Is there a such thing as a reliable tube color TV?

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by drbock

Seriously, are these sets safe to power up normally? It has varactor tuning ultrasonic space command. Remember this chassis had modular design.

I wouldn't be afraid to power up a 76 model normally. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if it works fine as is. However, if you have a Variac or some other similar device, it never hurts to bring them up slow. A lot depends on how long it has been dormant.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Tubejunke

I wouldn't be afraid to power up a 76 model normally. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if it works fine as is. However, if you have a Variac or some other similar device, it never hurts to bring them up slow. A lot depends on how long it has been dormant.

Some of the 70's Zenith sets had special constant voltage transformer/motor run capacitor setups in side them and can NOT be brought up slowly on a variac. I don't know if any of the hybrids had that transformer, but SS Chromacolor II sets did. I think Zenith dropped hybrid color sets between 72' and '74.
Rule of thumb if your Zenith says CCII(Chromacolor II) or System 3 then it is SS, but if it is just Chromacolor or has no fancy second name then it is tube or hybrid. Zeniths from the 70's tend to be quite reliable...They usually don't die, and instead they develop annoying intermitents that make you wish they would die so you can properly troubleshoot them...

[DavGoodlin]

My grandparents got a new Zenith 23V in 1974 to replace the 1966 23" color set they wore out. It had a chassis 23EC15 and that was the last hybrid tube Zenith. I think the Florida humidity killed the 66's flyback and I got a report of my Grampa gutting it, placing the chassis/CRT in the trash, then re-purposing the Italian Provincial cabinet, not funny when I would have gladly taken it for parts.

The 23EC15 was sent to my Aunt who had it a few more years, I did little more than test the 4 tubes and clean the tuner on 1 or 2 visits down to see everyone. The 23EC15 was the lower-priced alternative to a CCII, but this one was fairly trouble-resistant. making a picture pretty much like a CCII
A few years later I fixed one with the same chassis and sold it, ending up exchanging it for an XL100 because it kept developing issues. I wrote it off as one of Zeniths few dogs.But, of course the CRT was strong.