#76 Tutorial: Why do electrolytic capacitors fail so often

[@Lesstroublesleeping]

Thanks for the detailed explanation of electrolytic caps. I know a lot about them already, but learned quite a bit from your video, and a few bonus items about board design considerations that I hadn't considered. I really appreciate you're taking the time to put this together.

[@TheRadioShop]

Peter, That was an excellent tutorial on why capacitors fail. I really enjoyed your teaching on this. Hope you do more of these in the future. really good stuff. I been telling folks for years that high heat and high voltage is a capacitors worst enemy. I see so many circuits with 10 volt caps in a 10 volt circuit. Also wanted to say thank you my friend for the mention of my channel. Really appreciate that.Your first video for 2016 and it you knocked it out of the park. Well done.73 my friend.

[@TheRadioShop]

+The Radio Shop BTW Peter, sent you 2 messages my friend.

[@TRXLab]

+The Radio Shop Thanks Buddy, glad that you like it! The point you mentioned here is additional to what I said in the video. The rated Voltage is extremely important as well and should never be exceeded. So good point to add! 73 my friend

[@OrbiterElectronics]

Great job my friend. Many folk do not realise that there is more than 1 check necessary to make sure a capacitor is in working condition. You covered all the bases nicely here. Cheers Peter John

[@TRXLab]

+orbiter8 (John) Hello John, yes you are absolutely right and I did not cover all the aspects. There is leakage current which plays a role as well. But that would have been to much for one video. Thanks for stopping by my friend! Cheers

[@davidbusch3176]

A wealth of knowledge being made available here in these videos. Thank you Peter for your time and effort and willingness to pass on this vet practical knowledge. Very important in the restoration of older equipment, as well as circuit design for new equipment. 73s. David

[@TRXLab]

Thank you!

[@abeleballestri612]

It was a great pleasure following your lesson about the electrolytic capacitors used in the filter circuit where the ripple voltage and current take place. I never thought about a capacitor as being ,not only a capacitor but also a resistor and an inductance (in very small values) as well. Also the current dissipation you described, made me think as I never thought about it. You have really made a very tutorial lesson for everybody in a very simple and easy way. Thank you very much for the beautiful lesson.

[@TRXLab]

Glad that you like my videos! Thanks for feed back and watching! All the best Cheers

[@abeleballestri612]

TRX Bench it was a very rich explanation how electrolytic capacitors work and the corresponding inner values like low ESR as well as ESL

[@billnicholson2470]

Just watching your older vids. They are all great. I would love to see a capacitor opened up or cut in half to see what is inside. Would love to see how these are made. Thanks Peter.

[@TRXLab]

Thanks for feed back

[@abeleballestri612]

Thank you for the nice tutorial explanation how to understand the function and the characteristics of a capacitor ,especially for the electrolytics capacitors concerning inner resistance and capacity as well as the "ripple voltages" upon them.

[@TRXLab]

Thanks for feed-back! Cheers

[@Lycantroph71]

Thank you! As always very well explained.

[@charlieoscar09]

Brilliant explanation Peter thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

[@TRXLab]

+charlieoscar09 Thank you so much for fed-back! 73

[@technos123]

Very interesting as usual. Since watching your video I have started to notice caps in circuit boards placed in bad locations. Something I have only noticed since watching your explanation of why caps fail.

[@TRXLab]

+technos123 Oh very good, thanks for feed-back... I'm glad that you have a need for my videos.. 73

[@chuckthebull]

lots of pulse power supplies due to tight space end up having small oscillator caps close to heat sinks.. I replace them all the time.. funny all the gear of the same type started failing around the same time. goes to show their is a time effect to failure.

[@MrPerrey]

That is the video for what I havê been looking for! Nice!!!

[@radwandiesca3215]

Thank you again sir. You did it once again blowing my mind with this capacitor explanation.

[@TRXLab]

Glad that is helpful for you! All the best Cheers

[@malcolmshaw9148]

Thank you for a very nice tutorial about capacitors. I have learned a great deal from you which helps me with my retirement hobby of antique radio repair. 73 malcolm

[@TRXLab]

Hi Malcolm, thanks for feed-back and watching! Man fun with your nice hobby on vintages radios! Cheers

[@glasstronic]

An accurate analysis. Love it. Thanks for sharing!

