[Milsurplus] Mercury Rectifiers

[Richard Solomon]

If they have been stored for more than a week, run them with filament voltage
ONLY for 24 hours and only use them in the Vertical Position, Plate Cap UP.

73, Dick, W1KSZ

On Mon, Apr 23, 2012 at 8:59 AM, Bruce Gentry <ka2ivy at verizon.net> wrote:
> Yes, it is an issue- and well known.  Standard practice is to turn on
> the filament only for about half an hour to cook off the mercury in
> places it should not be. The tube needs to be in a warm place, it
> sometimes won't work if the tube is really cold, like an unheated FM
> transmitter hut in the middle of winter. Once the mercury splatters are
> all vaporized from the upper part of the envelope, it should be ready.
> Also, in case you didn't know, the tube must be preheated and operated
> with the base down only. If you lay it on it's side, or shake it and
> splatter the mercury, preheat it again. Once the splattered mercury has
> been cleared, remember to preheat the tube each time you use it for
> about one minute before applying plate voltage, otherwise the filament
> is likely to be damaged and the tube may flash over, or as we used to
> call it "backfire".
>
>  Bruce Gentry, KA2IVY
>
> J. Forster wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Is there an issue with Mercury pooling in rectifiers, like the 866, in
>> long term storage that would cause them to blow over more easily?
>>
>> If so, is there a fix?
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> -John
>>
>> ==============
>>
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