Teapo

[c_hegge]

Just how bad do you guys reckon they are? Nowadays, I find just as much gear with failed Teapo as I do with Fuhjyyu, and I absolutely hate them. If I find them in my own gear, they get replaced pre-emptively as soon as the warranty is up.

EDIT: I probably should add that Teapo and Fuhjyu caps are both about as common as each other around here

[mariushm]

Re: Teapo

I'd say average.

Considering the VOLUME of capacitors they sell, it's expected they'd be common at repairs also.

[Wester547]

Re: Teapo

It depends on their application.

On a motherboard, I'd agree. A motherboard demands far higher grade capacitors with a much higher ripple rating and a much lower ESR rating, and that kind of stress (in, say, the VRM section of a motherboard), Taiwanese capacitors simply can't handle in the long term, especially with added heat which may be a factor all over the board as MOSFETs and add-in cards can easily get hot. I would not want anything other than good Japanese lytics and polymers on a motherboard. General purpose capacitors simply will not do, not even the 'low impedance' Taiwanese capacitors which simply aren't as good as their Japanese 'equivalents'.

In other applications, it's hard to say... assuming you mean high frequency devices, they're obviously not the best but given that they are appropriately spec'd and are kept away from heat and stress I think they'd do okay in a power supply granted that they're kept away from hot spots. I wouldn't worry about them on the primary section as input capacitors are obviously not as stressed (unless we're talking APFC PSUs).

I find that the 'worst capacitor brand' is a highly anecdotal thing with exception to truly awful brands like Capxon, Arcon (though they don't seem to be around anymore), GSC, Choyo, etc, that which should be replaced on sight. Of the truly known capacitor brands that aren't fake polymers, Capxon has been considered worst by consensus. Even Teapo would be a pleasure to see by comparison to that as Capxon will not last and given any sort of heat or stress will fail sooner than not. And when you get down to it, all Taiwanese brands are bad, and even Japanese lytics will eventually dry out, Taiwanese lytics just dry out much sooner (and enough heat will kill any lytic), which is unacceptable considering this often happens right after the warranty period expires...

And as mariushm said, when you have that many Teapo capacitors being produced, they are bound to vary in quality from supply chain to supply chain and capacitor to capacitor. Some volumes of capacitors will last longer than others, so their lifespan unless in truly horrific situations is not predictable. You also have to consider that we all live in different parts of the world so there's the differing ambient conditions and even line voltages if such a thing should count... many people keep their systems cooler or warmer than others too, and then we have increased vibration, dirty power, more power being drawn in some systems than others, 24/7 use vs. power cycles, peak currents, power spikes, etc...

I think Teapo are average for Taiwan capacitors, as with their parent company (Yageo). Some will say OST is horrible, others will say they do okay in power supplies, so your answer will vary from person to person, or experience to experience. I would rank Teapo along the likes of Ltec, OST, Hitano, and Samxon (of their decent series) in a power supply or high frequency device that isn't a motherboard, or what are known as the 'mediocre' Taiwanese brands, above which Japanese capacitors (that aren't of a defective series) stand and below which truly awful Chinese/Taiwanese capacitors (Jamicon, Elite, Su'scon, Fuhjyyu, Hermei, KSC, Fcon, etc...) lurk.

You also said that Teapo and Fuhjyyu capacitors are commonplace in your vicinity - that could mean that they are often found in the same power supply so if I'm not mistaken, Fuhjyyu could be there to 'help' the Teapos to their doom, in the same way that subpar capacitors may last longer when mingled with Japanese capacitors. It could also be that their quality has gone downhill since - Teapo and G-Luxon merged in 2005... and sorry for the lengthy answer. ^^;

[Pentium4]

Re: Teapo

I'd say they're average because they CAN last a long time, but in high stress or heat environments, they're toast

[mariushm]

Re: Teapo

To continue on the same note as Webster547... keep in mind you're in Australia, which is not exactly representative of a world wide climate.
It's hot, it's humid, you're most likely close to the ocean...

I always remember the story of Gigabyte getting lots of motherboard returns from India, much higher return rates compared to anywhere.

It turned out the humidity of the country was responsible - the humidity causes shorts to create between layers of the pcb, so they had to start using a different kind of pcb in which the fiberglass strands were interleaved differently.

Just like that, what you find failing in Australia may have very low return rate in let's say Germany, or totally different failure reasons...

[eccerr0r]

Re: Teapo

Honestly I haven't been looking at brands much -- until I saw the two Antecs full of failed Fuhjyyus. So I can't say whether Teapo or even Capxon are bad. Though I have to admit Rulycon ... enough said...

[mockingbird]

Re: Teapo

I vote average based on batch and application.

Last week I opened up a Bestec PSU, all Teapo SEK (GP series). None of them were bloated, and this computer has been in service for 5 years.

