Bad capacitors: where from?

[jasee]

Being a cheapskate, I've bought some bargain electrolytic capacitors from Ebay! I got the high temperature ones, but I didn't think to ask about the make.
The ones I've got are branded Aishi, Yageo, Luxon and Leaguer.
I know historically capacitors of some brands from China had problems. What is the situation now? Are there still such Chinese or Tiwanese brands to be wary of?
The values seem ok according to a capacitance meter
As they are generally to be used in power supplies, have I made a mistake?

[rogfanther]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Bluntly, yes.

They could be ok for a piece-of-trash psu, or one that you intend to give to an enemy.

For good brands, or own use, they are not suitable.

[tom66]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Aishi - Average quality, I'd rank them as "not too bad".
Yageo - Same as Teapo I think, poor quality
Luxon - Probably G-Luxon, which is same as Teapo, so poor quality.
Leaguer - Never heard of them, so I automatically consider them bad. I may be incorrect, they may be fantastic, but that would be very unlikely.

[jasee]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Aishi - Average quality, I'd rank them as "not too bad".
Yageo - Same as Teapo I think, poor quality
Luxon - Probably G-Luxon, which is same as Teapo, so poor quality.
Leaguer - Never heard of them, so I automatically consider them bad. I may be incorrect, they may be fantastic, but that would be very unlikely.

Thanks, but I see from another thread that opinions very much vary. It also seems to depend on the value?
The ones which I'm removing with obvious physical signs of damage are Samvha branded. The exact same brand which a reputable national English supplier supplies! (Amongst others)
Also, I suppose, some could be fakes?
My inclination is to use higher voltage values. I can't see any disadvantage in this and presumably they should run cooler and thus last longer?

[selldoor]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

My inclination is to use higher voltage values. I can't see any disadvantage in this and presumably they should run cooler and thus last longer?

I dont know much about this only what I read on here - those that really know their stuff may chime in later.
A lot of people use higher voltage caps but I dont think its because they run cooler. They may last longer as they can withstand higher voltage peaks.
Definitely you should use 105°C caps as against 85°C caps and if its hot running even 125°C caps

You say you have tested your caps but if that is with a capacitance meter only and not an esr meter the results can be misleading.

There are reams and reams of posts on here and the things that always come out are that it is the design of the circuit and the physical layout of the components that has most efect on the capacitors. In some circumstances even best brand caps fail because of where they are positioned and it is always difficult to establish just how long they have been run for.

I think Samvha should read Samwha and you are correct even the medium to poor brands you mention are conterfeited and sold on ebay.

[japlytic]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

With electrolyic capacitors, there's the old saying: You get what you pay for.

[jasee]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Thanks for the replies so far.

It also seems essential to have some sort of ESR meter. There are some cheap ones about from China which seem almost in kit form. I don't know whether anyone here has any experience of such devices?

For example:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-TRANSI...-/160945476582

[selldoor]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Depends on what you mean by essential if doing this for a living then yes if just hobbying/occasional fix then perhaps not. Firstly you have to understand the results and be able to find a data sheet. The cost has to be offset against number of caps you (save) re-use. I am lucky in that I live near a Farnell outlet so no postage so I would have to save a lot of caps to get a £70 meter. They can save time but if you have to take the caps off board to measure, then how much time? Again there are loads of posts discussing the pros and cons of this and fairly recent one regarding ebay meter you query. I thought of getting one just for interest sake I thought they were a bit cheaper but as the £££ has just gone tits up perhaps that is reflected.

[Behemot]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Good method is to consider everything but known good brands (6 or so) to be bad.

[mockingbird]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Yageo - Same as Teapo I think, poor quality

Teapo SEK and SC seem to be a lot more reliable than their other series, so YMMV depending on the Teapo series/batch.

Leaguer - Never heard of them, so I automatically consider them bad. I may be incorrect, they may be fantastic, but that would be very unlikely.

Found often in TP-Link routers and low-end switches or hubs... Awful cap, replace on sight. I think they're in the same class as "Stone" capacitors, which don't last more than a few weeks.

[Behemot]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Teapo SEK and SC seem to be a lot more reliable than their other series, so YMMV depending on the Teapo series/batch.

