#744

[@BJcanal270]

I watched this video 3 years ago and I am thankful I did. You we're right, no need of a fancy tester with LEDs

[@aerofart]

This is the most comprehensive and effective explanation of capacitor leakage I’ve come across. Datasheets can be daunting when you’re not familiar with the typical characteristics and parameters of a component. Thanks for the presentation.

[@jamesfroeschnerii8748]

"...so, you can wait as long as you want if it makes you feel good, but, um, yea, I don't care." - My favorite line of the year!!! ;-)

[@fggolding]

I really enjoyed this video. You can call it, coming back to basic. It was not a boring video. I started repairing radios an tv before I went to the university. I am a PhD in Physics. Later on, due to many things, I am coming back to my old business of repairing electronic equipment. Thank for this video.

[@elsaarmstrong-zp6ng]

I used to work in business machines electronics i,e, printers, large copy machines back in the 70’s. We had a spate of copy machines with psu failures. These were large sw mode with a lot of outputs like 24 v 12 v +15-15 v 5 v for motors solenoids logic boards etc. The failure was always at switch on inrush current! Varistors blown apart etc There was no shorts, fuses sometimes survived! Replaced fuses varistors, same happens in morning especially if it was cold day! Manufactures engineers scratching heads, Then I rememberd tv engineers trick with 60watt filament bulb on series with mains supply! 3 months later no more blown psu’s,! Apparently caused by about 12 motors firing up initially start sequence all at same time! Eventually modified psu’s got relays so motors do there initial motors sequence in turn! I thought bulb trick was simpler!

[@IMSAIGuy]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/npaud5hnarGqqassi=xQui6o68tVFQzs95

[@grahamluscombememories9897]

Nice testing and explanation of leakage current. It would be nice to show all of the setup in the video including where and how you are connecting the ground leads (for us newbies). Thanks!

[@wim2874]

If you do not have a large resistor you can just put the multimeter is voltage mode to measure current. This will put the 10MOhm resistor of the multimeter in series with the capacitor, and by reading the voltage from the multimeter you also know the leakage current.

[@Gengh13]

That's also the method I use to test isolation of transformers.

[@matthewoakley8806]

Great video, I work for Nichicon so was pleased to hear you are happy with the products, but then your data sheet was from Nippon Chemi-con. So close to a great advert. But great explanation!

[@jdmccorful]

I like the KISS concept. Spec. says 2000 hr for ripple. Most, if not all pieces of useable equipment that are more than 25 yrs. old will probably have crossed that line, but prudence is important. Great lesson , like your testing equipment. Thanks.

[@jstro-hobbytech]

@Teknogod17 that was his usecase. Electrolytic caps worst enemy is time. Especially in the ones with no outward issues. I have to recap 130 caps in a piece of vintage audio gear. They still look brand new but every one failed haha

[@Broken_Yugo]

That's 2000 hours at the ripple rating, at max temp. Derating greatly increases life, not hard to get the formula to spit out years or even decades of constant operation in actual use cases. With the high temp 10,000 hr parts it isn't hard to get a number that probably exceeds the realistic shelf life of the rubber seal in the end.

[@johnlimbach9267]

Thanks for reminding me of this. I was going to go a lot more expensive way but after watching your video and remembering that I already have a Heathkit IT-28 Capacitor Checker (i.e. variable, current limited 600 VDC supply on the bench. Not to mention a $5 Chinese multi-meter with micro amp scales, it dawned on me that I have everything I need, including the test leads to hook it all up. Using the equation I=K x C +.3 to determine the max amount of current for a good electrolytic gave me all the info I need. Knowing that all other cap types that show anything at all on the micro amp meter need to be thrown out makes it all dirt simple. Note that I'm almost 100% dealing with vintage tube gear which makes it even simpler.

