Sorry to hear of your loss Julian. I know from personal experience how devastating a fire can be. I know exactly what you are going through. Fortunately there was no loss of life. Things are just things, but life lost is gone forever.

Wasn't the 29JC the first color?

I think, I made a mistake in the chassis number. I was their first color set with the two 3DG4 rectifier tubes and the real large power transformer. :thmbsp:

Julian, very saddened at your loss. Emotional as can be. Here for you if nothing else to be a good listener.

Yup, the 29JC is the one with the 3DG4s (I've got one). IIRC it was the only consumer color set they made that used tube B+ rectifiers.

I'm so sorry to hear this. There was a lot of history in that building...

I am very sorry to hear of this terrible event, Julian. My home had a fire when I was 12 years old, that started in my bedroom, so I know how bad living through a fire and its aftermath are.

I also have one. Tube is NOT real good on it--red weak and will NOT restore--but does come up with a brightener. I DID have a spare chassis--but is was STOLEN from me when my garage was ROBBED--over 2 years ago. I lost a LOT of my own vintage stuff--including that chassis and lots of others.

I think that is the BIGGEST power transformer i have EVER SEEN in ANY tv set.

RCA's CTC5 and early production CTC7's used 5U4's.
The Motorola TS905 had two 5U4's. The GE 21CL??, used three. The earliest Admirals, Philcos and Westinghouse used them, as well.
Actually, the Philco used a higher current pair of rectifier tubes, 5AW4 and 5V3.
I like using the rectifier tubes in the earlier designs. :scratch2:

Bigger than the transformer this one? :)
http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=259518

I'm aware of the RCAs use of rectifier tubes in later sets (not so much the other brands though) that is why I said the 29JC was the only set they [Zenith] made that way. I like the use of tube rectifiers a lot better than seleniums, but I think I like silicon power rectifiers a bit better in terms cheapness and simplicity when replacing in the course of restoration.

It is possible the Zenith transformer is bigger I've seen those bakelite admirals before so I have some sense of scale. However the set you posted is a 25Hz power model, and the lower the line frequency the bigger the transformer has to be....If there was a 25Hz Zenith 29JC20 set it's transformer would easily dwarf that admiral transformer. http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2skydm6d.jpg

For big power transformers, early DuMont black and white sets with the ferroresonant (constant voltage) power transformer probably set the record.