I think the quality control there has improved in the last few years... If you have a PSU with Teapo caps, it's not such a big deal like if your PSU had any other off-brand. I think they've become increasingly reputable over the years.

[ratdude747]

Re: Teapo

Even in PSU's I replace them... but only when I happen to have the right parts. Or if it's a high heat PSU..

[Gariarto]

Re: Teapo

Have to say average, most of my encounters are in PSUs, mainly ones that have been in use for several years. I find bloated Teapos right by the heatsinks and one or two in the output but the rest are usually visually fine and the unit was running at the time. Like everyone else knows, cooling is key.

[turbozutek]

Re: Teapo

I replace Teapos on sight for anything more important than a stereo. I've just seen too many of them burst open or looking OK but allowing tons of ripple through or high ESR.

They might be better than some other Chinese brands, but it's like saying that a car made of matchsticks is safer than a car made of paper: at the end of the day they are both rubbish!

Chris...

[Swervin]

Re: Teapo

I voted junk, but if they're kept cool they can last. We have about 1500 Entone brand IPTV set top boxes, the DVRs are the same as the non-DVRs, except they get a fan and hard drive.

On the DVRs with a fan, the Teapo capacitors fail very rarely. The non-DVRs on the other hand, have almost all had at least one capacitor fail after 3-4 years. There are six 470uF 25v capacitors in each set top box.

This could be blamed on bad set top box design and poor cooling, but I don't think that the boxes get much hotter than any other consumer electronics. For what it's worth, the capacitors closest to the heat sink on the processor have usually been the first to fail.

We've been replacing the failed Teapos with Panasonics, and we've never had issues with them.

[Jack Crow]

Re: Teapo

CH
When I first ran into Teapo's many years ago, I had a gig fixing CRT monitors made by PRINCETON GRAPHICS for a pharmacy company.

Great monitor, gad awful caps.

Every power supply failed after the OEM warranty.
About 9 months after that the caps around the flyback would go.

It got to the point I would collect a few monitors, and change the sets of caps w/o thinking about it.

In the end I worked my self out of a job.
The new parts kept working.

So in my opinion Teapo's are crap.

Jack Crow

[mockingbird]

Re: Teapo

If you had to choose between Teapo, Samwha, or Samyoung, which would you pick?

[eccerr0r]

Re: Teapo

Ouch. I ran into some Samyoungs that were bad (without bulging)...
Need to run into some more Teapos to complain about them...

[c_hegge]

Re: Teapo

That's like choosing whether I'd rather be shot, stabbed or drowned.
I'd probably go with Samyoung because I think they have some relation with Chemi-con

[mockingbird]

Re: Teapo

You know, the real difference between these "middle brands" and the really unreliable Chinese stuff is that these brands don't do well when you use them at their intended rating. If you overspec them for the particular application, they can last a long time.

[Pentium4]

Re: Teapo

I think KZG and OST are my least favorite because they rarely bulge when they die it seems like. At least the other crap like CapXon and YC, etc usually bulge when they die. I would choose Sam Young as well from the 3

[diodo49]

Re: Teapo

As a Generator tech I have replaced hundreds of those junk teapo caps.

[momaka]

Re: Teapo

I think Teapo are average more or less.

One thing I noticed is that their 8 mm and smaller diameter caps bulge/go bad a lot more often than their 10 mm and higher caps. Take for example the 32 HP DC5000 SFF computers I am fixing. Those have 10 mm Teapo caps on the VRM high side close to the CPU where it's very hot and 8 mm smaller Teapo caps scattered around the board, some in fairly hot areas, others not so much. Except for 1 or 2 systems, all of the other systems appear to have their 10 mm Teapo capacitors fine. On the other hand, more than 3/4 of those systems have bad (bulging) 8 mm Teapos.

And get this: 2 years ago, I parted an inkjet printer. One of the boards had 2x general purpose 50V 470 uF teapo caps (12.5 or 16 mm diameter, if not more) and 2-3x 8 mm Teapo caps (470 uF, 10V IIRC). After sitting in storage for 2 years in my room, the 8 mm Teapo caps have bulged on their own without any voltage applied while the big 50V 470uF units appear fine.

I also can't tell you how many small Teapo "start-up" caps I've seen (both here and on things I fixed) go bad - just too many. So I think their 8 mm and smaller caps are definitely not reliable, but the larger ones are okay IMO.

In those older 250W HiPro power supplies with the 12.5 mm spots, they seem to do quite well so I leave them alone.

Though I have to admit Rulycon ... enough said...

Yeah, Rulycon is so bad that they will usually bulge on their own.

[lti]

Re: Teapo

I haven't seen many Teapo caps. My computer is full of little ones and the primary caps in its power supply are Teapo.

I don't think there is anything worse than Jackcon and Sacon/Evercon/GSC. Even Rulycon caps are much better than either of those brands.