My 5 "westcott" has a GREAT CRT!!

[rca2000]

I sneaked my CTC-5 into the house garage a little bit ago. Out went a Zenith console record player I got last summer on a garage sale run. everything "looks" the same...to the casual "observer"...JUST the way I want it to!!

Anyway...I pulled the back off and took a quick look. Nothing seemed to be out of the "ordinary" so I pulled out the 2 5U4' S, and lit her off....hoping for (2) things>> the CRT fils. would light AND the power tranny would NOT sizzle, smoke or make unusual noise after about a minute or so. Well...The CRT filaments DO light, FULLY, and so do all other tubes..and after at least THREE minutes...NO smoke, smell or noise from the tranny!! So..I got out My CR-70, and decided to check the CRT....hoping for at least a"useable" tube. I figured the red gun would be weak...at the least.

But NO!!! ALL 3 guns read like NEW!! Life test 30+ seconds, emission about 80% on all three--no shorts, good cutoff. The guns hold emission down to FOUR volts, for a LONG time!! SO..unless the tube is "gassy" in some way that will not show until the HV hits it...I HAVE A LIKE--NEW 21AXP22A!! That ALONE was worth MORE than I paid for the set!!

Right now...the set is on, running, and power applied, the socket is again on the tube...BUT the 5u4's are still out. After about 20 minutes...I checked it, and the tranny was NOT even warm. I would like to run it this way for awhile, to "drive out" any hidden moisture and warm things good, before I go any farther. I did this with my 29JC20, which does NOT have a tube that is ANYWHERE NEAR as good. I did that for about 2 weeks and then cautiously lit it off. IS it ok to run this one for awhile, without "fear' of something "bad" happening?? There is NO fuse on the primary of the tranny...and the zenith DOES have one. I would like to know It is safe to do this...I will not be home in he morning or afternoons after this week. My bedroom is right above the garage, as is my sisters. Can I leave it, as is with no B+ applied, without fear of it catching fire or such?? Or should perhaps I "rig" some sort of fuse, say a 3A, in line with the AC input, to "be safe and sure". 3A should be MORE than enough, with no B+ load.