Engl Powerball external gloop

[Stonefree]

Hi,

I recently bought a used Engl Powerball and noticed a load of gloop on a few caps that protrude above the top of the chassis. I'm a bit worried that something is wrong/on the way out, or that sloppy repair work has been carried out at some point?

I'm new to tube amps, so hopefully I'm just barking up the wrong tree here, but this gloop concerns me due to how unprofessional and out of place it looks. Is this normal practice on high end amps, or should I be taking the amp back where I got it?

Pics attached, and thanks for any info

Stonefree

[roberto]

What is the polite way to express the concept of WTF?

[Stonefree]

Sorry? WTF do you mean by that comment?

[roberto]

That those two holes are at least strange, and maybe it's better if you find and shoot some pics of the pcbs in correspondance with the holes.

[Gaz]

Very weird. It's like they screwed up the loading the PCBs with larger than planned for caps, then 'fixed' it by drilling holes in the chassis to accommodate their height. Even worse someone repaired the amp with caps that were too tall and drilled the hole to make them fit. That is just too crazy, but I can't imagine the holes are for ventilation.

But yeah, I agree with Roberto the holes themselves are weirder than the silicone, which is there to keep the caps from hitting the weird holes!

Internal pics would be good.

[Stonefree]

Sorry roberto, I thought you were being funny.

I agree that the holes look strange (there's another two in front of the preamp tubes), but I don't have the balls, the skills or the knowledge to take the amp apart to check the pcbs

Even worse someone repaired the amp with caps that were too tall and drilled the hole to make them fit.

That's exactly what I was thinking, however, I found a couple of interesting pics of a guys Engl Fireball on another forum. Two holes in the chassis to accommodate large caps, very similar to my Powerball.

Maybe (hopefully) that's just what Engl do?

[Structo]

Wow, creative engineering?

Never seen anything like that.

[roberto]

https://tubeamparchive.com/download/file.php?id=23664

Seems like something burned near the four rectifier diodes (look at traces on the left). Those two e-cap substitued, another black axial changed too, coupling caps are wima instead of arcotronics, everything in the same area.

So something like a: I can't get smaller e-caps, so let's do some drills around.

[VacuumVoodoo]

Those holes for caps were made before the chassis was painted. So it is a band aid fix. Somebody didn't check the caps datasheet before releasing the board and BOM to production.
On the whole, these are very poorly engineered amps. I don't even let them through the door.

[roberto]

This is even worse.

[VacuumVoodoo]

On the other hand: it's pretty smart IF really designed-in with afterthought. If ever one of these caps over heats or shorts and explodes it will spew electrolyte fluid outside instead of inside the chassis.
It is also done same way in Fender Rumble Bass.
Still. hot glue looking like Ripleys alien ant mucus is insane.

[roberto]

On the other hand: it's pretty smart IF really designed-in with afterthought. If ever one of these caps over heats or shorts and explodes it will spew electrolyte fluid outside instead of inside the chassis.

I don't consider smart who think to spew an e-cap near where the eyes of a customer can be.

[Gaz]

I agree, it's ridiculous. But at least the amps sound good

[VacuumVoodoo]

On the other hand: it's pretty smart IF really designed-in with afterthought. If ever one of these caps over heats or shorts and explodes it will spew electrolyte fluid outside instead of inside the chassis.

I don't consider smart who think to spew an e-cap near where the eyes of a customer can be.

Depends on how the cabinet is constructed. Caps will squirt fluid up. You play with your face inside the amp?
Electrolyte spewing inside chassis can be a fire hazard, will cause corrosion over time because you'll never get all of it out. You will have to replace the board 100%. This way it's only a cap job. BTW if a failing/vomiting cap would be causing immediate danger to user that amp would have never passed TUV/CE certification. It did.
This of course has nothing to do with general serviceability and reliability. Having to remove the board to replace any component is not service friendly.

[martin manning]

My guess is the holes are there so that the board can be mounted closer to the top surface of the chassis, minimizing the portion of the tubes that is inside. I guess you could change the caps without lifting the board, too.