[@TRXLab]

Thanks for watching 73

[@kkrobertson1]

Very well explained! Learned a lot from this video, Thank you.

[@TRXLab]

Thanks

[@FRRRRAAANNK]

Great video. Thanks for the ripple current explanation.

[@TRXLab]

+FRRRRAAANNK No problem! Thanks for watching and comment. All the best Cheers

[@erin19030]

I once worked on a 1920's AM radio built by Philco. As I maneuvered the chassis on the bench I saw a small puddle of water under it. My research revealed that salt water was used as an electrolyte in the dialectic.

[@Slartibartfas042]

From what I heard I'd guess you're having DL..., DB... or DG... callsign? If so I'd say "Sehr guter Beitrag! Vielen Dank und weiter so!", otherwise let me thank you for the brilliant explanation of the physics behind the "mystery" that caps seem to be for much people. Looks like you're one of the youtubers that know what they're talking about. Thumbs up! :-D 73 and keep your HAM spirit, let's spread the knowledge!

[@TRXLab]

+Slartibartfas042 Hallo, richtig ich bin deutschsprachig :-) Vielen Dank für vorbeischauen und für den netten Kommentar. Alle Gute 73 und bis zum nächsten mal.

[@ronniepirtlejr2606]

You speak English very well! At 13:48 the word you are looking for is " Graph" or " Chart". :-)

[@Barnekkid]

Thank you for this wonderful tutorial. And Happy New Year to you.

[@TRXLab]

+Barnekkid Thanks for feed back! HNY all the best 73

[@wadehicks9270]

Really enjoy watching your videos. Lots of good information thanks for sharing.

[@TRXLab]

+wade hicks Thank you wade. 73

[@dinosworkshop6870]

Great tutorial, get a better understanding of caps. Thanks a lot. Thumbs up!!!

[@TRXLab]

+Satellite_Guy Hi, always glad to get your feed-back 73

[@laser-on-off]

Thanks, for another great video. I watch also Mr Carlson's Lab. :)

[@TRXLab]

+Onel s4 Thanks for watching our channels :^) Cheers

[@crocellian2972]

Thank you for teaching me this topic which is so critical.

[@TRXLab]

You are welcome and again thanks for watching 73

[@Andrew-rc3vh]

I've serviced thousands of pieces of equipment from the 80s and 90s time and often these things were 10-20 years old. Regarding electrolytic failure, I have never replaced all electrolytes in a circuit. In general electrolytics were one of the less common items to fail, like far far less than say a power transistor, but when they did fail you could nearly always detect it by the top bulging out and/or leakage. I would routinely replace any of these, but another rule of thumb was in 99% of the time it would be because the capacitor was either next to a heat sink or a wire wound resistor. So the conclusion was that electrolytics would not wear out in a design that avoided them getting hotter than ambient air temperature. Sure they may fail eventually, but that would be long past the time the onwer felt it was good for the skip. I wonder though, have the new electrolytics got worse than the older ones?

[@MaltiPoo23]

Very illuminating. Thank you! I have an 80's era HF transceiver (Ten Tec). It works fine, but I'd like to get it into top shape. Is it worthwhile just replacing all the electrolytics I can?

[@TRXLab]

+Dan Ruderman Hi Dan, thanks for comment. Well no if the radio is working fine I would not replacing all the cap's. But you should start to inspect the radio from now on every year and watch out for leaking caps. Additional to that checking the ESR might be a good approach to get an idea on the current status. Off course if you find components with bad ESR or find the radio making funny things then it might be the right time to start changing here and there... Hope that helps.

[@MaltiPoo23]

+TRXBench Excellent. I was really looking for an excuse to buy an in circuit ESR meter. Now I have it :)

[@rcinfla9017]

Many switching power supplies violate electrolytic capacitor's peak repetitive current specification. The high frequency switching with high peak currents overheats the capacitors via internal ESR losses. Very common issue for modern flat panel TV's and computer LCD displays.

[@DeadKoby]

From what I derive.... iCaps that have PAPER material inside are subject to deterioration. Mica, and Mylar and Ceramic hold up through time better.

[@QXZASX]

Wonderful job. Great Tutorial on Electrolytic caps.

