Struck up a chat with an old timer at the dump about capacitor reforming

Last Tuesday I was unloading some busted microwaves at the county recycling center and this retired TV repair guy saw me tossing boards. He said I was throwing away perfectly good caps, then showed me how to reform them with a simple bench supply - just ramp the voltage slow over 10 minutes. Has anyone else tried this on old gear or is it just a waste of time?

2 comments

2 Comments

quinnj246d ago

Gently disagree with the whole 10 minute ramp thing, that's way too fast for most old electrolytics. I mean, idk if it's just me but I've always read you wanna do it over at least an hour or so depending on the voltage rating. Maybe it's not a total waste of time but you're probably not getting the full benefit rushing it like that.

lindahunt6d ago

That whole "too fast" thing got me thinking, I used to be the same way actually. I mean I'd leave caps on a variac for like two hours sometimes. But then I tried the old timer's method on a few crusty old amps just to see, and they've been holding up fine for months now. Maybe it depends on the cap quality, but I'm starting to think the 10 minute thing is fine for most general use stuff.