I havet SZ and SC lying before me, both optically jsut fine. Took them from one Fortron power supply which has supposedly been used for only A FEW WEEKS. Replacing them both solved the problem with the PSU not turning on.

Is there any other way how to prove that NOTHING FROM TEAPO is reliable? Or will you and other ppl still continue calling Teapo „somewhat good“ despite the facts they are so bad?

[goodpsusearch]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

I havet SZ and SC lying before me, both optically jsut fine. Took them from one Fortron power supply which has supposedly been used for only A FEW WEEKS. Replacing them both solved the problem with the PSU not turning on.

Is there any other way how to prove that NOTHING FROM TEAPO is reliable? Or will you and other ppl still continue calling Teapo „somewhat good“ despite the facts they are so bad?

Some people are able to see more than black and white. Obviously you are not one of them.

[Behemot]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

You got a proof here that your dreamed "good" Teapo series is capable of failing after few weeks of use. That makes it crap of all craps. If you still fail to see that, you are just a troll.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

You got a proof here that your dreamed "good" Teapo series is capable of failing after few weeks of use. That makes it crap of all craps. If you still fail to see that, you are just a troll.

I've got proof of Teapo capacitors not failing for years.

If you combine the experience from several users here about Teapo, the good and the bad ones, you come to conclusion that they are mediocre. What exactly don't you get about that?

Just compare Teapo with GSC/Capxon. Could you say they are of similar quality?

[Behemot]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

I don't care if you call them so-so, mediocre or whatever. Whoever wants some device to be stable and to be able to rely on it will count one and one and realize it's just a stupid risk.

Using capacitors which may fail anywhere between tomorrow and in 3 years is suicide. So yes, I see only good caps I can rely on, and than the rest I cannot count on and nothing on them can be worth the risk. Because I just don't accept risk.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

Well, good for you

[Behemot]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

I know

Use them as you wish but I would just be glad if you called the the real name: Bad Caps.

[mockingbird]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

I havet SZ and SC lying before me, both optically jsut fine. Took them from one Fortron power supply which has supposedly been used for only A FEW WEEKS. Replacing them both solved the problem with the PSU not turning on.

Is there any other way how to prove that NOTHING FROM TEAPO is reliable? Or will you and other ppl still continue calling Teapo „somewhat good“ despite the facts they are so bad?

Ok, let's agree on this then... Teapo caps of said series exhibit dead shorts far less often than any other cap... I don't know whether you're right or not, and I won't know until I get an ESR meter and test the myriad of Teapo SC caps I've arbitrarily replaced over the years to find out whether their ESR is still in spec...

Keep in mind, of all these large 2200uf+ Teapo SC caps I've taken out of FSP PSUs over the years, I've not seen a single one bloated. It's always the small 8mm Teapo SC caps which are bloated near the 5VSB rail (And it's not because of the two transistor design, these models actually have an IC for the circuit). So maybe the production of the 10mm large ones is different in a way from the 8mm ones that makes them better quality? Maybe Sparkle Power or Fortron had a special deal with them to produce reliable batches for them...

Again, I'm not saying that I would trust Teapo SEK or Teapo SC, only that I have found Teapo SC and Teapo SEK still performing well after many years of operation. Two days ago I saw an Asus P5GC-MX board with all UCC KZG caps and a Codegen PSU still working perfectly, does that mean KZG is a reliable cap, absolutely not.

[Behemot]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

I have seen bloated Teapos, OST, CrapXon etc., no difference for me, replace all on sight. Ppl also used to say CEC caps are not that bad, they can last and some other talk. Now I have recapped two Enermax Liberty PSUs within couple weeks with half of them bloated. I just don't want to sit like a duck and wait for the supposedly good Teapo series to prove bad as all of the others. But as ppl come to me more and more to replace the already bad caps, they discovered it's better to replace them right away. It was just a matter of time we'd discover bad but nto bloated Teapos…

You know, many people want silent computer. So they basically *want* the PSU to be hot. But here they are with loads of Fortrons running noisy because if they would be slightly more silent (and hoter), they won't last 3 years (or warranty peroid at least, for some models), they'd last 2 years (and some models not even that).

[tom66]

Re: Bad capacitors: where from?

A 5VSB circuit is much more abusive towards crap capacitors. Ripple current under normal load can be lower for the output caps than on the 5VSB side!