Author Topic: Wooden electrolytic capacitors (Read 11065 times)

bd139 · « **on:** June 29, 2018, 05:58:35 am »

Thought I’d seen it all. Came across this scanning a thread on another forum.

https://www.dhtrob.com/projecten/elna1_en.php

hayatepilot · « **Reply #1 on:** June 29, 2018, 08:43:09 am »

Audiophoolery at its finest!

I can't imagine how quickly these dry up. They probably need to be replaced every year.

The whole site is gold.

https://www.dhtrob.com/keesolaf/condensator_en.php

bd139 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 29, 2018, 08:48:23 am »

The thing I find quite sad is that the individual in question actually has some pretty good skills and engineering ability looking at some of the other projects and creations.

But he's clearly as mad as a box of frogs at the same time.

Some more gold, or quartz: https://www.dhtrob.com/projecten/quartz_and_audio.php

ebastler · « **Reply #3 on:** June 29, 2018, 08:53:36 am »

"They will sound much better than before!"
Yes, I'm sure that's true -- when you knock them against each other as a percussion instrument, for example.

The Soulman · « **Reply #4 on:** June 29, 2018, 09:57:07 am »

I appreciate the arts and crafts, but dude.....

CJay · « **Reply #5 on:** June 29, 2018, 10:00:43 am »

Holy f*ck...

The insanity of it...

And yet, someone let them have sharp objects to play with...

Gyro · « **Reply #6 on:** June 29, 2018, 11:32:31 am »

If he's worried about mechanical damping (presumably the 'justification' for the wood and beeswax) then why doesn't he just put the whole capacitor in? What's the point of removing the Aluminium can when it's full of Aluminium foil anyway.

Maybe he wants the winding to be 'relaxed' rather than confined.

wraper · « **Reply #7 on:** June 29, 2018, 12:14:28 pm »

Someone should suggest to him making wooden brain.

CJay · « **Reply #8 on:** June 29, 2018, 12:16:59 pm »

I think he may already have one and found his inspiration there...

RobK_NL · « **Reply #9 on:** June 29, 2018, 12:44:33 pm »

"I like the sound of it, it's got a sort of woody quality to it."

Brumby · « **Reply #10 on:** June 29, 2018, 02:09:36 pm »

O ... M ... G

Cerebus · « **Reply #11 on:** June 29, 2018, 04:16:50 pm »

He was doing so well, and then he stuffed it up by using synthetic PVA glue to close the lid. Anybody who knows anything knows that you ought to use hide glue for this kind of application, just as hide glue was used by all the great violin makers. For preference, Rabbit hide glue.

MadTux · « **Reply #12 on:** June 29, 2018, 04:17:43 pm »

Audiophoolery or how to build the strangest incendiary device to burn dowm your house.

Not to mention that a wooden case certainly doesn't help with dried out capacitors.

Seph.b · « **Reply #13 on:** June 29, 2018, 04:50:32 pm »

With no vent, doesn't this wooden capacitor risk becoming a bomb or at least a gun with the glued on cap firing off?

I am doing to do this, but with quartz. We all know quartz has superior acoustic qualities over wood.

Cyberdragon · « **Reply #14 on:** June 29, 2018, 07:01:50 pm »

That's it, we must defeat them with their own stupidity.

Have them all use wax paper caps and crank up humidifiers, that will soon cause lots of shorts and ruin the bullshittery once and for all!

EDIT: Yes, they must be USED wax-paper caps, to ensure more rapid equipment destruction.

bd139 · « **Reply #15 on:** June 29, 2018, 07:03:37 pm »

They wouldn’t show up on a low voltage tester as well.

Psss feel the burn Carlson.

BrianHG · « **Reply #16 on:** June 29, 2018, 07:31:05 pm »

Someone kill me now! Right now! I don't want to breathe another breath!

I need an asteroid the size of the KT extinction event to land on my house.
Or at minimum, me sitting on the tsar bomb while it detonates.
Our sun mysteriously going supernova would be acceptable too.
A change in equilibrium of the universal physical laws and constants instantly erasing the entire universe would just about be acceptable as well...

PA4TIM · « **Reply #17 on:** June 29, 2018, 07:57:59 pm »

From that site

Quote

Now we measure the height of the elctrolyt. This is done to cut to size a piece of ricepaper which protects the electrolyt against the hot beeswax. Ricepaper has best tonal qualities (no joke!).

Should laugh or cry ?

Brumby · « **Reply #18 on:** June 30, 2018, 04:40:07 am »

That timber coffin for the capacitor's guts will give it a significantly larger footprint. High probability this will be a challenge to refit to a typical PCB layout. Also, will the leads be long enough?

I hate to think how the audio quality will suffer if leads are extended. Oh, the horror!

Cyberdragon · « **Reply #19 on:** June 30, 2018, 04:14:57 pm »

Oh noes!

