How long can gear stay on?

[Demor]

Gear should survive 365 days a year with the power turned on. When crammed into a rack together it is best to leave a space above and below the hot units. And when mounting in a closed rack make sure it is ventillated properly or even cooled.

[Optical Lens]

Thanks!

What do those bigass studios do? Do they just leave everything on overnight, or do they switch everything on and off every day?

[Demor]

These days I switch everything off, a few years ago the Westar would stay on for days/weeks during a mixing session.

[oldgearguy]

Originally Posted by Optical Lens

Thanks!

What do those bigass studios do? Do they just leave everything on overnight, or do they switch everything on and off every day?

They have real machine rooms with real HVAC systems, large vents, quiet fans, and everything else needed to isolate and cool rack gear. A lot of high end units had remotes and the ones that did need to be in the control room are in iso cases with lots of cooling inside/behind it.

Effects units are only half the problem. The large analog consoles often had multiple power supplies that ran hot and ate a ton of electricity.

They tend to leave it on most of the time. There's a thread somewhere in High End about switching off large consoles and why people tend not to do that.

edit - found a link for you: SSL 4000

[Optical Lens]

This is very interesting, thanks a lot! Cool to hear how the "big boys" do it

[Konnector]

I used to leave everything on...except tube gear (heat) and the odd thing like an ASR-10 sampler. (even more heat)

I've been turning everything off now for a few years (except for a couple of components). Things like back-lit displays will dim eventually. Leaving them on all the time will cause them to dim much more quickly. (As I found out.)

[squatski]

akai s-series are beasts, you caould leave them on for a century and they'd still be ok.

[HazeBros]

Originally Posted by squatski

akai s-series are beasts, you caould leave them on for a century and they'd still be ok.

I have mpcs that have been on for quite a few years now, I leave some stuff on but turn off mostly old stuff that has dodgy psus and heat issues or tube based. I have pres and stuff that I never turn off unless i kill the mains if Im not in town of something.

[acreil]

Originally Posted by Konnector

Things like back-lit displays will dim eventually. Leaving them on all the time will cause them to dim much more quickly. (As I found out.)

That only applies to electroluminescent back lights.

[Altitude909]

Originally Posted by acreil

That only applies to electroluminescent back lights.

And why you can turn off the backlights on Akai stuff

[Muser]

mainly I turn everything off. because I don't want to have to change the capacitors out more often than necessary. last year I had to replace the caps in about a 3rd of my equipment. mainly the PSU sections.

[The Real MC]

This myth AGAIN?

Take it from an EE with 30+ years experience in the business: leaving gear powered on 24/7 will degrade them. Heat degrades electronic components, especially capacitors and ICs. Leaving them on 24/7 creates accumulated heat and no amount of venting or cooling will remove the heat where it hurts - the terminal leads and the internal bonded wires on the substrates of ICs.

As for switching on/off power supplies, relax chicken little. That applies to tube circuits with solid state rectifiers and no standby switch, and to appliances with large motors such as forced hot air furnaces and refridgerators. It does not apply to solid state electronics unless the power system is poorly designed (like the old ARP Omni).

I have a lot of gear in my possession that gets power toggled on a regular basis and I pay attention to proper heat ventilation. The only caps I have replaced was because they had leaked (guitar amps generate a LOT of heat and generally have poor ventilation) or whose cap values have impacted tuned circuits (my 40+ Hammond organ got a vast improvement from a recap).

In my experience if you pay attention to devices producing a lot of heat and work to improve ventilation or cooling, that goes a long way to getting more mileage out of your gear.

[FFT]

Originally Posted by The Real MC

This myth AGAIN?

Take it from an EE with 30+ years experience in the business: leaving gear powered on 24/7 will degrade them. Heat degrades electronic components, especially capacitors and ICs. Leaving them on 24/7 creates accumulated heat and no amount of venting or cooling will remove the heat where it hurts - the terminal leads and the internal bonded wires on the substrates of ICs.

As for switching on/off power supplies, relax chicken little. That applies to tube circuits with solid state rectifiers and no standby switch, and to appliances with large motors such as forced hot air furnaces and refridgerators. It does not apply to solid state electronics unless the power system is poorly designed (like the old ARP Omni).

I have a lot of gear in my possession that gets power toggled on a regular basis and I pay attention to proper heat ventilation. The only caps I have replaced was because they had leaked (guitar amps generate a LOT of heat and generally have poor ventilation) or whose cap values have impacted tuned circuits (my 40+ Hammond organ got a vast improvement from a recap).

In my experience if you pay attention to devices producing a lot of heat and work to improve ventilation or cooling, that goes a long way to getting more mileage out of your gear.

From one EE to another... well said

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