[@bryanmcwhirter9945]

After three semesters at a tech school and 5 years at a university as a sevice tech this was the best and most infornative explanation on testing capacitors . Old transformers from a tube radio or amplifier is your power supply with a voltage divider to supply your various volages. Easy and from scrap parts bin. Thankyou!

[@IMSAIGuy]

Glad it helps

[@kennymanchester]

Well, a virtual beer to you for saving me some valuable bench space and the headache of a maintaining another piece of equip. Ok, now I only need to go build a bigger PS!

[@argcargv]

I think the main reason that there are specialized capacitor leak detectors is that old vacuum tube gear is very high impedance so you might have a 10 meg bias resistor so that a 100meg leaky capacitor could form a voltage divider which dramatically changes your bias point. So in these circuits you need to be able to measure very high resistance. If you are regularly repairing such gear, it makes sense to have one of these testers as it is very easy with such low currents to make an error. For example, you cannot reliably measure the voltage across a 1 gig resistor with a meter that has a 10meg input impedance.

[@andye2005]

One of the terms that you might be remembering is "Reforming" - Very old time, and I think mainly applied to wet electrolytic caps. If I remember correctly it involved gradually raising the voltage then leaving for some time. . Not something I've ever had to do , just a little before my time. Interesting video for such an apparently simple measurement... Now where are those blue LED's :-) Andy

[@treimers95]

We see that "reforming" idea bandied about a lot in amateur radio, when talking About what we know as boat anchors which is to say radios from before about 1980. A lot of hams who aren't especially electronically inclined often want to reform capacitors because they don't have to get out of soldering iron. But you're quite correct in it being about wet electrolytics and in reality a number of the capacitors in slightly more modern boat anchors radio's aren't exactly wet capacitors as they would have been in the 1920s-1960s. And as I often say to such people if you reform it ---- it's still a 50 year old capacitor when you're done. But you're right the general idea involved using a variac and raising the voltage about 10% per hour give or take and ending up at a 100% of rated voltage only after a few hours, and then leaving the radio on that way for a day or 2. If one insists on doing this or 1 insists on turning on an old radio without replacing the electrolytics you really should do so with a dim bulb tester in series as well. With a properly selected tungsten bulb that is actually a current limiting device. and can protect the transformer in an old radio from releasing all of the unobtainium inside - usually converted into smoke due to a shorted power supply electrolytic.. Many people do not understand that a variac does not limit current.

[@thomasmaughan4798]

I have an old, beautiful Crown D150 amplifier. About half of it is a big heavy power transformer and it talks to several large electrolytic capacitors. I didn't dare just "turn it on" after 20 years or so not being turned on. So, introduce cheap Chinese variable autotransformer and walk up the voltage gradually. Digital circuits don't like that sort of thing; can behave unpredictably without proper voltages, but old analog circuits don't care much. Anyway, all good.

[@nickcaruso]

Don't say "boring" ... say "meditative". It's soothing to watch the current drop. :-) :-) :-)

[@timkropf4648]

It was good to hear the explanation that if the capacitors have been unused for a long period of time that they will heal and based on that to let them set a half hour or so and try again. Having done that the leakage had become very reasonable. My measurement was horribly imprecise, but it gave me an idea of what was happening. I simply measured the voltage and watched it drop after the charge was removed. Initially it dropped very fast, so fast that I started looking for videos like this one. After letting it set for half an hour or so, the leakage voltage stayed relatively stable. This matters to me because I'm planning to use supercapacitors in parallel with a LifeP04 battery on a solar system for a gate opener power solely by DC. If the supercapacitor kept leaking at the rate it was, it would have made no sense to keep the supercapacitor in the solar system and I would have probably downgraded to a SLA battery without needing a superCap. I think this puts me back on track to use the LifeP04. My issue with the LifeP04 is that the gate opener is causing the undervoltage protection on the BMS to drop battery power below 10v or so and this is enough to stall the gate and have to reactivate the gate control. My expectation is that I will be able to remedy this using the Supercap in tandem with the LifeP04 battery for it to resupply extra capacity during the load cycle. The only thing I'm unsure about is what size of resistor (on the battery side) to use to try to insure that the battery itself doesn't dump to less than 11 volts before the supercap has drawn down. Any tips? The LifeP04 is 55aH in capacity. The gate opener doesn't have a lot of load, but I don't have a measurement for the load. I don't know how to take that reading. Open to learning if you're inclined to offer input.