[@TRXLab]

+QXZASX Hi, thanks for feed back, glad that you like it. Cheers

[@PhilLariviere]

Kind of a side guestion, why does the voltage drop back down a little after the filter capacitor has been charged? (see 44:40) Why doesn't the voltage slowly drop from the charged up peak voltage? thanks

[@TRXLab]

Hi Phil, that is simply a design/ component issue. The cap can't follow that fast the peak at the diode. Thanks for watching 73

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

Thanks Peter. Nice lesson on e-caps.

[@TRXLab]

+Robert Calk Jr. Thank you Robert, glad that you like it! 73

[@lyntonprescott3412]

Wonderful information. Very clearly explained. Is there no alternative to an electrolytic capacitor? What are it’s advantages in common circuits? 73’s Lynton.

[@chuckthebull]

Great video...alsoTantalum caps are a problem.. More caps go out if under more heat and use.. spikes in power can short them and I'm tracing down a bunch on a vintage prophet5 keyboard synth.

[@TRXLab]

Thanks! I very well know all the issues with tantalum by experience but the newest stuff is more stable and reliable.

[@chuckthebull]

@@TRXLab I work on mostly vintage electronics and see a LOT of bad caps.. what's fascinating is the older the gear the more resilient some of them are. (carcinogens have staying power, Ha!) even modern gear have issues with cheap components as you pointed out. I try and replace with upgraded as far as heat and efficiency when possible.. again thanks for your very informative videos,,teachng an old dog new tricks..

[@jeremyclayton-travis1991]

Thank you for a very informative video. I can only assume that when Sony designed my TA88 amplifier in 1969 they put in high grade capacitors and above specification. It still works today. Sadly the same cannot be said about my Apple iMac which died from capacitor failure after only 3 years.

[@TRXLab]

Hi Jeremy, yes back in the past much better quality has been used. Today all is about money only.. Thanks for watching 73

[@Metalloys]

Hello Peter. Thank you for these - most informative / practical - tutorials. Can you please advise where I can find PRACTICAL short-cut tutorials about calculating SMPS transformers?

[@TRXLab]

+A.H. Shukry Hi, well my be try this www.linear.com/solutions/1159 All the best Cheers

[@Metalloys]

+TRXBench Will check it out. Thanks a million.

[@erin19030]

ESR actually stands for voltage switching resistance or dissipation factor. It is a chief parameter in switching power circuits and deflection circuits. In standard 60 Hz circuits the ESR is a negligible parameter.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

So is it safe to replace them with smaller box layered ceramic capacitors?

[@johncunningham5435]

A very good presentation of capacitors the way they behave in circuits where the heat source is an issue, especially when to close to heat sink devices. I agree that high premium capacitors will yield the best results along with extremely low ESR and current ripple and I have confirmed this with my own testing of different grades of capacitors. As you pointed out the lower the temperature the better which insures long life, well done.

[@TRXLab]

+John Cunningham Hi John, thanks for the nice feed-back and for stopping by. All the best Cheers.

[@BenjaminEsposti]

Yep, it's not exactly the capacitors fault after all - poor or marginal design can lead to shorter capacitor life. Have a look at this video from mikeselectricstuff, showing some well-made, 960W fanless PSUs: watch?v=kU63UiZEQZ8

[@esach4136]

TRX Bench n

[@jimle22]

Just FYI, the little thingy with the numbers you were pointing to, is called a "Table".

[@johnlane9432]

The problem I'm seeing is many capacitor failures on many newer appliances besides electronics. I am trying to understand why though. It seems, since we've changed from the older PCB dielectric to a newer less carcinogen type dielectric coolant that more capacitors are failing. I understand that "heat" is a capacitors enemy and the dielectric coolant is a necessity, but the newer fluids are breaking down and allowing electrical current flow (short) causing internal breakdowns. It seems though the information is not forth coming. Another of my thoughts is that since there are more and more harmonics on the line (high voltage) that may be presenting a new problem not dealt with in the past.

[@TRXLab]

Hi John, all of what you said is most likely right but there is one additional issue and that is quality vs costs. Today all no question what needs to be as cheap as ever possible and thus a lot of new caps on the market are right out of the factory simply crap.... Thanks for comment. 73

[@ronshaw80]

Likely because of cheap Chinese caps pushed close to the limits. I only use proven good quality capacitors, military design practices, and failures are basically eliminated. Only problems now are due to old age.

[@Franklinveterinarycenter1of4]

Your English is very good; at times, I cannot think of the correct word and I am an English speaking American.

