How Long Will A Capacitor Last?
Sir, how many years does it take for a capacitor to expire when in use. I asked because in the news letter you sent me , two capacitors were confirmed death cos they worked for over ten years .
Answer:
I guess you are referring to Electrolytic capacitor. It depends on the brand, design of the circuit board and type of equipment used. Many cheap quality brand of capacitors usually will not last. The most is only few years. If the design of the circuit where the e-caps is located near heatsink then possibility for it to break down is very high as compare to e-caps that is located far from the heat sink. The last one would be it depends on where the equipment is used. If you take a look at e-caps that is found in LCD Monitor, you will notice that the circuit board is compact and covered by a metal casing. Not only that the metal casing is covered by the main cover as well. This means the ventilation is very bad and e-caps suffer the most. This is why if an equipment have a small fan, generally the e-caps will last longer than those that do not have fan.
Jestine
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Br123
October 16, 2013 at 10:43 pm
This is an excellent discussion. It should also be mentioned that a date code is usually printed on the side of the cap. It is usually in the form of the year and the month of manufacture. I prefer not to install any capacitor that was manufactured more than 4 years ago. If it is a critical or hard to reach component 2 years or newer.
Jestine Yong
October 17, 2013 at 11:00 am
Hi BR123,
Thanks for the comment. Not all e-caps will have the date code. Even if have, it would be difficult to interpret it.
Jestine