There must now be one made in Lego!

b_force · « **Reply #20 on:** June 30, 2018, 09:37:33 pm »

Quote from: bd139 on June 29, 2018, 08:48:23 am

The thing I find quite sad is that the individual in question actually has some pretty good skills and engineering ability looking at some of the other projects and creations.

But he's clearly as mad as a box of frogs at the same time.

Some more gold, or quartz: https://www.dhtrob.com/projecten/quartz_and_audio.php

What is sad is, that is actually not very uncommon in the audio world.
Very highly skilled and smart engineers starting to believe in fairy tales.
It's weird, kind of losing sight of all other things people have learned at school.

texaspyro · « **Reply #21 on:** July 01, 2018, 12:50:22 am »

Hey! Don't knock it 'till you've tried it! I built some and they really do sound great. Trust me... I'm on the internet and you all KNOW that everything on the internet is absolutely true.!!!! I can build you custom wood caps for the piddly sum of 1 bitcoin each.

But, for maximum performance from your system, you must connect the ground to a massive metal structure. I currently have a really lovely iron tower in Paris, France. Also a wonderful suspension bridge in San Francisco. And the ultimate copper lady statue in New York harbor. These are a bit pricey, but WOW! You won't believe the sound.

Brumby · « **Reply #22 on:** July 01, 2018, 02:38:03 am »

I've seen pictures of that copper lady. She needs a good polish!

bitseeker · « **Reply #23 on:** July 01, 2018, 02:39:14 am »

Ooh, natural materials. So it makes your electronics more green. Better for the environment! And since it's high-quality wood and lacquered, it must sound especially great when you play classical music through it.

Cyberdragon · « **Reply #24 on:** July 01, 2018, 02:49:42 am »

Quote from: texaspyro on July 01, 2018, 12:50:22 am

Hey! Don't knock it 'till you've tried it! I built some and they really do sound great. Trust me... I'm on the internet and you all KNOW that everything on the internet is absolutely true.!!!! I can build you custom wood caps for the piddly sum of 1 bitcoin each.

But, for maximum performance from your system, you must connect the ground to a massive metal structure. I currently have a really lovely iron tower in Paris, France. Also a wonderful suspension bridge in San Francisco. And the ultimate copper lady statue in New York harbor. These are a bit pricey, but WOW! You won't believe the sound.

PFFT! I bake my capacitors in the oven for 30 minutes before sealing them in their balsa wood cases with mahogany stain. They produce loud and vibrant tones.

EDIT: They have an excellent affinity for the note B₂...

Brumby · « **Reply #25 on:** July 01, 2018, 03:00:59 am »

Hrrrumphhh. Ovens.

Ovens powered by gas or electricity are the devil. Gas ovens contaminate the capacitor material and electric ones spin the electrons around into quasi-homopolar states.

Do what I do for the best results - a moderated solar furnace. The near-to-perfect parallel rays of the sun ensure proper electron alignment and is as natural as you can get!

As for the mahogany stain, I find that over accentuates low frequencies a tad more than I like. A teak stain is better, IMHO.

CJay · « **Reply #26 on:** July 01, 2018, 09:39:05 am »

Quote from: Cyberdragon on July 01, 2018, 02:49:42 am

EDIT: They have an excellent affinity for the note B₂...

I'd have thought more for B5

amyk · « **Reply #27 on:** July 01, 2018, 05:10:19 pm »

One of the few audiofool mods that likely does make a significant difference to the sound...

Cyberdragon · « **Reply #28 on:** July 01, 2018, 05:28:31 pm »

Quote from: CJay on July 01, 2018, 09:39:05 am

Quote from: Cyberdragon on July 01, 2018, 02:49:42 am
EDIT: They have an excellent affinity for the note B₂...

I'd have thought more for B5

aww, I thought you guys would get the joke

B₂ is about 123Hz which is close to the 120Hz you would get in certain countries from a FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER when you put your newly destroyed (dried up and nonfunctional) audiofool caps across it.

EDIT: It would be a G₂ for everyone else.

BillB · « **Reply #29 on:** July 01, 2018, 09:51:05 pm »

It's a hideous triumph of form and function

Raven Luni · « **Reply #30 on:** July 01, 2018, 10:29:52 pm »

It wooden work if you ask me :p

(sorry for having to be the person who said it)

Cyberdragon · « **Reply #31 on:** July 01, 2018, 10:54:40 pm »

Quote from: Raven Luni on July 01, 2018, 10:29:52 pm

It wooden work if you ask me :p

(sorry for having to be the person who said it)

How much wood would a wood cap chuck if a wood cap would go bang?