[@TRXLab]

Thanks for kind feed back Melanie, but I think there is still a lot room for improvement :^) Cheers

[@321reh]

Your English Is Very Easy To Understand And Your Videos Are Awesome!!! Deine Englisch Is viel Besser Als Meine Deutsch!!! Vergessen Sie Das Nicht Bitte!!! See What I Mean???? Keep Those Videos Coming TRX Bench!!!

[@AntiqueRadioandTV]

Great job Peter!You lost me on one part though. I understand the ripple current aspect but, you measured in two ways as ripple voltage. Is this correct or am I missing something here?Thanks!73sTom

[@TRXLab]

+AntiqueRadioandTV Hi, oh I see and my aim was to keep it simple and not confuse folks with a additional sense resistor to probe current in the circuit with a voltmeter. Well basicly it is all about ohms law. It was simply much easier to probe the voltage and we can simply convert voltage to current using ohms law. The formula I was using is due to the fact that all the data sheets are using max. ripple current and that is the right way as it is more precise for pre calculations in development. Hope that helps a bit sorry for confusing you. Thanks for stopping by and for your comment! 73 Peter.

[@AntiqueRadioandTV]

I see... I replayed and see clearly how you did the ripple current using ohms law. I now see how you proceeded with this test. Bravo!

[@barski1960thomas]

Excellent study. Thank you.

[@TRXLab]

Thanks for watching 73

[@jmcgatkinson]

Thank you very much for your presentation; as you say there are many other considerations, but this represents the 'empirical' behaviour of electrolytic capacitors in power circuits. In early designs, a mains frequency (50Hz) transformer is used to 'step down' the AC voltage, which is rectified with a bridge rectifier, and 'filtered' with an electrolytic capacitor, using, say, 1mF (1,000μF) upwards.. As components became cheaper, later designs used a method which rectified mains voltage, then (by using a sketching circuit) converting )it to a lesser voltage DC-DC, at a much higher frequency, reducing the need for high value electrolytic capacitors, and there is a reduced cost, but also reduced life..

[@jmcgatkinson]

I meant 'switching', instead of 'sketching'.. (predictive text)

[@DhilTech]

What is the ripple current relation with ripple voltage you measured?

[@TRXLab]

Uripple= RxI

[@RadioHamGuy]

Excellent videos that you do, keep up the great work! I get a lot of good information from them. 73..wd0akx

[@TRXLab]

+RadioHamGuy Hi Larry, thank you for feed-back and stopping by! I have detected you have a very nice channel with excellent videos as well! 73 Peter

[@wheelsgonewild1286]

i love watching your videos.

[@bigstuff52]

very nice presentation...wish you would have been my electronic instructor a long time ago...thank you

[@TRXLab]

Thank John for saying that. Glad that you Limes my video. Cheers

[@wilvanlierop]

Nice explanation. Thank you.

[@TRXLab]

+pd4z Thank you!

[@martinyamaha147]

Hi.I think that you are German,but your explain in english is so easy for understand.Thank you.

[@TRXLab]

Thank you Martin, glad that you like it Cheers

[@dennisqwertyuiop]

always value to me\thank you Peter

[@TRXLab]

+DENNIS N Thank you Dennis! glad to hear that! 73

[@llsdigitek]

Excellent presentation! Thanks - Lloyd - W9NLA

[@TRXLab]

Glad that you like it Lloyd 73

[@gss15004372]

Thank you

[@TRXLab]

+hussain alonzi Thank you for watching Hussain! Cheers

[@1112223333111]

I have a radio the tantalum was shorted. It took out the audio chip, upc1020H. Are you familiar with this chip?

[@TRXLab]

+ᗒ╬ᗕ1112223333111ᗒ╬ᗕ Hi, yeah some series of the tantalum are known for shorting out they literally explode in the circuit.. Well yes the upc1020 is a normal audio chip similar to the NTE1150, 5 Watt output ore so.. Thanks for watching Cheers

[@blitzroehre1807]

Prima erklärt, vielen Dank!

[@MrPerrey]

Excelent contente Peter!!!

[@ChipGuy]

Nice tutorial. The title has a little spelling mistake and should be : "Why do electrolytic capacitors fail so often" Edit: Oh you changed it, that was quick :)

[@TRXLab]

+Chip Guy Vids Hi, yes thank you for the hint which was very much appreciated and thank you for watching my videos!! Cheers Peter

[@geezler4083]

Sorry I didn't watch your whole video but I did have a question, ja? I hear a lot about capacitors leaking but every time I open up one of my old school amps (about 25) I can't find one leaky capacitor. Am I just lucky? Ja?