[@irgtk]

I like the KISS approach, fits me to a ‘tee’. Thanks 😊

[@NicksStuff]

30:30 I love how removing the resistor changed nothing and you didn't notice 😀

[@rogergreenwood1536]

Many thanks. Simple, useful, informative, yet again ohms law to the rescue. Test gear is great if you have a lot to do or if used regularly, otherwise KISS as you say.

[@hobbyrob313]

no this was not annoying to watch, I learned something again! Thanks for that! Greetings Rob from The NL

[@lupojacobo9892]

I have to say this is the most convincen way I have tried. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Sr.

[@nnamrehck]

A dedicated tool is faster if you have hundreds of caps to test, but most of us have a handful. Excellent video for a "simple boy"! "People in audio land are just nuts" Also an excellent point.

[@James_Bowie]

Also known as re-forming the capacitor.

[@englishrupe01]

Really useful knowledge here.....thank you!

[@SinnerSince1962]

I have a Sencore LC 75. It simply does it all and is very accurate. I couldn’t do without it as it does it all

[@jeromekaidor7254]

I recently had a situation where this would have come in handy. A Collins KWM-2 transceiver was hesitating to go into receive after transmitting. It turned out to be a leaky cap. It tested okay on my Heathkit capacitor checker, but the impedances in that circuit were so high that the checker was useless.

[@humbertoesquivel3176]

Very nice explain, no a boring video, i like it

[@fletcherreder6091]

I have built devices that required >10GOhm, but obviously not at home. As far as building a dedicated tester it's just a fun thing to do. If it isn't your idea of a fun time then there isn't any reason to do it. My banjaxed Simpson does the job just fine, but I'm still going to build a dedicated one because designing a gigohm meter sounds like a fun weekend project.

[@IMSAIGuy]

It's all about having fun.

[@tonyfremont]

I've heard the term "reforming" when talking about slowly bringing old caps (in old equipment) up to their rated, or more usually working, voltages.

[@thomasmaughan4798]

Very nice. Antique but still very good HP power supply. I have the 6216A, 30 volts max but more current. HP calculators all the way!

[@LanceHall]

I don't want a reformed capacitor or a reformed felon in my house.

[@esuohdica]

Great Video Thanks! I'm building something and this really helped!

[@byronwatkins2565]

To measure smaller current, you can use the 10MOhm of your voltmeter in series; I=V/10MOhm. If necessary, you can increase the supply voltage by V to keep the same potential across the DUT. Placing a 10MOhm voltmeter in parallel with 100MOhm results in

[@uwepolifka4583]

There are many leakage testers at youtube but nobody had the idea to use the inner resistor of the multimeter, mosttimes 10 MOhms, in series with the capacitor and a 3 x 9V = 27V battery in the voltage range of the multimeter. If the capacitor has 10MOhms leakage resistor this voltage divider will shows 27V : 2 = 13,5V. If you use the 200mV range you can measure up in the Gigaohm range. If the C resistor is 1000MOhm in series with 10 MOhm than the meter should show 267mV at its own 10 MOhm Ri and with 10GOhms 26,7mV. The only inconviniance ist hat you have to calculate the resistor value from the voltage.

[@Xuzyy]

This is a beautiful video, thank you very much

[@NicksStuff]

Have you seen cases where the ESR is good but the leakage bad (or the other way around)? (Trying to decide if I should even bother with checking the leakage)

[@mevk1]

Like how you think - keep it simple. Hoping you can give some advice on modifying a MOT so it can test some of the more common higher voltage capacitors like 100V, 160V, 250V, 400V and even 1000V. My simple mind just says to remove about half of the high voltage winding to get near 1Kv, then keeping unwinding and measuring/marking for approximate above voltages. Then rewind secondary bringing out said voltages somehow to a voltage post? Any advice greatly appreciated.

