Choosing caps for recaping

[Viking_One]

Hi all.
I´m about to recap some of my old equipment and I need some advices on what caps should I need. As I don´t have any signal flow schematic or so it is crucial o get it right so I decided to simply refer to some pictures I made
Picture 1
This is 47uF 40V. Replacement: some 47uF 50V Panasonic ECG/FC or Nichon KZ/TS. Right?
Picture 2.
This is 100uF 3V tantalum cap.Replacement: Vishay/sprague TANTALEX199D. Or maybe a small elctrolityc cap Right?
Picture 3.
This one is not easy. It is 15pF ?V. I don´t have a clue what I should replace it with... And what about polarity, can anybody help me with this one?
Picture 4.
This is 1nF (1,000pF) ?V. As I am not shure about voltage I can´t really guess. Any ideas
Picture 4 and 5
Of what I understand after reading many posts those caps shoulden´t be removed as they don´t have much of impact on sound (even for me it sound odd) and noone really know what type of caps they are.

Please replay only if you are absolutley shure about what you are writting and please don´t go of the topic. I know that this is a forum but sometimes even easy question can get a bit complicated answer and it´s not what I´m looking for.
Thanx in advance to all of you taking your time.
/E

 

[whoaru99]

I used Elna Silmic II caps to replace the electrolytics in my Yamaha M-80 wherever I could match up the uF and voltage. For the two locations I couldn't, I used Nichicon FW and Nichicon ES (the latter being bipolar).

I didn't mess with the non-electrolytics.

 

[w1jim]

Just replace the electrolytics and the tantalums (first and second picture).
The electrolytics dry out and the tantalums sound crappy and tend to fail catastrophically. There is nothing to gain by replacing the others; they'll last a looong time.

 

[Viking_One]

Thanx guys.
Replacing electrolytics is not an issue and as I am not one who belives that Panasonic FM are better then Nichion HE or another way arround I will simply use a cheapest one
As for the other caps I need to replace number 3 and 4 as few of those was removed by previous owner who started to recap those units and just gave up. So please if you have any idea about what they should be replaced with just write it BTW I will buy from DigiKey so I´m waiting for sugestions.
Thanx again.
E

 

[jheu02]

Not sure if this helps too much, but I think the color bands on the ceramic caps in pics 3 and 4 represent the composition of the dielectric, not voltage. Look here:

http://my.execpc.com/~endlr/markings.html

I haven't found any capacitor color codes for voltage other than when ALL the markings were color bands:

http://tritium.fis.unb.br/Fis3Exp/fcim.csdc.com/fcimis/compid/caps/identification.html

As for the tantalums, I've replaced them with Nichicon UKL electrolytics for the low-leakage aspect of the tants. Mouser seems to have a better selection of them, but if digikey has the value you need, great! Other low-leakage caps should work too.

John

 

[whoaru99]

Thanx guys.
Replacing electrolytics is not an issue and as I am not one who belives that Panasonic FM are better then Nichion HE or another way arround I will simply use a cheapest one
As for the other caps I need to replace number 3 and 4 as few of those was removed by previous owner who started to recap those units and just gave up. So please if you have any idea about what they should be replaced with just write it BTW I will buy from DigiKey so I´m waiting for sugestions.
Thanx again.
E

I bought all the Elna Silmics and the Nichicon FWs from DigiKey. The Nichicon ES bipolar I had to get somewhere else.

 

[w1jim]

The Nichicon ES bipolar I had to get somewhere else.

I get those from Mouser. They're generally so cheap that I order at least twice what I need just to have them in stock.

 

[whoaru99]

Got the one I needed from Parts ConneXion since I was ordering some other stuff from them anyway. Cost a whopping $0.33 for the ES cap.

 

[Sir.Byrd]

Mouser has started stocking high-end Nichicon caps like the ES, KZ, and FG, I've used those three almost exclusively (not available in all values) in my last few projects with good results. The problem you get with the fancy caps is that they are HUGE.

 

[roger2]

I bought all the Elna Silmics and the Nichicon FWs from DigiKey. The Nichicon ES bipolar I had to get somewhere else.

Digikey has Panasonic SU bipolars. Are those not as good as Nichicon ES? Was there a reason that you did not want to use Panasonic SU?

Just curious, I am getting an order together.

 

[whoaru99]

Two reasons. The Nichicon Muse series has a good/accepted reputation for "audio" capacitors and the amp had some Nichicon Muse series caps in it prior to the recap.

 

[DonQuixote99]

While we're talking caps, if the OEM cap was rated 50 volts, and the replacement is rated 250 volts, that's OK, isn't it? This would be in a crossover application. Parts Express didn't have any 4 uf 50 v caps....

 

[roger2]

If the new cap is poly then higher rated voltage is not an issue.

For electrolytics a higher rated voltage can be an issue under some circumstances, but I do not know enough to elaborate on that. Search Fred Longworth posts to read more on that topic.

 

[DonQuixote99]

Yeah, it was poly-type-stuff. Definately not electrolytic.

 

[benb]

I'm not familiar with different manufacturer's parts and series, but what I look for in electrolytics are specs - specifically, the highest temperature (105C) and longest life (usually 5,000 hours at 105C, don't worry, that's a guaranteed MINIMUM, AND it translates to a much longer life at lower temps), and the lowest ESR available. These tend to be more expensive, but I think they're worth it, if for no other reason than they may last (as a SWAG) 20 years in a typical application instead of 10 years for the cheaper ones.

If the new cap is poly then higher rated voltage is not an issue.

For electrolytics a higher rated voltage can be an issue under some circumstances, but I do not know enough to elaborate on that. Search Fred Longworth posts to read more on that topic.

I agree, with poly (or other non-electrolytic, non-tantalum) the voltage rating doesn't matter, as long as, of course, it's higher than the highest voltage that will ever be across the cap. And I agree, I wouldn't bother replacing them.

Well, maybe ceramic disc caps, if it's in or "near" the audio path (but not in the RF portion of a receiver) - they don't "wear out" but they have problems, mainly distortion and microphonics, and I'd replace them with another type, a poly or a film. I suggest those types (poly and film) for the non-electrolytics that are missing.

For electrolytics what I heard (I swear I read this in a capacitor manufacturer's applications note somewhere - these things are available on the Web) is don't use a voltage rating more than twice the voltage the capacitor will see. If the cap is run with too low a voltage relative to its working voltage rating, it won't last as long.

As for tantalums, I don't know. Having heard about their cantankerousness myself, I'd be tempted to replace them with electrolytics, but the designer may have had a good reason for using a tantalum in a particular place. Maybe if you showed where it's used in a schematic, I'd offer an opinion (which will, along with a few dollars, get you something to drink at Starbucks).

 

[bharper]

I generally use the nichicon muse, or panasonic fc, price difference is not much to the cheapest pos you can find, and results should be more consistent, and sound better.

My labor is worth more than a 10% difference in part cost..... only want to do it once.

 

[roger2]

......My labor is worth more than a 10% difference in part cost..... only want to do it once.

makes sense to me...

 

[Grainger49]

I admit to not reading all the posts. Just a quick suggestion. I didn't get or know the age of your equipment. Often the line voltage, here supplied by TVA, has changed since the equipment was made. This increases the voltage on the output of the power transformer for every winding. So... here is my suggestion, buy caps of a slightly, 3-4%, higher voltage than was in the unit stock.

If I remember well those last two pictures are of styrene caps. I bought a bunch years ago. Sadly there are no markings on mine and I don't know their values. Hopefully yours are good. I have heard, don't know for sure, they last a long time.