Electrolytic caps lifetime in stock

[r2d2]

Hi to everybody,
a friend lost his Daddy (r.i.p.)
who worked as an electrician,
with also a little lab at home,
and little stock of electronic parts too,
which include a good selection of various values of electrolytic capacitors,
my friend do not know how much old are them,
as he is not a fan of electronics (gamestation and smartphone apart.....)
and did not follow the professional aspect of his Daddy,

he would like to give them to me along with other material,

so the question would be:
Normally for how many years they remain usable
if kept in a suitable place ?

thanks in advance for any about,
cheers.

 

[pucho812]

I too wondered what the shelf life is on a lytic.
So I searched google. I got a range of numbers. If properly stored they can be good up to 40 years but will have high esr.
For shelf life in as potential use in the future, 2-10 years depending on storage conditions.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Small electrolytic caps are so cheap why gamble?

JR

PS: I have some in my back lab that are older than a few members here... I need to chuck them.

 

[SIXTYNINER]

Small electrolytic caps are so cheap why gamble?

JR

PS: I have some in my back lab that are older than a few members here... I need to chuck them.

........ Let us know about,
cheers.

 

[JohnRoberts]

........ Let us know about,
cheers.

I need to chuck the old caps....

JR

 

[scott2000]

Couldn't begin to imagine what shipping would cost to the infinity....

 

[SIXTYNINER]

Hi to everybody,
a friend lost his Daddy (r.i.p.)
who worked as an electrician,
with also a little lab at home,
and little stock of electronic parts too,
which include a good selection of various values of electrolytic capacitors,
my friend do not know how much old are them,
as he is not a fan of electronics (gamestation and smartphone apart.....)
and did not follow the professional aspect of his Daddy,

he would like to give them to me along with other material,

so the question would be:
Normally for how many years they remain usable
if kept in a suitable place ?

thanks in advance for any about,
cheers.

just for curiosity, is there any particular type of cap,
like Elna Silmic series etc...?

 

[r2d2]

just for curiosity, is there any particular type of cap,
like Elna Silmic series etc...?

Thanks for post guys!

Then there is not an approximate recommended useful life to use them ?

About particular types, next days i have to meet my friend at hes home
for also check parts little stock,
and let you know about.

 

[scott2000]

Does checking the capacitance and ESR give any indication of whether or not a vintage electro is still good, or are there other considerations? Should you apply some voltage to them and check them again for instance?

 

[r2d2]

Does checking the capacitance and ESR give any indication of whether or not a vintage electro is still good, or are there other considerations? Should you apply some voltage to them and check them again for instance?

Thanks for post and info scott2000 !

Doing something totally different as job,
and as not a graduate in electronic engineering with decades of experience,
(otherwise there would be this thread that can also be useful to others ?..)
but only fans of old school electronics (single face and layer pcb, through hole parts....)
for true analog audio devices,
trying to build some of them still a relatively long-standing rookie
for personal satisfaction, gratification,
even in using them in the leisure time .....,
as member of GDIY "planet,
that really made so much of the audio pro analog technology universe accessible
with very considerable technical support,
seems that asking his experts is perhaps right thing,
it is also true that by searching on the web
you can find as much more varied as to what you need,
even lot more now with the AI ,

but this adds value to the GDIY "planet" ?

Ps
Sometimes I have the impression of hearing voices from people I know
asking me if forums exist to share knowledges, experiences, and so on.... (a.k.a. science?..)
or to floss, mock, train subjects with some issue to solve and get money for solve it,
and anything else that has nothing to do with the noble virtues,intentions, and so on..
mentioned a few lines above...

 

[JohnRoberts]

Does checking the capacitance and ESR give any indication of whether or not a vintage electro is still good, or are there other considerations? Should you apply some voltage to them and check them again for instance?

I don't know about checking ESR on very old caps because some weren't that good when new. The typical way that electrolytic capacitors degrade is from loss of electrolyte. I don't think it's linear but measuring low capacitance is generally a sign that they are old and should be retired. Note: when new, some electrolytic capacitors can be tens of percent high.

JR

 

[r2d2]

just for curiosity, is there any particular type of cap,
like Elna Silmic series etc...?

Hi,
checked the little stock,
and apart some little amounts of Panasonic FM, FC, FR, Elna Silmic,
and Wima Poly/ Polyp,
all the others generic use 85°... ,

Staying on caps theme,
please someone know the type of this soft rubber cap cover showed in the attached image ?
(it is not classic heat shrink tubing used for cables/connectors)
thanks.

 

[JohnRoberts]

That doesn't look like the normal rubber "bung" that the leads feed through at the bottom of the cap.

Wraps like that can be printed on heat shrink media that is secured by heating. Back when I was buying electrolytic caps by the truckload, small distributors would sometimes buy bulk (reject or overrun) capacitors and private label them with their own branded wraps. One small distributor who knew less about his capacitors than I did after I took one apart, tried to hire me on the spot, but nah....

JR

 

[SIXTYNINER]

Hi,
checked the little stock,
and apart some little amounts of Panasonic FM, FC, FR, Elna Silmic,
and Wima Poly/ Polyp,
all the others generic use 85°... ,

Thanks for caps info,

about that cap cover,
from the porous appearance it would look like rubber like neoprene,

but it is there as an electrical insulator because close to the transformer ?