February 13 2014

What the cap?

So a few days ago I was in my lab as always…
when I start hearing this pop pop pop pop sound…
I didn’t know what It was till today…
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No power necessary…. these spare caps blew by themselves…
Yay for Truth branded caps!
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My lab doesn’t get cold and isn’t too dry… what gives?
Anyone have any brands they know are good and wont pop before/ while you use them




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Posted February 13, 2014 by Moogle in category "Electronics

13 COMMENTS :

  1. By simba7 on

    “Truth”fully, those are cheap chinese-made capacitors. I wouldn’t trust them in anything. The only “truth” in them is they’ll pop rather quickly, sometimes taking out the device they were in.

    Reply
  2. By Agent24 on

    This is just what cheap electrolytic capacitors do. They are simply built improperly and like to commit suicide.
    Buy a decent brand from a reputable source like Farnell, Digikey, Mouser, Allied Electronics etc.

    Reply
  3. By mjrippe on

    Nichicon. Order them from a reliable source like Mouser, Digikey, etc. NOT Chinese ebay sellers.

    Reply
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  5. By Mic Edwards on

    You’ll find everything you need to know in here:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague
    Stick with a known brand. For replacements in working equipment I always go with premium options from premium brands … I have replaced lots of motherboard capacitors with Sanyo and Panasonic brand capacitors over the years.
    It’s a simple fact of life that the big brands have more to lose if they screw up.

    Reply
  6. By Stony Smith on

    Two thoughts:
    1) It could be a chemical reaction producing gas – improper cleaning between production steps, etc.
    2) The legs of the capacitors do act as antennas – if a strong enough RF signal is nearby, then it could be producing a charge across the cpacitor.

    Reply
    1. By Per Jensen on

      Seriously, man? RF won’t charge them up, as you have no rectification-element. The internal losses in the cap will be bigger than the few uW you /could/ pick up.
      Also, as long as the leads is pointing the same way, not much antenna action there…

      Reply
  7. By Eric Fredericksen on

    Store them in a metal bin. The plastic may be generating static charge.

    Reply
  8. By Charlie Brown on

    This type of failure was quite common on commercial caps in the late 40’s and early 50’s. These must be retro grade caps. I never heard them pop. but the poop looked the same.

    Reply
  9. By kb3pxr on

    Name Brand caps won’t give you that crap, Now I think I need to check the caps in my cap kit that I got from RadioShack.

    Reply

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