EL84 lifespan

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My amp runs in true Class A, and the valves are a pair of NOS Mullard EL84s. So far I've had them for about 7 months, and I play through my amp about an hour a day on average. Ventilation is alright, but not brilliant.

How many years useful life can I expect from them? I'm going to university next year and theres no way I'll be able to afford another pair of Mullards until I leave in over 4 years time.

[PCollen]

My amp runs in true Class A, and the valves are a pair of NOS Mullard EL84s. So far I've had them for about 7 months, and I play through my amp about an hour a day on average. Ventilation is alright, but not brilliant.

How many years useful life can I expect from them? I'm going to university next year and theres no way I'll be able to afford another pair of Mullards until I leave in over 4 years time.

Pull the Mullards and store them, and use JJ's or GT's. Your not going to be able to fully enjoy the Mullards while living in the dorm, and you can pop them in whenever you DO get a chance to crank the amp above 2.

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Never thought of that, excellent idea!

[zaphod_phil]

My amp runs in true Class A, and the valves are a pair of NOS Mullard EL84s.

Really?What kind of amp is that?

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Really?What kind of amp is that?

Its a Curzon Type A half stack, my uncles signature series amp. I have some pics which I could post a bit later if you like. There are only two in existence at the moment. I have the first production model and my uncle has the prototype (which works fine but is in an ill-fitting pine cabinet). The company is a joint venture between my uncle and Rod Angell (designed and built the vox AC's in the 60's). Progress is slow but they have 2 or 3 potential buyers. These things take about 2 months to build, so they're not expecting big business. Should be a review coming up on Guitar Buyer or Guitarist magazine.