looking for Capacitor tester

[playman]

Hi there, i've been googling cap tester DIY but nothing has come up
or just fond some low tester wich only works upto 500uf-700uf max.

So I was wondering if any one here could direct me into the right tester
for me?

It can be either online bought kit or just a good old fashioned DIY.
it needs to be able to test caps that are used in PC's today
wich should be around 12v and 6000uf (wich would be the max) I belive,
well you get the idea.
something I can use for most home electronic components.

[tom66]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

Most cheap multimeters do capacitance.

What you -really- want is an ESR tester, which ranges from $50 to $300 depending on the model you buy.

I have the Atlas ESR60 which cost about £70 (~$100 USD) and I would recommend it, apart from the leads which fell apart after a month or so (nothing a bit of solder and zero-offset recalibration didn't fix though.) It measures both capacitance and ESR.

[playman]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

But is that capitance any reliable?
100$ is kinda steep for me, but it's possible, just wondering if I could get it cheaper
with out loosing any quality in the process.

[vinceroger69]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-ESR-an...item4ab70f6aa9
you might want to pm rusmike on this site he will no dout do it cheaper for you he has for me.

[playman]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

thanks for that vinceroger69, have you used this meter?
I'll take this into consideration, does it test caps in circuit?
I thought that meters that could test caps in circuit would cost no less
then 250-300$ upto 1.5k$ (well atleast I was told that)

PS.
What range of caps can it test? I mean can it test 50v 4700uf and bigger?

[mariushm]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

I just bought Mike's ESR meter a week or so ago and received it yesterday. It works great.

It should do 4700uF with no problems, but I only tested it with up to 3300uF because that's the most I have. The voltage rating doesn't matter but just to reassure you I can tell you I measured 330uF 200v capacitors with no problems.

As for measuring in circuit, yes, it can measure. But just like with the high end meters, but I think the ability to measure in circuit refers to the fact that the voltages used is low enough to not trigger any diodes or transistors that would mess up the measurement.

If you have several capacitors in parallel on the board (for example when you test the row of capacitors near the CPU), the measurements won't be accurate and they won't be accurate even with the professional meters.

With this meter, your only concern should be to make sure the big capacity or high voltage rated capacitors are discharged, the meter can't handle well large voltages.

Most capacitors discharge by themselves in time. For example I tested a 820uF 35v capacitor with my multimeter the right after measurement switched to voltage and looked at the capacitor dropping by about 0.1v every 3-4 seconds.. by itself the capacitor will leak less but it's about right and large capacitors can hold a charge for a longer time obviously.
A simple resistor across the terminals of capacitors will discharge in a few seconds most capacitors.

PS. By design, the capacitance measurement is less accurate with capacitors less than 470uF - for example a 47uF measures 55-60uF and a 330uF measured 355uF. It's just how the code inside the embedded chip does the math, it's more "tuned" for higher capacity capacitors. But this is not a flaw, after all the main purpose of this tool is ESR determination, at it's very good at that.

[vinceroger69]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

have not got mine yet but anyday i hope
Features:
*Tests electrolytics in circuit, & test leads are non-polarized.
*Test lead resistance compensation.
*Automatic power off when reading is unchanged for 40 seconds.
*Power-on battery voltage indication.

*Built-in test resistors.



Specification:

Measuring range:

Capacity 0.02 ... 65535 uF

ESR, R 0 ... 160 Ohm

Display: LCD

Power: 2 battaries CR2032 (included)

Dimensions (mm): 120x70x20

Manual English

[playman]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

I just bought Mike's ESR meter a week or so ago and received it yesterday. It works great.

It should do 4700uF with no problems, but I only tested it with up to 3300uF because that's the most I have. The voltage rating doesn't matter but just to reassure you I can tell you I measured 330uF 200v capacitors with no problems.

As for measuring in circuit, yes, it can measure. But just like with the high end meters, but I think the ability to measure in circuit refers to the fact that the voltages used is low enough to not trigger any diodes or transistors that would mess up the measurement.

If you have several capacitors in parallel on the board (for example when you test the row of capacitors near the CPU), the measurements won't be accurate and they won't be accurate even with the professional meters.

With this meter, your only concern should be to make sure the big capacity or high voltage rated capacitors are discharged, the meter can't handle well large voltages.

Most capacitors discharge by themselves in time. For example I tested a 820uF 35v capacitor with my multimeter the right after measurement switched to voltage and looked at the capacitor dropping by about 0.1v every 3-4 seconds.. by itself the capacitor will leak less but it's about right and large capacitors can hold a charge for a longer time obviously.
A simple resistor across the terminals of capacitors will discharge in a few seconds most capacitors.

PS. By design, the capacitance measurement is less accurate with capacitors less than 470uF - for example a 47uF measures 55-60uF and a 330uF measured 355uF. It's just how the code inside the embedded chip does the math, it's more "tuned" for higher capacity capacitors. But this is not a flaw, after all the main purpose of this tool is ESR determination, at it's very good at that.

thanks for that great reply mariushm.
That answared many questions, altough I knew about that capacitor leaks over time. yay for me

But do you need to use a resistor to discharge the capacitor, I thought it was enough/ok to use a screwdriver.

So for caps that are lower then 470uf I should have another meter to messure them?

[vinceroger69]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

if you see my post above you may of missed it they do test from 0.02 to 65535 uf so should be ideal for what we need.

[playman]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

if you see my post above you may of missed it they do test from 0.02 to 65535 uf so should be ideal for what we need.

well that makes me alittle confused
he say's another thing yet you say/paste another thing.

[vinceroger69]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

if you have a look at the ebay link i posted this is what rusmike sent me although if you contact him direct they are cheaper
the details are on there what i copied and pasted?

[playman]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

I've contacted him and will be making the purchase later to day.

[vinceroger69]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

they do look meters in my opinion it will be ok for what i ned it for.

[playman]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

Just recived my tester from rusmike, quality service

[JimmysTGP]

Re: looking for Capacitor tester

I dont know if they still sell this model any longer haven't look in a while. But I have two ESR meters a $159.00 Tenma 72-6355 which is the one I prefer over my BK/precision 885 $599.99. I can discharge with the Tenma unlike the the BK where I have to use two tools to be able to test. Although I do appreciate having both here but I really don't pull out the Bk anymore. Hell I've had that Tenma for over 10 years with no problems.