[@Chris_Grossman]

I use a DMM in series with the capacitor to measure leakage with my ZM-11U

[@mikemullenix6956]

I wonder if you can use a megger to test capacitors. If the voltage is less than rated capacitor volts ?

[@Silent-Lucidity]

I like Mr. Carlsons capacitor tester. It's much cheaper and safer than a high voltage power supply.

[@IMSAIGuy]

just use a 25V supply and they are the same.

[@IMSAIGuy]

or this is the cheapest: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYWcmYFvlrh8ec0si=xh4qC5E7YKb9YUUC

[@mbak7801]

OK but this is a trivial circuit measuring a trivial test case. That is fine but all the capacitors I would need to test run at 150 -> 450V. The principle shown here is more or less the same for the more complex instruments but that complexity is necessary to allow you to safely test and reform at potentially lethal voltages. Also the capacitors once tested have to be safely discharged to sub lethal levels and the recovery voltage of electrolytics dealt with. What someone must not do is look at this presentation and then try to emulate on a 600v cap. The resistor is probably only good to 200v, the breadboard 25 to 50v say.

[@nickcaruso]

I've always wanted a genrad LCR bridge but now I think I also/instead want this device.

[@lupojacobo9892]

I love to see more videos about the super tester

[@IMSAIGuy]

search my cannel for ZM-11 there are quite a few videos

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

I have a policy of pulling and checking the electrolytic caps visually in vintage equipment I have bought, and that means anything around twenty years, or more, old, as they are prone to leaking electrolyte from the holes for the leads, and the electrolyte can corrode the PC board tracks, to the point the tracks are gone! Even well made equipment will have failures of some, if not all, of the caps! It has gotten to the point, I don't even check the value or ESR any more, as it isn't worth the time!

[@saturn5tony]

Be careful here, you specified 160nanoamps and then said .16 nanoamps afterwards. @ 24:30 . You also made an error before this as well but im tired of tracking it again. Sorry but when teachers are in error.. we all are. 😮 but i will say thank you so much for sharing all the positive info, being 99.9 percent right is always so appreciated! 😊 btw, love your zm-11 tester as well as your experience, and again thank you so for sharing even tho i commented😂

[@sylvainvanier1953]

The simpler the better. I agree with you.

[@MrFreeElectron]

It's called plate formation. Ripple current is NOT AC ! AC means polarity reversal. If there is no polarity reversal you don't have AC , you have pulsed DC. Ripple current is post recitification. Electrolytic capacitors are different than regular capacitors in the sense they don't work the way you think they do. A regular capacitor is two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (* non conductive) element. You can just put two plates in air and you get a capacitor. In an electrolytic capacitor there is only one plate. The second plate is formed by the electrolyte ! Yes, there is a second metallic plate but that has no part in making the capacitor. it is only there as a conductor. So how does it work ? When you make an electrolytic capacitor you take to sheets of aluminum foil and separate them with a porous medium drenched in a conductive, corrosive substance (the electrolyte). you roll this up. At this point you do NOT have a capacitor. Not yet. I'll come back on this. We know that the capacitor value is directly proportional to the size of the plates facing each other. And inversely proportional to the distance.(the closer they are together, the higher the capacitance. So how do we make a very thin dielectric ? OXIDE ! we grow aluminum oxide ! We take our stack of aluminum plates with the electrolyte in-between and we start 'forming' the oxide layer. By using a controlled current (to prevent explosive deconstruction) the electrolyte reacts with one of the plates and grows an oxide layer. During formation the current will go down and self-terminate once one of the plates has fully 'oxidized' . This is your dielectric. Parameters like ESR are purely defined by the chemical composition of the electrolyte. The better conductive that is the lower the ESR. If a capacitor dries up capacitance goes down but ESR goes up as the conductivity of the electrolyte decreases. So what's the deal with plus and minus. well, during formation only one plate oxidizes : the one at the positive terminal. so you need to respect the polarity ! if you reverse the polarity ( and control the current) you can "undo" this and grow the oxide on the other plate. So you can swap the polarisation of an electrolytic capacitor. They also self-heal. if a leakage would occur in the oxide , simply applying a controlled current will cause the reaction to start and the capacitor will heal its dielectric insulation (that is re-forming). There is one more thing : a fully formed capacitor , in reverse polarisation, behaves like a diode.

