Home Tubes Asylum

Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ

Re: Electrolytic capacitors life expect

You'd more likely get a hum, not a hiss if the filter caps are going.

I'd bet the caps are fine, but there are good ways to assess them them if you have the equipment. What you need to measure is ESR which will give you an idea of how the cap is acting as a filter, and a leakage tester (like the old Sprague TO-x Tel-Ohmike series) that will measure leakage at rated voltage.

There is an inexpensive ESR meter that works nicely by Bob Parker, see http://members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/esrmeter.htm for info, as well as a good description of ESR.

Ironically I've been testing a batch of 30-40 year old aluminum can caps - they are "NOS" and were stored in a cool location. Almost every one I've tested has reformed nicely, with low ESR and low leakage.



This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Western Glow Tube Service  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups


You can not post to an archived thread.