Lack of use and lack of cycling caps are their worst enemies. Particularly if the electrolitycs are of "exotic" type.
Do caps deteriorate with time even if an amp is not being used?
Recently I was considering purchasing an amp which was ten years old but had only been used for a couple of hundred hours before being put in climate controlled storage. I know capacitors will wear out over time, however if the unit is not in use does the mere passage of time have an effect on their efficacy and longevity??
Thanks for your thoughts on this...
Thanks for your thoughts on this...
9 responses Add your response
^^^^^^^^^^^ not an amp but still capacitors I have a Studer tape machine that failed on me a few years ago. It would power up, but when you spooled up a tape and hit rewind, ........nada. My tech told me "it’s probably the power supply capacitors. I have them in stock bring it over". As I waited and watched in amazement, if you have ever seen the inside of one of these machines; he checked out the power supply capacitors, and they were showing/testing "like new" . Huge things and I remember Made in West Germany labels. The new, replacement ones were sitting on the table. So do we switch them out I asked. He said "No, I wouldn’t touch those." |
Electrolytic caps loose rated breakdown voltage and also dry out. They loose rated breakdown voltage because electrolyte "eats out" dielectric - aluminum oxide (presence of voltage rebuilds this layer). They dry out - especially when hot. Each 10 degC temperature increase cuts life of electrolytic cap by half. If you store gear in cool place caps should be good for 50 years, except for the breakdown voltage problem - that can be fixed by introducing voltage slowly. SMPS power supplies might not make it possible since some of them don't operate below certain supply voltage. |
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A big YES! Though(often) careful reforming can restore them(their dielectric) to original specs. (http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.823.6133&rep=rep1&type=pdf) If you’re going to buy that amp, buy a variac too(unless a friend owns one). ie: (http://www.ebay.com/bhp/variac) |