[@Peter_A1466]

I like it when you are very complete in you explanations, even when it takes a bit longer. With the big meter it looked you cut the voltage to the capacitor when measuring current... but no voltage = no circuit... Or am I missing something? Also, does reconditioning influence capacitance? Or just leakage?

[@nickcaruso]

re-form the capacitor, as the oldtimers say

[@electronicengineer]

Exactly this term. I have heard many debates about reforming old capacitors. I do not believe that it will render a reliable capacitor, once it has been "reformed". I think it is snake oil personally. Fred

[@nickcaruso]

@@electronicengineer not worth finding out . Buy new and replace.

[@electronicengineer]

@@nickcaruso I couldn't agree anymore with your approach. Fred

[@rogergreenwood1536]

Reforming may be not be worth it on small electrolytics under 100V but when you get 1000V working larger than the size of a coke can it's necessary if they haven't been used for a while. Search for variable speed drive type kit (ABB etc) - you don't want to blow those up (spoiler alert:- at 400V it's spectacular).

[@pametnaradionica]

Thank you for a nice and helpful video. However, at around 27:00 you are measuring voltage drop over a 800MOhm resistor with a 10MOhm instrument?! Why just not use DMM`s internal resistance? Best of luck.

[@boblewis5558]

Large value high voltage caps in power supplies will often have a parallel connected 1-100Mohm discharge resistor across them for safety. This adds VERY little load to such a capacitor, so as you say, ESR is MUCH more important along with a value at or above its capacitance rating. At which point measuring leakage is a bit like being worried about a pin prick hole in a large diameter hosepipe passing across a lawn ... Totally and utterly irrelevant. Across a high voltage cap in a precision oscillator tank circuit however could be a very different matter. So it's important that any such fine measurements are put in context of the usage.

[@pault6533]

So, if I selected a 16V capacitor for a circuit which operates at only 5V, and a few years later I now want to move that capacitor to a 14V circuit, is that capacitor in need of reforming for best results? Almost like a capacitor that has been sitting around, it's been given light duty. I also noticed that tantalum capacitors have a leakage spec, although it is a fraction of an electrolytic cap. Is reforming an old tantalum or checking for leakage at all necessary, or can that type be used after confirming capacitance and ESR?

[@IMSAIGuy]

you are worrying too much.

[@6StringPassion.]

Why a 10k ohm resistor? Why not 68k or .4.7k? How do you know what value to use?

[@IMSAIGuy]

no real reason. just a handy value. the resistor just limits the current while charging the capacitor. the value will not effect the leakage test.

[@6StringPassion.]

@@IMSAIGuy Thanks!!

[@derekec]

So if I get a 500V DC power supply I can measure leakage of my high volt electrolytics without an fancy vintage cap leakage tester like those Sprague or Heathkit testers?

[@emelitoduran1571]

Now i do believe that if you have read a portion of Bernard Grob's Basic Electronics (Ohms Law) and a cheap multimeter, its all you need to learn newer things . I'm more appreciative of my uampere range😊

[@nickcaruso]

Do electrolytics handle AC better if you put a dc bias across them?

[@nickcaruso]

as long as the bias exceeds the negative excursion I mean.

