Well less silly than your 24 hours wot.....
But as said reforming dose not happen on production lines.....
I did not say that the manufacturer tells us that they reform on the production line.
I said the manufacturer tells us to reform shortly before testing.
I happen to give my procedure that I have found gives ultra low leakage for polar electrolytics. If you don't want ultra low leakage, then you don't need to follow my suggested procedure.
I said the manufacturer tells us to reform shortly before testing.
I happen to give my procedure that I have found gives ultra low leakage for polar electrolytics. If you don't want ultra low leakage, then you don't need to follow my suggested procedure.
Electrolytics start deteriorating as soon as they are made. This has no effect on normal use, as they will usually be incorporated into a circuit within months of manufacture so there is insufficient time for significant deterioration. The circuit will reform them when powered.
For testing they need to be factory-fresh, or reformed. If not, they may not meet their spec - but usually only in minor ways.
The big issue is caps which have sat unpowered for many years (in or out of a circuit). These may need reforming before use. DIYers can do this (e.g. when buying old or unknown components off ebay). Ordinary consumers may get caught e.g. if a low energy lighbulb has a leaky electrolytic. For this reason when I put into use a CFL which has sat in my garage for some years, I usually leave it on at first for only a few seconds - long enough to start reforming any internal caps, too short to build up any gas pressure in them.
For testing they need to be factory-fresh, or reformed. If not, they may not meet their spec - but usually only in minor ways.
The big issue is caps which have sat unpowered for many years (in or out of a circuit). These may need reforming before use. DIYers can do this (e.g. when buying old or unknown components off ebay). Ordinary consumers may get caught e.g. if a low energy lighbulb has a leaky electrolytic. For this reason when I put into use a CFL which has sat in my garage for some years, I usually leave it on at first for only a few seconds - long enough to start reforming any internal caps, too short to build up any gas pressure in them.
I don't believe this statement.
And that is probably why I am one of the few that promotes reforming of polar electrolytics.
What you believe is up to you. You need to accept that people making electronics, whether commercially or DIY, do not usually routinely reform electrolytics and yet their circuits usually work OK.
What I am saying Andrew is I have never seen any caps reformed before they were slapped in boards on any production line...
I would like to see the documentation you are basing your view on please....
I would like to see the documentation you are basing your view on please....
I only reformed caps in my lifetime maybe twice, but if it wasn't used for a long time I do what you are, power it for a short times before applying continuous power.
It's in most of the major electrolytic manufacturers that care to issue ap notes. It rarely appears in a datasheet.
Although the 2minutes to reduce leakage below the acceptable spec is usually in the datasheet.
Well, a trawl through websites reveals this comment from Panasonic's Data Book, the nearest thing to an application note:
(2) Long term storage
Leakage current of a capacitor increases with long storage times. This is due to the deterioration of formed film
at no load condition. Applying voltage decreases leakage current, but film repairing current flows a lot first,
and this current surge could cause the circuit to fail.
Therefore, aging is required to repair the film in advance after long term storage
No further details given anywhere.
(2) Long term storage
Leakage current of a capacitor increases with long storage times. This is due to the deterioration of formed film
at no load condition. Applying voltage decreases leakage current, but film repairing current flows a lot first,
and this current surge could cause the circuit to fail.
Therefore, aging is required to repair the film in advance after long term storage
No further details given anywhere.
ecaps "form" with voltage applied, this could also be a reason some find changes in an
amplifier sound after a warm up time of a few minutes....
amplifier sound after a warm up time of a few minutes....
My experience with Black Gates is that they entirely live up to their lofty reputation. I replaced some large ClarityCap metalized film polypropylene units with Black Gate 'N' (non-polar) electrolytics in an input signal coupling application. There was much greater subjective, well, clarity with the BG than with the ClarityCaps. The BGs are so good that they have provided the rarest of audiophile blessings, a complete absence of that disquieting suspicion that better sound could be had via some other component. Although long out of production, new old stock of certain Black Gate units can still be found at some vendors. They're well worth searching for, IMHO.
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