[Fun] Capacitor brand: Honsing - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: obiwanjacobi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2015, 09:40:15 pm
content: You know how Dave always has a nice remark for these kind of brands...Replacing them with Panasonics...

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 01:09:17 am
content: Gotta love the smell of blown caps. Almost as good as component fires. SWMBO doesn't care for either. Panasonic is one of my preferred brands along with Rubycon, Nichicon and Illinois Capacitor.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 11:36:23 am
content: Quote from: GreyWoolfe on February 02, 2015, 01:09:17 amI'd add Cornell Dubilier (formerly Mallory) to that list, and others such as Elna, EPCOS, Kemet, Murata, United Chemi-Con, Vishay, and Wima as well.

author: wagon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 12:15:21 pm
content: What about that lovely 'juice' from leaking electrolytics? Smells of fish, kind of.Changed a couple today in an old Mazda B2600 engine ecu. (One was a Rubicon, BTW. Well know for their unreliability in this application)

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 12:24:22 pm
content: The smell is no accident; amines are used (which ones I don't recall), which are notorious for smelling "fishy" (the primary byproduct of fish putrefaction I believe is trimethylamine and/or triethylamine).Tim

author: wagon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 12:27:19 pm
content: Quote from: T3sl4co1l on February 02, 2015, 12:24:22 pmWell there you go! It certainly does stink, I never knew why.Some brands leak more than others : some just dry out, some leak, some bulge. So go bang!

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 12:53:59 pm
content: I've never noticed the smell myself, but it may be that I've been lucky with the few brands that I've blown up (my record of blown capacitors I think fits on one hand, and of transistors, probably just a few sets of hands), or it may be that I can't actually smell it (there are a few chemicals that have noteworthy differences in sensibility, by smell and by taste, and the origin is usually genetic, interesting stuff).Tim

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 12:59:54 pm
content: Modern electrolytics don't smell that bad when they fail. High voltage ones from the 1960s used to smell like the world's worst fart when mistreated.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 05:27:26 pm
content: Wet solid slug tantalum has no smell, it is just concentrated sulphuric acid inside. Does corrode PCB traces though.

author: obiwanjacobi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 06:13:59 pm
content: Well, lucky for me, the smell was (as good as) gone by the time I opened it up.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 09:09:37 pm
content: Quote from: coppice on February 02, 2015, 12:59:54 pmAwhile back someone gave me an old rack mount tube scope with some extra plugins. The scope worked with the plugins that were in place. I was testing one of the others when there was a pop, a small flame and an unbelievable smell. Must have been one of those caps. I had my office door open so the house smelled like that for about a day. SWMBO was not pleased to say the least.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 11:28:02 pm
content: Quote from: wagon on February 02, 2015, 12:15:21 pmI always thought it smelt like cat pee or ammonia.

author: gilbenl
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 11:43:38 pm
content: +1 for cat pee.

author: obiwanjacobi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2015, 05:59:36 pm
content: That does look a lot better...

author: dovah-chan
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 03, 2015, 09:41:56 pm
content: Quote from: nanofrog on February 02, 2015, 11:36:23 amBoth my parents used to work for Kemet at their plant in Fountain Inn here in South Carolina. It's a shame they shut it down but I believe they still have one or two open still in the area. Wonderful place to work when it was there. I don't know what happened to the lot where the fab was, but the last time I ever saw it was about 5 years ago and it had weeds growing in the parking lot surrounded by crusty old fences. Still, gotta love that made in the USA pride am I right?

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2015, 01:50:35 am
content: Quote from: dovah-chan on February 03, 2015, 09:41:56 pmIMHO, Yes. Especially since there's not a lot of manufacturing jobs left.