[@ChrisSmith-tc4df]

@@nickcarusoYes, and a lot of simple transistor amplifiers do exactly that by relying upon the transistor’s base bias to be able to use a 1uF to 10uF electrolytic capacitor for decoupling at the input.

[@ronaldpurvis3036]

hi, can i use a Klein Tools ET600 megger to test for leaky capacitors in my guitar tube amplifiers

[@jp040759]

Reforming the capacitor.

[@clems6989]

If you were designing a capacitor and you made a list of everything, you did not want that capacitor to be.That would be a list of everything that an electrolytic capacitor is....lol

[@sparky5860]

THANKYOU......

[@Yorumcu63]

nice video

[@anandarochisha]

I like a nice Rye and Coke on the bench while i am working with HV too..

[@rbrazil1000]

How about if the cap is in question at all replace it.

[@0mnis14sh]

Awesome video. Many "click" moments!

[@Yorumcu63]

Have schema at right side in protoboard ? or don't use at right with 555 circuit?

[@IMSAIGuy]

that was an old project. is not being used

[@hahawki]

I think its called reforming

[@lindseysteele1436]

Is this meter worth having

[@IMSAIGuy]

yes, it is a good meter, UNI-T UT61E . i like the Aneng AN870 too kzbin.info/www/bejne/opuyi6WMq9Cqj9ksi=D1mdZ2pth3C4LpPi

[@valentinaselektrikas]

Hello :). Again vry good video. Can I use voltage multiplier to build power supply for cap testing? I do not have 450V supply. Also I think I could use different stages of multiplier for testing.

[@IMSAIGuy]

Yes you can

[@valentinaselektrikas]

@@IMSAIGuy Thaks, also I will have mini PS for other things its great. But I guess I should use current inrush resistors for bigger caps for voltage multiplier? I was building linear supply 1000VA and my CB tripped :D because of big caps in PS.

[@valentinaselektrikas]

I thinking also tu use voltage regulators for each stage too meet voltage requirements for caps.

[@johndavis1465]

What is the Valve LCR Bridge model number / type ?

[@IMSAIGuy]

I did several videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIjQaKyrZrxmrJI

[@englishrupe01]

Oh, and i think the video with the guy testing leakage with an LED is iou9p in this video....and thanks for that idea too! Here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bH7Qi6yKlKaZhqs

[@N269]

What, a 32S, not a 32SII or a DM41X/DM42? The ol' boys will be impressed. 😁 👍👍

[@IMSAIGuy]

I have a 32SII in the office 😎

[@soulrobotics]

is that a Martini? I love your bench man!

[@IMSAIGuy]

Diet Pepsi 😕

[@IMSAIGuy]

Jim Williams had the best bench: mightyohm.com/blog/2012/02/an-analog-life-my-pilgrimage-to-the-workbench-of-analog-guru-jim-williams/

[@derekec]

Funny, after all the things I've foxed, built, been schooled...I just can not follow this to fruition. I want to test my guitar amp vintage components to hopefully save discarding them. So for one, I haven't a 500V supply and if I did, do I need AC or DC supply? Because while I have a PS that'll produce I think 30V, I think that's DC and my understanding is that caps block DC current. So is DC useless?

[@IMSAIGuy]

you need DC. 30V will be fine for most things

[@derekec]

@@IMSAIGuy Thank you. I did see that later in your video with the last tester. I still don't understand how it can be measured since caps block DC but I'll learn that later when I grow a few more brain cells.

[@IMSAIGuy]

@@derekec caps ARE supposed to block DC, and then they don't, that is leakage. No cap is perfect and they all leak a bit, you just don't want too much (when they age)

[@lindseysteele1436]

I was going to past a pic of it but it want let

[@SanthoshRamaraj]

Looks like someone is hungry while filming

[@wlliammeloche3792]

is that rum or whisky in that glass? 😄i do like your videos

[@dennisellis256]

Q=CV=IT,WHERE I IS THE CURRENT,AT TIME T.

