Are Samxon "bad caps" - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 01:05:10 am
content: Hey,I need a Low ESR electrolytic cap rated at 50V or 63V which will be used to filter power supply for ac-dc led driver (industrial 24vac or typical halogen 12vac). I will be stocking parts from tme.eu, who mainly sell Panasonic and Samxon. Samxons are kinda cheaper than Panasonic, and there seems to be some problem with stock of some Panasonic models and values. As I only intend to buy 50pcs or so, It's not an option to buy those directly. Tme.eu i a rather reputable distributor and I don't expect that they would be selling fakes of either brand.Are Samxon low esr caps decent or are they typical 'badcaps' that will blow in my (or customer''s) face?

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 01:49:01 am
content: Panasonic is definitely my first choice. Samxon GF series are problematic as we see a lot of them bad at badcaps.net.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 08:47:07 am
content: Samxons are the trolls of electronics ... I smash them with a hammer whenever i see oneIt's like what do you expect from korean caps made as cheaply as possible with screwed-up recipes passed on from the 00's Taiwanese badcaps era?

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 08:55:16 am
content: On the other hand badcaps.net is selling thosehttp://badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=24So who's telling the truth? I'm thinking to go with GT 470U/50V. Is GT series better than GF? They are a bit more expensive, but still 1/2 of Panasonic's price.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 09:24:28 am
content: Quote from: poorchava on December 05, 2012, 08:55:16 amYes, the owner there wouldprefernot to sell some Samxon series like GF, but Panasonic won't sell to him directly and Rubycon discontinued the MCZ caps.The gory details at (Topcat is the owner)http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21540I can tell you from 2.75 years of participation at badcaps.net and looking through my own stash of bad caps, that Samxon GF are problematic. I can't speak for the other Samxon series.Budm, who is another badcaps member, has been doing repairs for over 15 years and by his estimation, he has repaired over 1,000 TVs and monitors using Panasonic FM/FC caps. Seehttp://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpost.php?p=251645&postcount=20

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 11:28:47 am
content: I agree with the above poster.Samxon GF is consistently popping up in dead monitors I see and power supplies. There's another series that also causes some issues, if I remember correctly it's GK or something that starts with G.Other than these series, saw very few Samxon failed or measuring bad, within the margin of error I'd say.Bigger companies had issues as well... like Nippon Chemi Con KZG and KZJ series, Nichicon with their HM and HN series around 2004 (they fixed them later)... Samwha is well known for their crap capacitors in monitors (WB series mostly which was discontinued years ago and W* in general)

author: ModemHead
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 01:56:51 pm
content: Last piece of consumer electronics I repaired was a Motorola DSL modem. You know, the ones that get stupidly hot? Three bad SamXon GF-series caps. Physical size was critical, so I replaced all the caps with what I could find in-stock at DigiKey that would fit, which happened to be Nichicon.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 03:09:12 pm
content: Concur, if you want a reliable one why work with Samxon or other less reputable ones? You can't beat Panasonic or Rubycon as they've been around forever. Be careful of counterfeit so buy only from reputable dealers. You'll definitely pay more from Digikey, but they are the most reputable and have the best parametric search when looking for parts like caps.Quote from: retiredcaps on December 05, 2012, 01:49:01 am

author: TheDirty
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 07:00:20 pm
content: Funny, I just replaced 6 Samxon GF caps in my Dell monitor last weekend.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2012, 11:49:28 pm
content: Panasonic has a new series called FR which I have been using.Truth be told, appearance wise, they look like some one-hung low garbage. There's not even any branding on them, just some numbers and the specification. The vent, however, is the typical Panasonic T-vent.But, the point of this is that the FR caps are like significantly cheaper than FM or FC AND they have a longer running life than FM/FC. I believe increased ripple current and lower ESR. Great caps. Look like shit, but they are great.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2012, 12:54:55 am
content: I repair PC motherboards used in XRay machines (they have ISA slots and you cant get new ones any more).We always replace the caps with with polymer aluminum solid caps (Nichicon) eg.http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&KeyWords=493-3710-NDThe ESR/ripple current is a bit overkill but we need them to last as long as possible and we've never had any fail yet.

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2012, 01:21:00 am
content: If its possible to maintain a good air flow to reduce operating temperature then the caps are more likely to last longer.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2012, 01:29:51 am
content: Very true Nukie. Crap caps that are kept cool can actually last surprisingly long.

author: RCMR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2012, 07:17:50 am
content: Speaking of temperature and caps... am I the only one who is amazed that SMD electrolytics can go through the reflow process without venting due to the electrolyte boiling away inside?

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2012, 08:04:03 am
content: Quote from: RCMR on December 06, 2012, 07:17:50 amYeah

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2012, 09:51:25 am
content: My choice is kinda limited to what I can buy locally. I plan to assemble like 50pcs of the driver, one capacitor in each. So assuming $1/piece i cannot justify paying $30 for shipping from digikey to Poland.I don't run official business (I'm working as a subcontractor, running your own business in Poland costs like $350-400 a month in tax) so I cannot order from RS, Avnet and such. For larger distribution companies I'm pretty much limited to Farnell (I don't like to order from them though and they often have insane prices) or TME.eu (biggest Polish retailer for electronic parts, now expanding to central/eastern europe).As for the design I'm not expecting the operating temperature to exceed 40-50*C. I can spend $0.5-0.7 per cap to keep overall cost reasonable.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2012, 02:46:50 pm
content: If you find Samxon caps in a product that is new or working well, I wouldn't however go out of my way to buy Panasonic or Rubycon and replace them particularly if the item is under warranty. Just note it a risk for failure, and keep working the device. If it dies one day or you have a dead device you're troubleshooting and on opening note the lesser electrolytics in there, I'd zero in on them first and save alot of troubleshooting time.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2012, 03:48:31 pm
content: Time...... Reflow for 2 minutes and they turn into little bullets as they boil inside.