[@1954jw]

Very informative. At least now I understand what ESR is :-)

[@TRXLab]

Thanks for watching, Han.

[@robertgift]

Faulty or unavoidably aging?

[@peterb9580]

good video Peter, Also there has been lot of cheap crap el capacitors flooding the market now for some years, and I even have some in spare parts pcbs that have never been in service,and yet their electrolyics caps have leaked. very poor qc.

[@TRXLab]

Yeah you are absolutely right all must be cheap there days...Thanks for watching Cheers

[@ralffeuerbach8477]

wider mal den nagel auf den kopf getroffen . ich mag die rubycom hochqualitiativ serie. bei kleinen kapazitäten geht das ja noch . ein beispiel die ecu deine defenderter td5 hat zwei riesen elkos die nach der bzeit ab bj 1998 ja ständig auslaufen . tips gabs scjpon legt die doch nach außen wech von der platine . meiner meinung müsten alle größereren belasteten elkos gesockelt werden .

[@billybbob18]

The bad caps hit the market in the late 90s/early 2000s. It stemmed from a stolen formula for the dielectric compound that was incomplete. I'll bet those same caps are still floating around in a production line somewhere. It keeps people like me in business.

[@rikky866]

happy newyear

[@TRXLab]

Happy New year Rik! 73

[@davidclark3603]

Thanks for that.

[@cbelectronicaymas374]

really good

[@TRXLab]

Thank you! 73

[@hotrodz9057]

nice video

[@TRXLab]

+Hot Rodz Thank you! Cheers

[@TonyLing]

Danke sehr von UK

[@riottaba]

fit OSCONs job done!

[@TRXLab]

+Todd Uk Thanks for comment Todd 73

[@joewilson2258]

From all of your information about the different electronic circuit designs I for one would send you my radios for service . The only thing that I need is your address for sending you my radios for service .

[@BenjaminEsposti]

21:22 Those "GL" caps are just generic chinese crap. They aren't good for anything really. 23:02 Is that by any chance a "TEAPO" brand capacitor? If so, get rid of it. They're junk as well.

[@JohnHungerfordJr]

Please turn on English CC, I'm also electronic hobby deafguy, thank you.

[@carlossergio6467]

i didnt know capacitors have heat limits🤓 thanx

[@glenthemann]

love your accent are you Italian

[@guitarplayer1071]

Полиграфович sounds more like German to my ears, or Austria or similar.

[@maninthevan53]

Hard to believe the quality cap in a high price transceiver like the Kenwood lol this is called cutting corners

[@TRXLab]

+danny blackhorse Yeah very seldom that you find high grade parts.. 73

[@svenkaiser3769]

Are you a german ?

[@TRXLab]

+Sven Kaiser Hallo Sven, ja so ist es

[@terencebarfield5864]

Peter: how do i get 3x3 ESR

[@semiRockethr]

I can't get the "electroluuuctic" out of my head xD

[@Johnathan_Waters]

This video would be better if it wasn't sooooo long

[@fenderbender3982]

Peter could you have possibly made a simple subject any more complicated? old caps are crap after 40 years of service. OK new caps are better made and will likely stay stable longer. how difficult is it?

[@BenjaminEsposti]

Agreed ... most of the cap issues I've encountered are either just old age, or cheaply made capacitors.

[@NickFrom1228]

It seems to me that for those who want the depth they can watch this, for those who don't they don't have to.

[@Slartibartfas042]

This video is not just the simple advice that, if your guitar amp does not work any more or hums then just replace the old "worn out" caps with new ones. The video is for those who may want to know "what is going on, why is it so that this damned caps are going to die or leak?" So, if you think this video is going to make things too complicated, just read the heading as this would show you the word "why".... ;-)

[@michaelparadigm7836]

i just can't stand listening to this guy... I tried. sorry

[@SuperFishbreeder]

simple cheap low quality imports

[@TRXLab]

Thats it. Thanks for watching 73

[@1cy3]

talked too fast, had to watch 10 times

[@TRXLab]

Normally I get criticized because I'm talking to slow. So your comment is a new experience.. Cheers