[@zoozolplexOne]

Cool !!!

[@Meraj-zr2ry]

That is not true. All types of capacitors can get leaky. I come across many times with leaky capacitors. Ceramic, Blue, brown, Paper, polyethene, Electrolyte,

[@pep1dog1]

Nichicon was the company that made the capacitors that went bad and almost ruined Dell.

[@Jnglfvr]

At 45:24 and assuming one can discern one half of a small division using the 1 mA scale it appears that the smallest leakage current one can measure with this device would be 1000 microA/100 = 10 microA. That would be double if you could only discern 1 small division. That should be good enough resolution to test any capacitor as the formulas indicate that any current below 15 microA (CV < 1000) or 25 microA (CV > 1000) is acceptable at any capacitance and at any voltage.

[@bellasvistas3463]

I want to test 12 Electrolytic Capacitors 2000MFD @ 450 VDC.

[@IMSAIGuy]

those are some expensive caps!

[@bellasvistas3463]

@@IMSAIGuy They are also very dangerous. I had an instance where one of them started producing Hydrogen inside an enclosure. The explosion left some serious damage ripping the aluminum case open a square box looking like a beach ball. Machine screws were torn through the metal. Have you ever heard of a cap producing Hydrogen in that quantity?

[@IMSAIGuy]

@@bellasvistas3463 I've had capacitors blow up and emit nasty smells. Haven't heard of the hydrogen thing, but those are mighty special caps.

[@bellasvistas3463]

@@IMSAIGuy I have ordered a ESR Tester. I could send you a link to a video of the damage. I am trying to get to the bottom of the problem. I am thinking of building a 500VDC supply to test for leakage I have a Variac in a silver recovery machine I built once upon a time in The Film Era. My email is [e-mail] . I can send you a link to the unlisted video. Mike

[@misterbonzoid5623]

'Aloominum electriclydics'. 'Voltage in microfarads OK?'. The comments suggest this is a great, helpful, video, but it looks like you didn't rehearse or edit and I can't keep watching. Thanks anyway. .

[@jernejkurincic9050]

Well, people make their own cap testers because they have kind of grasped that free multimeters' results are not reliable enough for their precious gear. You are not so far from a man testing the current in his eletrical socket with his multimeter - you know, the one sticking one probe in hot an the other in neutral. Knowing how the measuring equipment works is somewhat essential for measuring. Or dissing others ofr their methods.

[@dinung.]

27:40

[@AlienRelics]

10:30 Goo? Not even close.

[@clems6989]

Got to be careful with "Capacitor Goo".....

[@James_Bowie]

I think you mean to say magic eye tube.

[@drcowan3468]

All electrolytics are leaky. Right off of the assembly line. They're inherently leaky.

[@KB1UIF]

I think you were doing a bit of bashing Mr Carlson's lab and his low voltage capacitor leakage tester. You really didnt need to do that, you only needed to show your method of testing. Nothing wrong with your method but remember it's a lot more dangerous with high voltages.

[@IMSAIGuy]

My only complaint with Mr is that he never explained the circuit and kept it a mystery from his viewers. He made it seem special.

[@KB1UIF]

@@IMSAIGuy I see your point sir. You are showing a technique that can be reproduced. I think you need to stress the dangers more though. Thanks for the reply.

[@Mike_Neukam]

Your method of testing leakage is fine for testing electrolytic filter capacitors, but not suitable for testing DC blocking capacitors in very high impedance circuits, particularly in vacuum tube equipment. Mr C's latest capacitor tester will detect leakage down to 40 Gig Ohms. It will find bad capacitors at 30 volts that your tester (and others like it) can't detect at several hundred volts. That level of sensitivity may not be needed in every application, but any leakage in a paper, film mica or ceramic capacitor indicates a failing component that needs to be replaced.

