The bottom of several evacuated tubes are cracking and popping out. I lost a total of 6 today while they were seated in the collector manifold and rack. Any ideas?
One of the times one broke, I was standing about 15' away and when it cracked my right ear started hurting. The noise was not loud at all, but it must have been a strong frequency. That was strange.
Back to the cracking and breakage, I am thinking that the rubber plugs on the bottom of the tubes are holding moisture. It was in the low 30's F last night. Plus I washed the tubes with soap and water. It was past dark too. I thought I dried them well enough, but maybe not although I am not thoroughly convinced.
In the attached pictures you can see the rubber plug and the sealant that was applied to the rubber plugs. Not sure what kind of sealant it was.
The plan....
1. clean the plugs in the dishwasher. Done......very clean after running them thru the dishwasher.......before she got home..
2. find out what the sealant is and reseal them.
