Confessions Of A Capacitor Junkie - Boy Do I Love Capacitors

[Grainger49]

It is no secret here that I am a capacitor junkie.  Big ones, little ones, I buy them all.  It is an addiction!

Often we wonder why there are such a difference in sizes of capacitors.  There are several factors.  First is the value of the capacitor, then the voltage rating and finally what the dielectric is made from.  Those are probably in reverse order of what causes a cap to become large.

On the far left, front to back:
0.1uF@425V DC Polypropylene (PP) Film (Wonder Cap), tiny but high voltage
0.1uF@200V DC KK Teflon Film, big jump in size for less than 1/2 the voltage of the first cap, just a change in dielectric (to Teflon)
0.1uF@600V DC KK Teflon Film again, triple the voltage

Large Blue cap in the middle, electrolytic 1400uF@450V DC, lots of capacitance, lots of voltage (I should build a power supply)

Tall Metal cap in the middle, 10uF@660V AC PIO (Paper In Oil), 60 Hz, AC has a higher peak voltage thus a greater volume for the capacitance, this is an "Oiler", almost the same volume as the 1000uf@450V DC

Front row, left to right:
0.47 Farads 5V electrolytic, about a half a Farad!
1 Farad 5.5V electrolytic  
These are large value capacitors, at low voltages.  An example of today's technology.

Interesting to note how much more volume Teflon needs over the PP film Wonder Cap.  Also note the difference in size between 200V and 600V KK Teflons.

The AC rated cap is only 10uF and the blue cap, at about the same volume, is 1400uF at a lower DC voltage.

 

[4krow]

Can somebody say---intervention?

 

[Grainger49]

Greg,

This is just a sampling of a larger stock that I have of all of these.  You have no idea how many capacitors I have.  It boggles my mind.  I should be seeking a home for some of them.

 

[earwaxxer]

I lust after caps as well - my tastes are a bit more toward the caviar end thought!

 

[Paul Joppa]

My unreasonable lust is for speakers. I'm a terrible woodworker - haven't built a cabinet myself in the last 40 years - but I have drivers for 8 or 9 pairs. Maybe half of it is JBL stuff.

 

[Paully]

I just can't stop buying vacuum tubes, even though I hardly roll tubes anymore and don't really need too many more beyond what I have.  Well, maybe a couple more pairs of 45s, 76s, GZ33s, and on and on...  And then there is the record addiction, goodness.

 

[earwaxxer]

My unreasonable lust is for speakers. I'm a terrible woodworker - haven't built a cabinet myself in the last 40 years - but I have drivers for 8 or 9 pairs. Maybe half of it is JBL stuff.

Paul - do think that's speaker lust or 'driver' lust? I just cannot bring myself to through away a blown driver! Its ridiculous because they are big and heavy, and one of these days I'm going to break my back taking the box down off the shelf. I have to admit, they are just too damn pretty! - Now that's sick!

 

[4krow]

Anyone else have a Barbie collection?(full size)

 

[Grainger49]

How would you know about my first wife?

 

[randy@matrixq.com]

Is there something other than a full-size Barbie?

 

[earwaxxer]

Greg - you're going to have to throw us a bone here. We dont know what the fuck your talkin about!

 

[VoltSecond]

I've used Digikey 445-2613-ND NPO ceramics in the audio path and they sound great.

NPO or military BP caps are to "ceramic" as Teflon is to green mylar caps. 

NPO has solved many problems for me at work too.

 

[earwaxxer]

I have heard good things about the 'ceramics'.

 

[Noskipallwd]

You know I thought it would be fun to have a raffle, for BH customers of course, the winner gets an amp built using selected components from members extensive spare part stash. There are difficult questions to be answered though. Where to build it, do we use an existing design or come up with something original. I am sure we all have enough parts together to build a pretty serious piece of gear. Just another one of the strange thoughts bouncing around my much too roomy head.

Cheers,
Shawn

 

[4krow]

Is there something other than a full-size Barbie?

Yes, Skipper( the little slut of the Barbie world).
 Eric, apparently, you were a sheltered child.

 Ceramics then, can be replaced with bipolar is that correct?

 

[VoltSecond]

Beware of non-NPO, non-BP and non-COG ceramics.  NPO, BP and COG are class 1 ceramics.  They are good performers. X7R etc are class 2 ceramics. Class 2 ceramics are non-linear with voltage, microphonic yadda yadda. . .in otherwords they are to be avoided in the direct audio path. However, Class 2 ceramics are good for noise reduction in power supplies for they are small and have low inductance.

 

[Grainger49]

We would find these specs, NPO/BP/COG, in the linked manufacturer's spec sheet on the Digi-Key or Mouser page, right?

 

[VoltSecond]

BP/NPO/COG are class 1 ceramics (think 1st class).  There are other class 1 ceramics that I haven't heard, but are probably not that bad.  Most class 1 ceramics internally are white to darker grey.

X7R, BX, etc are class 2 ceramics (think 2nd class.) Class 2 ceramics work decent for power supply RF bypass, but they have a cheap-polyester-film sound.  Most class 2 ceramics are internally brown to dark brown.

I've seen "brown" class 1 ceramics (used in non-audio designs) that met the datasheet specs, but I think we were duped and they where just tweaked Class 2 ceramics.

 

[Grainger49]

So now I have a new problem.  DebK is having trouble fitting in all her cap upgrades into her SR-45 amp.  I know the problem well. 

Below is a picture of my Paramour Blivit (10# of shit in  a 5# bag) and the upcoming cap upgrades.  The big black one at the right of the amp will be replaced with a larger diameter, shorter silver Clarity Cap in the middle of the foreground.  The left, of the amp, silver one (KK Teflon) will be replaced by the barely visible black Mundorf in the left foreground.  And the cathode bypass that is hidden under the FT-3 KK Teflon on the right of the amp (you can zoom in and see the black body) will be replaced (somewhere) by the MONGO blue cap.

BTW, that is Sam (Samantha) in the background sniffing the other cathode bypass cap.

 

[Paully]

That picture says it all.  I don't know see where you stuff that big blue cap and with cats running around you don't dare leave it exposed.  The other two caps look like they will fit.  I suppose you could cover the terminals in wax and electrical tape.  Or build a box to put them in and run wires back to the Paramours.