[@IMSAIGuy]

that would be 750pA. can you show me a capacitor data sheet that comes close to that. Maybe some people care. 750pA, let's call it 1nA would be a good value right?. and if several 10's of nanoamps are bad, then the method I show would work just fine if your meter has a good microamp scale. the meter I used has 10nA resolution.

[@PeterMilanovski]

What's the possibility of a 400V capacitor showing high leakage at 400V but no leakage current at 100V? There's a very good reason why capacitors are tested at their full rated voltage and that's because when they begin to leak, they always start at the top end and work their way down... It's the same reason why when you have a failed capacitor that some brainiac decided to place right there next to a heat source, you always replace it with as high a voltage rating for the same capacity value as possible... By the time that new capacitor is due to be replaced, it would have far exceeded the working life of the original one! They always begin their failure from the top and work their way down! So! Can you test a 400V capacitor with only 100V? Yes if it is only going to be working with 50V or less... And as for your description regarding positive charge on one plate and negative charge on the other plate of a capacitor? Where in all Science do you find protons and electrons separate from each other? There's no such thing as two separate charges! It's only one charge! The proton has more charge than an electron (assuming that the accepted model of the atom is true and correct even though no one has ever seen inside one).. Had a capacitor have two opposite charges inside it, that would be like having matter and anti matter! A situation where one cancels the other and both cease to exist! We know that Capacitor's don't just disappear when charged so what we really have is a difference in potential voltage where one plate is at a higher charge state than the other! Benjamin Franklin said it a long time ago! It's just like a bank account, when it's in credit, we will call it positive! When it's in debit, we will call it negative! It's all just a matter of accountancy! Someone somewhere since good old Benji misunderstood something and got it wrong! There's only one Electric charge! The polarity is only a reference for circuit direction!!! Nothing more, nothing less!

[@IMSAIGuy]

Capacitors are more complicated than leyden jars: www.elna.co.jp/en/capacitor/alumi/principle.html

[@PeterMilanovski]

@@IMSAIGuy actually no they're not, even Leyden jars suffer from inductance, series resistance, parallel resistance problems just like capacitors...

[@IMSAIGuy]

@@PeterMilanovski last time I checked they did not have chemicals

[@PeterMilanovski]

@@IMSAIGuy what? The Leyden jars? They have electrolyte! Even though it's only water, it's still a chemical which can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen..

[@IMSAIGuy]

@@PeterMilanovski No, my original response was electrolytic capacitors are way more complicated than two plates of metal like Ben had. The chemistry is way more complicated than I ever thought. I've put a very nice paper on the subject in the description. You will see the negative 'cathode' is really a liquid and there are many +/- boundaries set up though out the device. The idea of a balanced charges is not valid in these devices. The liquid can only hold negative things and if reversed biased can start to electroplate things. Things are always migrating around and the conditions change. They can be electrically leaky and physically leaky.

[@DISTRIBUTOR-MESIN]

For detail specifications the machine & PRICE Machine Capacitor Leakage Current--IR Meter Please Contact VALTEKINDO Thank you

[@grkeith2091]

my god man... "electric lyrics". I stopped right there at 24 second mark.

[@IMSAIGuy]

sometimes my brain and mouth don't sync up. sorry for the glitch. I do know how to pronounce electrolytic.

[@grkeith2091]

That was a kind response to my fairly rude comment. Thanks! Consider re-doing those kind of mistakes so that mispronunciation is not perpetuated?

[@IMSAIGuy]

@@grkeith2091 I do a video every day and have over 1700. No time to go back. I have more good than bad.

[@IMSAIGuy]

Keep watching the video. I use the correct pronunciation

[@RobB_VK6ES]

Audiophools are the conspiracy theorist flat earthers of electronics

[@erin19030]

Just for a moment consider the time you are pissing away trying to determine what is wrong with your caps. If you think its bad then its bad. WTF!

[@bruceblosser384]

Please show what an old old Paper and foil capacitor looks like on this test! Like say a .01 MF at 600V dc