Simple Electrolytic Capacitor Reformer and Tester 2
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- Опубликовано: 20 авг 2021
- A simple device to aid with reforming electrolytic capacitors and testing their leakage current. Basically a switch, 3 resistors and an ammeter.
The switch eliminates the need to mess around with clip leads while doing these tests, and the built-in ammeter is a convenience.
Schematic with notes is here:-
i.imgur.com/fvVdgww.png 
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What a beautiful stash of old capacitors! Thanks for the video!
Glad you liked!
Very nice design. I'll build this. Thank you most kindly.
Thanks, I'm glad you like it, and hope it works well for you..
That old voltmeter is a museum piece with the Nixie tubes. early 60's ?
Early 70's (1971)
Its a Schlumberger VB6601 Voltmeter, and still very accurate. I did a teardown of it 5 years ago:-
ruclips.net/video/19-QcH3rS7s/видео.html
Very informative. Thanks !
Glad you enjoyed!
I really like this project. Kudos. Maybe add a safety container in which to place the DUT cap, for those bad ones that want to go pop.
Thanks!
Hopefully, a cap that might pop will show up as a dud early, when lower voltage is applied.
But yes, one should always be wary of the possibility...
@@bertoid Not to be terse, but why take a chance?
Excellent and informative video and thank you for sharing the circuit diagram, I'm defiantly thinking of building something of your design in the future. Please don't take this as a criticism as I get loads of comments like this on my early stuff but it's all a learning curve! I know the audio is really difficult in a workshop environment with all the solid surfaces to reveb but it might help to throw some cushions or heavy blankets around were your filming to absorb some of the echoes and give a bit more crisp sound as sometimes it's difficult to hear you. That said I know what goes into making and editing a video so thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for the kind words!
On the audio, I hear what you mean, but I don't think it's too bad.
A lot of the problem might be my tendency to mumble. And I also pause a lot between words, which requires many edits to remove the gaps, and I may sometimes screw that up, making it harder to follow.
I'm only using the internal mic of my Nikon P900, which I'm speaking right next to. So it's way too loud, and I attenuate it by 16dB in the edit, which might also affect quality.
Deadening the echo in this room is not easily done, but I'll try to pay more attention to the audio in future. Thanks for the feedback.
I believe that the explanation for the apparently defective Siemens capacitor in the final capacitive test at 21:50 was that the meter was incorrectly connected. The red wire should have been on the yellow terminal. Cool project, thanks for sharing.
Thank you kindly
Very nice test set. You could use a current limited power supply to automate the process a bit more - set the voltage to the capacitor working voltage then set the current limit to the charging current you want to use. I'm an HP fan-boy, so I found an HP 4282A High Capacitance Meter (non-working, of course) and restored it. It has a 1 farad range and (with option 1) a DC supply - up to 100 volts to measure leakage down to 1 uA full scale. I use it for checking caps for all my restoration projects. Regards, David.
Thanks.
It was just a simple and quick solution to my immediate need to test a bunch of caps.
But yes, a longer term project is to make an automated system like you described.
That HP4282A sounds interesting, might have a look at it for some inspiration...
@@bertoid I think you may have misunderstood me (more likely I didn't say it right) - I really like your test set but I thought if you used it with a current limited supply you could get through all those capacitors a bit quicker.
@@davidv1289 For just those caps I tested in the video and the ones tested previously for the PDP computers? Testing time wasn't an issue for them, and I didn't even think of using a CL supply. And it would have to be able to get down to around 5mA, and I don't have one that can be set so low.
If you mean the many, many caps out in the shed, that's what I want to automate, and do it fully. It will log all the characteristics during reforming and testing for each individual capacitor. (so that I can provide that info when I eventually try to sell them)
It does have those modes, just not in a separate switch. The switch positions are ordered so that clicking one position too far will not result in a disaster.
And it's not as if there's any sensitive parts in it that need to be protected, like in a general device tester. It's just a switch, meter and some resistors...
Thank you for your straightforward presentation and the clear explanation of your device. The schematic and internal layout of your tester are both very neat. I was wondering if you could share your secret for producing the labels for the tester? It looks very professional. Cheers!
It's just an image printed on thick paper, and stuck down, then sprayed with clear lacquer. I produce the label image with my own software, but any drawing or CAD software should produce a good enough result.
Cheers! @@bertoid
Great product and a great design. Would it be available in some sort of a kit form, or at least a printed circuit board> Thanks.
Thanks!
Sorry, I have no interest in making or selling kits for this.
It's very simple, and the schematic is shown, so it would be easy to make. The PCB was just to be "cute" - a bit of veroboard would be just as good. And going DIY would be much cheaper as well...
Thanks for responding. Will use your design to build one.
Very nice! How much to buy an assembled one or all the parts from you?
Thanks.
I'm too retired to be making units or kits for sale. But it's very simple, and the circuit is shown. It would cost you a lot less to by the parts and do it yourself.
@@bertoid I see, thank you very much for the info.
Can I reform several capacitors together by connecting multiple capacitors in parallel?
Yes, but allow for higher leakage, and if a problem is indicated, you'd have to check them individually to find which is bad. And of course, they should be the same voltage rating (or only test to the lowest value)
@@bertoid 👍thank you for the reply
The capacitor guy
LOL!. But actually I'm more the "Transformer" guy, I just haven't shown the worst of it yet...