Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

[Resqueline]

I'm a fan of Nichia HZ, because of their low ESR. They're hard to get though, so I grab them whereever they can be had in less-than bulk quantity.

I had previously bought some good-looking caps via eBay from egekecu (dik chan) back in 2007, and their ESR all measured spot on.
Rubycon MCZ 6.3V 1800uF, Nichicon HZ 16V 1500uF, Nichicon HD 16V 1500uF
I also have some Panasonic FL 1000uF 16V that measures 0.011 instead of 0.016 ohms but I don't remember where I got those.

Now I bought some "Nichicon HZ" 8x20's from service369 but immediately noticed they didn't look good, and their ESR measured 0.012 instead of 0.009 ohms.
I'll hardly bother return them, so the question is; what brand may they actually be? Evercon, Fuhjyyu, GSC, Jamicon? Anyone recognize them? (Hope the pictures turns out self-explanatory.)

[yyonline]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

The vent and bung style look like United/Nippon ChemiCon.

[yyonline]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

Also, the date code on the fakes, H3058 is 20 years in the future, according to Nichicon's marking scheme (year-year-week-week).

Even if you don't return them, I'd definitely report it to eBay. They don't take too kindly on sellers of counterfeit stuff as it lowers the whole site's credibility.

[kc8adu]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

looks like they were resleeved and sloppy at that.

[Wizard]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

and that X scoring is wrong either. Way too small that you see ends and it has slope at the ends, rather than sharp 90 cavity.

Cheers, Wizard

[japlytic]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

Nichicon units always (to the best of my knowledge) use "plus" vents.

[Resqueline]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

Thanks for all the nice replies!
I checked the data on similar Nippon Chemi-Con's and they don't state the ESR, only Z, being around 0.03 ohms compared to the 0.012 ohms ESR i measured. They're also rated at only 1.5A ripple current. The similar Panasonic's I have are rated at 2.35A ripple.
But I don't quite see the point in re-wrapping one good Jap brand for another. I'd expect them to be of a very obscure make to make it worthwhile. Still, the quite low ESR puzzles me.
Yes, the date code is hilarious.. That together with the triangular vent goes to show how much competence is involved in counterfeiting..
Maybe I'll report it if it can help just a little. If I had been sufficiently suspicious to have looked close enough at service369's picture I'd have seen the triangular shape, but it's hard to keep on your toes all the time..
But Wizard, do you mean that the "real" caps I got 3 years ago are fakes too? They do look a lot better and measure 0.007 ohms just as spec'd.
Are measured ESR on new caps usually lower than the spec (like the Panasonics) or more spot-on?

[Wizard]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

Ends of the X is always covered by the sleeving for up to 12.5mm dia to bit larger. But this one with too short X ends is visible. Not right.

Cheers, Wizard

[yyonline]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

According to the data sheet, Nichicon HZ 1500uF 16V are 10mm diameter. I've seen many Nichicon 10mm without the scoring covered. I've included some photos of some recently removed 10mm HMs from the bad date range. These were pulled from Intel boards, so I have no reason to doubt their authenticity. Vents and bungs look just like the photos of your "good" HZs. My vote goes to not suspicious.

[kc8adu]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

then explain the sloppy sleeves.i have installed many thousands of nichicon caps and have never seen such poor workmanship.

According to the data sheet, Nichicon HZ 1500uF 16V are 10mm diameter. I've seen many Nichicon 10mm without the scoring covered. I've included some photos of some recently removed 10mm HMs from the bad date range. These were pulled from Intel boards, so I have no reason to doubt their authenticity. Vents and bungs look just like the photos of your "good" HZs. My vote goes to not suspicious.

[yyonline]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

Resqueline posted pictures of two sets of caps... Going back to the original post, I believe the first set (first three photos) to be genuine as they match what I've seen on most Nichicons. The second set with the really sloppy sleeves, wrong vent style, and wrong bottom plug style, is an obvious fake (last 3 photos).

[Wizard]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

Or could be some of them is rejects.

Cheers, Wizard

[Resqueline]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

I did notice a few odd spots on the cap's I got 3 years ago so they may wery well be cosmetic rejects, perhaps explaining why they turned up in Hong Kong.
Yes, the pic's I posted were of the two sets, differing by their names.
Even if I picked the worst ones for presentation here, the last caps I got are no question sloppy fakes.
Thanks again!

[bigbeark]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

Yes, I bought some too, from a different Ebay seller. The Listing didn't mention Nichicon by name, but you could see the name in the photos. I believe they are coming out of mainland China, where patents are not enforced. Once they arrived, the thin low-quality gold lettering suggested fake to me. I also bought some of the 8x11.5 1000uf 6.3V at the same time. I tested all of them for ESR and Capacitance, and found that 1000uf ones were all about 800uf, the 1500uf 8x20 were somewhat better, about 1400uf. I used a few, but then discovered that egeku(Ebay) had REAL Panasonic FJs at a low price, so bought some of those, and shelved the pseudo-Nichicons. I have not had a fake experience since then, as I am much more careful now. They are probably no worse than Jackcons, J-cons,G-Luxon etc, but I wouldn't use in a VRM or a board I was serious about. I haven't used any of them since, so maybe I'm serious about any board!

[Player2]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

I'm a fan of Nichia HZ, because of their low ESR. They're hard to get though, so I grab them whereever they can be had in less-than bulk quantity.

Mouser stocks Nichicon HZ's... not exactly cheap though. I'm also a big fan of the HZ's, had great luck with them.

[Resqueline]

Re: Fake & real Nichicons on eBay

It's good to hear that egekecu still keeps to the narrow path with quality parts..

Thanks for the tip on Mouser Player2! It's not a supplier that I have checked out before, but they seem to be export friendly => even presenting their prices in my local currency.
All the HZ's I could ever want! Prices are not bad I think, considering their spec's. Next step up brings you to Organic Polymer Cap's.