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Motor run cap failure

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I went for this in the end.

Claritycap TC range of PSU polypropylene capacitors homepage

The 70uf item. Compact and well regarded it seems. Probably make no difference but at least I can get it under my chassis!! Once thats in and once I've fitted another CL-90 in the b+ my amp will officially be done.

I've some reissue Mullard EL34's in there at the moment and they're superb. I've tweaked my speakers a bit by adding some wadding to alter the sound and its all really starting to come together. So much so that I'm now looking at the Tubelab SE. I wish I went for that now instead of the simple. I was listening to a Je labs 2a3 equipped set amp a few weeks back and, although I wouldn't say it was better it was considerably different to mine in sound. I might try for a cheap (it never ends up like that) TSE build in order to have the best of everything...
 
I went for this in the end.

Claritycap TC range of PSU polypropylene capacitors homepage

The 70uf item. Compact and well regarded it seems. Probably make no difference but at least I can get it under my chassis!! Once thats in and once I've fitted another CL-90 in the b+ my amp will officially be done.

That looks like the real deal. I actually had found some super compact high-voltage film caps on Mouser or Digikey or the like. I think they are 60uF. They are PCB mount, but can be made to work in a clamp. Sorry, I completely forgot that I had them.

I've some reissue Mullard EL34's in there at the moment and they're superb. I've tweaked my speakers a bit by adding some wadding to alter the sound and its all really starting to come together. So much so that I'm now looking at the Tubelab SE. I wish I went for that now instead of the simple. I was listening to a Je labs 2a3 equipped set amp a few weeks back and, although I wouldn't say it was better it was considerably different to mine in sound. I might try for a cheap (it never ends up like that) TSE build in order to have the best of everything...

Haha...yeah that's how it goes. Starting searching for tubes before you invest too much in the TSE design. The input/driver tubes are getting difficult to find for a reasonable price. I wonder if George will redesign that part of the PCB some time and put something more "modern" there.
 
Its definitely on the cards for a future project that's for sure. I might do as you suggest and search for driver tubes prior to taking the plunge.

I fitted the 70uf claritycap and its working well. A noticeable improvement over the 100uf motor run cap so definitely recommended :)

I'm having problems with speakers now though. I'm using frugel horns with ma alpair 7 drivers and on certain mid to high frequency notes they become a bit ear splitting which is a shame as elsewhere they sound superb. I noticed the same when pairing my amp to a friends kef stand mount book shelf speakers, an occasional really bright cringeworthy moment that's got me baffled.
 
Hi,

I have a Claritycap TC 220uF 700V and a simpler one NICHICON KX 220uF 450V.
Should i use them both as C5 on my TSE amp? Or only the Claritycap?
Ahh... And why please :) ?

Thanks

You can run the caps both ways. 220uf for C5 is adequate, 440uf will give less B+ ripple (hum). If you run them both in parallel you'll get two potential benefits; twice the capacitance and the film cap will have a much lower ESR than an electrolytic.

It's somewhat common to bypass a PS electrolytic with a film cap to reduce ESR.

The best approach is to try the amp with just the 220uf ClarityCap and then both caps in parallel. The caps in parallel will measure better, but let your ears be the judge.
 
AS a motor run/supplemental capacitor? If so then no I'm afraid, the one you have there is electrolytic.

That is the same as the one I put in mine initially not realising it was electrolytic (I just saw 'motor run cap' and didn't read on) and it opened up spilling its electrolyte. No good I'm afraid.
 
Yes, I would use it as auxiliary power supply cap.

I thought all motor run caps are electrolytic. Am I wrong?

My problem is that here in Brazil we do not have anything like it and import fees plus the cost of shipping are completely unfair. A good capacitor that costs about $30 in the USA come here for almost R$160,00.
Totally impractical!

Anyway, thanks mudchut, for the help. I'll keep looking for a good and cheap options.
 
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I really liked the Panasonic DMF, but Digikey asked me $40 to ship + $16 of cost for two peaces.

I found this one (as mentioned in the thread #22), but with different specifications (440V - 40uF). How about installing 2 in parallel? Is enough? or would be much capacitance?.
The final cost of the two + shipping would be around $31.

Many thanks
 
Two in parallel would be 80uF. The value of capacitors in parallel are the sum of the values. Multiply the AC rated capacitor voltage by 1.414 to get the DC voltage rating. In this case, 440 x 1.414 = ~622VDC

I really liked the Panasonic DMF, but Digikey asked me $40 to ship + $16 of cost for two peaces.

I found this one (as mentioned in the thread #22), but with different specifications (440V - 40uF). How about installing 2 in parallel? Is enough? or would be much capacitance?.
The final cost of the two + shipping would be around $31.

Many thanks
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.