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White Van Capacitors?

HiFi in WYO

HiFi in WYO

The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.
Came across this on reddit today. The author says they're not from any restoration project and are being sold as new. Wouldn't be surprised if the author is a member here.

In any event, is this one more fake thing we need to worry about from the Far East?

5K6FSh5x2sCNSWjcrrhtJR-d4MwQ9PmXYOyAwJOoc1A.jpg
 
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I can't comment on those exact caps - but yes, this is something to worry about. Before I knew better, I bought some 10Kuf Elna "audio" grade caps. Turned out to be bogus, although they tested fairly well.
But mine did test at rated value, those wouldn't even test at displayed\printed value.

Whoever discovered that needs to post up and out the dealer - we need to know about scams and who's scamming us. We're paying good money for caps, and I'd like to call out the thieves when possible.
 
That photo has been around on the internet for many years- I'm not convinced it is even a genuine fake. 2200 vs 6800uF, 35 vs 50V. Carefully cut by the photographer, but no aluminium filings anywhere to be seen. Solder on the terminals means they've been pulled and are not 'new' in any case. If they were 'making' caps with old caps inside, they'd be crimping/spot welding the cap leads to the interior terminal tag anyway- not soldering- that is a hobbyist's work. It looks staged.

The fake caps I have seen (and I've seen plenty) are constructed normally, but have fake printed sleeves with whatever brand and type you want.
 
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r-j, I had the same thought.
Picture makes no sense as the "new" caps are not the same value as the original caps.
 
Odd r-j, The filings are easy to explain, just cut the cap elsewhere then set up the shot. But, I wonder why one would make this photo in the first place? Seems like a strange subject to stage for a pic.
 
As I think of it, you guys just might be right. I've not seen that photo before - but who would even "fake" a cheap cap like that in the first place?
For example, the caps of mine that I commented on were nicely packaged in the black\gold ELNA package and the only reason someone called it out, was because these specific caps had the wrong font and wording as compared to authentic. The thread is still here, somewhere, I'm sure.
In fact I still have a couple of those caps I'm talking about and despite me paying too much for them, I should cut one open and look. I might just do that tomorrow -don't hold your breath but if I do, I'll just update original post and if applicable, I'll post here as well.
 
Seems like a lot of work to fake something that you would gain little profit from.

But on the other hand I remember our electronics instructor in college showed us a D battery that he cut apart. The case was plastic and inside was actually a C battery. Low and behold it was radioshack brand, go figure.
 
waggs098 said:
Seems like a lot of work to fake something that you would gain little profit from.

But on the other hand I remember our electronics instructor in college showed us a D battery that he cut apart. The case was plastic and inside was actually a C battery. Low and behold it was radioshack brand, go figure.
Click to expand...

I've read that's normal for most all batteries. Form factor I guess.
Things are not always what they appear to be!
 
HiFi in WYO said:
Came across this on reddit today. The author says they're not from any restoration project and are being sold as new. Wouldn't be surprised if the author is a member here.

In any event, is this one more fake thing we need to worry about from the Far East?

5K6FSh5x2sCNSWjcrrhtJR-d4MwQ9PmXYOyAwJOoc1A.jpg
Click to expand...
If they're being sold as new, they're not fooling anyone. The solder pins on the caps are obviously used. Unless they were pulled post-install.

Looks like what's often called a "cap restuff". You unsolder your old, failing caps; remove the insides; replace the insides with new, modern caps; cosmetically restore the case if necessary; then reinstall. It's done to retain the original aesthetics of caps that are no longer available whilst restoring new operation. It's quite common in the vintage radio, vintage ham gear, vintage electronic test equipment, and vintage tube audio gear restoration worlds.

Normally, a 6800uf 50v cap would be restuffed with a 6800uf 50v or better cap, but as the above is probably a home brew effort, the individual doing it was probably aware that the 2200uf 35v replacement was sufficient for the job at hand. Or not -- might be an amateur who didn't understand the implications.

There are companies that specialise in selling restuffs. E.g.: Hayseed Hamfest -- https://hayseedhamfest.com/collections/collins-plug-in/products/r-388-51-j-series
 
The form factor thing is a normal appearing thing.
Below I did put in the capacitor abyss thread long ago.

They came out of equipment made by Kratos, a well-known USA company.

Of course, capacitors do not have to be Chinese, to be crappy (compared to other brand or type ! ).
Now the old Sprague was much better, but no PRICE information is available, who knows the newer worse ones may have been much cheaper at the time and spec'd good enough for equipment life.

gslikker said:
Weight difference between capacitors, the pictures speak for themselves. this is a comparison between two same size and specs caps, the dark blue one newer.

Now, look what is inside. The last pic is the older more heavy cap.


View attachment 789671 View attachment 789672 View attachment 789673 View attachment 789674
Click to expand...
 
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waggs098 said:
So your saying a Duracell D battery is actually a C battery in a D size case?
Click to expand...

That's what I've read - but maybe I should look for myself. EDIT: quick search doesn't show this is true - sorry for that.

I did just find a video of opening a 9v battery and it has six AAAA batteries inside.

 
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This thread looks to be already off the rails, so lets have a laugh - look at this guy trying to cut open a AA with a hacksaw and a hammer and no vice. LMAO
 
There's lots of batteries that are multiple AA batteries and a lot of battery packs are are multiple C or D batteries. That's very common.
 
I tend to agree with Restorer-John on this. I've seen that pic a bunch of times. No idea if its real or not but either way its a caution about buying no-name parts from unknown sources. I buy stuff from Mouser or Digikey most of the time and I trust both of them to deliver what I paid for. Just because its cheap doesn't mean its inexpensive. I can't tell you how many times I've had to replace a cheap part that failed too early. You lose any savings when your time gets wasted like that.
 
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