Is it safe to charge an old Fender Amp Can years later?

[Sam Mallery]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here. Nice forum! I'm glad it exists.

I used to do some busking around New York City around 9 years ago, and I bought a Fender Amp Can back then to do my thing. I only used it for a year or two, and then I stoped playing in the street.

I recently got the itch to get out there again. I still own the Amp Can, but I haven't charged it up in at least 6 or 7 years. I still own the original AC charger that came with the unit.

Is it safe to charge it up again? To my knowledge it never got wet or damaged in any way while being in stoarge. It's just neglected.

Many thanks,
Sam

[Marcus Wilson]

I can't imagine it being dangerous.

I would suggest calling a battery company and ask them.

[Isabella]

If it's dusty, or you think dust might have settled inside, you might blow it out with a can of compressed air (they sell it at office supply stores, for cleaning keyboards, or sewing stores) just to make sure there's not a buildup that might short something, but that's a random guess on my part, not real knowledge

[FireNix]

Just to let you know - if you havent charged it for 7 yrs or so - VERY likely infact probable the battery will be dead
However its easy enough with the amp can to take off the bottom and a side screw and take out the battery and but another one to replace - only about $20-30 on Ebay - just make sure the dimensions are correct
Good luck - an oldy but a goody amp
ive had a few

[Sam Mallery]

I ended up charging it, and it was able to come back to life. However, one of the main reasons I stopped using it (besides losing my nerve to busk) was that it started having technical issues.

There's something wrong with the wiring. The "overdrive" button, which I guess you use to distort a guitar, trips on and off (and some states inbetween) on its own. The result is that my Ampcan is unplayable. It's just completely unpredictable, and playing a simple song is impossible because of its unruly behavior.

It's one of my many gear quandrys. Do I pay money to have this thing fixed? Do I sell it as is on eBay? Part of me wants to go whole hog and get something nice like the Roland BA-330, but another part of me wants to be thrifty and see if I can get by spending as little as possible. And there's still a part of me that's intimidated about going back out on the streets.