silver treatment on the pins so think that is quite extreme but you can hear the difference afterwards
John

**Steve Toy** · 24-09-2008, 20:09

Cleaning my 6SN7s made my amp sound bright last night. Cleaning the rest of the valves this morning restored balance.

**Marco** · 24-09-2008, 20:51

You should now have improved sound compared to what you started with. Cleaning the pins on your valves will simply provide a better connection and allow you to hear more of what the valves are doing

Marco.

**jostber** · 26-02-2012, 13:03

Originally Posted by Ali Tait

Yep,would agree with this Marco.I've known dirty valve pins not only to degrade sound,but actually cause problems regarding clicks and pops, and I've even cured a small hum problem by cleaning them.I use a fibreglass pen I liberated from work,used to clean contacts on high-voltage switchgear.I also use a contact enhancer that we use at work called Darathene,which removes oxidisation and progressively lowers resistance over time between contacts.It is probably just as good if not better than the pricey commercial stuff like De-oxit.It costs pence for a large aerosol of the stuff,and as I have several,I've probably got more than a lifetime's supply! I find it makes a quite a difference after I've applied it.I've even noticed a difference spaying it on the circuit boards of cd players etc.I recall taking my girlfriend down to Leeds for the first time,and being eager to show off my system,as you do,I plonked her down in front of it.She was very impressed,but I thought it sounded pants.I stripped all the cables,valves and plugs and sprayed some on.She was looking at me as if I was mad,but her face when I fired it up again was a picture! She was gobsmacked,which is good as it shows I haven't descended too far into the madness of hi-fi

I recommend this stuff if any of you can get hold of it,it's cheap and does what the pricey snake-oil stuff does for a fraction of the price.

Regards,Ali.

I had some positive effects from cleaning the pins on the valves on my power amp today. Heard some crackling when I turned it off yesterday, so cleaning the pins with Deoxit(had got this for free with a purchase) was first on the agenda this morning. The noise disappeared after cleaning as well as some hum that could be heard previously.

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