ArthurDent · « **Reply #32 on:** July 01, 2018, 11:56:25 pm »

I have to admit I've done something similar to the wooden cap described but not for the same reason. I was restoring an old Atwater-Kent battery powered radio and some of the coupling caps were dead. I wanted to keep the radio looking as original as possible so I melted the wax end seals and removed the capacitor guts. I then placed a modern smaller physical sized cap of the same value inside the old shell and refilled the ends with bee's wax and the 'new' cap looked exactly like the old one-but this one worked.

chris_leyson · « **Reply #33 on:** July 02, 2018, 12:19:20 am »

@ArthurDent. Nice one, I've seen quite a few radio restorers do the same thing. Waxed paper caps are not too difficult you just have to warm them up a little bit and they come apart quite easily. Also good for holding tuning slugs in place, less danger of breaking the slug.

bitseeker · « **Reply #34 on:** July 02, 2018, 12:26:57 am »

Yeah, restuffing caps to preserve the aesthetics of vintage gear is usually OK because the replacement capacitor's enclosure isn't compromised, unlike these wooden abominations. (You do have to consider any potential heat buildup issues, though, depending on the role the capacitor plays in the circuit.)

mtdoc · « **Reply #35 on:** July 02, 2018, 01:04:27 am »

Even without any functional improvement, I can appreciate the improved asthetics, but now he’s added a new cap failure mode: Termites!

bitseeker · « **Reply #36 on:** July 02, 2018, 01:09:07 am »

Yea for nature!

TiN · « **Reply #37 on:** July 02, 2018, 04:40:46 am »

How to unsee this

.

bitseeker · « **Reply #38 on:** July 02, 2018, 05:48:32 am »

I don't think you can unsee it. You'll just have to settle for replacing that visual with something more heinous.

texaspyro · « **Reply #39 on:** July 02, 2018, 06:04:32 am »

Quote from: TiN on July 02, 2018, 04:40:46 am

How to unsee this .

Eye bleach... and lots of it. Followed by a brain bleach steam cleaning chaser.

bd139 · « **Reply #40 on:** July 02, 2018, 07:02:43 am »

Quote from: bitseeker on July 02, 2018, 12:26:57 am

Yeah, restuffing caps to preserve the aesthetics of vintage gear is usually OK because the replacement capacitor's enclosure isn't compromised, unlike these wooden abominations. (You do have to consider any potential heat buildup issues, though, depending on the role the capacitor plays in the circuit.)

I have a little take to tell on this.

I had a friend many years ago who was into the vintage HiFi stuff and did this. So we’re sitting there admiring his latest restoration while he explains what he had to do, including restuffing the caps. So he puts on the amp and slaps on some Clapton. We nod approvingly until I hear a little hum. This was explained away as something that needed fixing. It got louder. We started getting worried. He said no it was supposed to do that, clearly in denial. Boom like you’ve never heard! Bzzzt! Smoke comes pouring out from behind it.

So it turned out one of the caps had given out inside a restuff. He’d used 85oC ones with no ripple rating and glued them hard into the old can. Turns out this had turned into a large oven crossed with a pipe bomb which went off neatly plinking half the tubes in the unit at the same time

...

He solders new caps under the chassis now.

bitseeker · « **Reply #41 on:** July 02, 2018, 07:25:15 am »

Yeah, Paul Carlson puts new caps underneath as well. Seems a good idea, indeed.

tggzzz · « **Reply #42 on:** July 02, 2018, 09:13:09 am »

Has anyone tried to persuade "DHTRob" that he could make further improvements if he used the same technique on the valves/tubes in his amplifiers?

bd139 · « **Reply #43 on:** July 02, 2018, 11:49:38 am »

I would actually pay money to see him try.

Cerebus · « **Reply #44 on:** July 02, 2018, 12:15:55 pm »

Quote from: bd139 on July 02, 2018, 11:49:38 am

I would actually pay money to see him try.

You buy the tickets, I'll bring the popcorn and beer. Deal?

bd139 · « **Reply #45 on:** July 02, 2018, 02:28:07 pm »

It’s a deal

No one bring a fire extinguisher

Cyberdragon · « **Reply #46 on:** July 02, 2018, 04:04:46 pm »

Quote from: Cerebus on July 02, 2018, 12:15:55 pm

Quote from: bd139 on July 02, 2018, 11:49:38 am
I would actually pay money to see him try.

You buy the tickets, I'll bring the popcorn and beer. Deal?

Gotta love a good wood-fired barbie. Lovely smells...

EDIT: Who's got the steak and marshmallows?

Cerebus · « **Reply #47 on:** July 02, 2018, 05:35:33 pm »

The best thing is that he's using tropical hardwoods. I've been privileged to know with someone who used to work in those woods and used the too small offcuts as fuel for the workshop fire. Some of that stuff smells amazing when it burns. (Some is toxic when it burns, so it pays to know your woods before trying this out.)

texaspyro · « **Reply #48 on:** July 02, 2018, 06:25:16 pm »

Quote from: bd139 on July 02, 2018, 07:02:43 am

So he puts on the amp and slaps on some Clapton.

He should have used Clapton tape to secure the caps...

b_force · « **Reply #49 on:** July 02, 2018, 08:18:21 pm »

Quote from: texaspyro on July 02, 2018, 06:25:16 pm

Quote from: bd139 on July 02, 2018, 07:02:43 am
So he puts on the amp and slaps on some Clapton.

He should have used Clapton tape to secure the caps...

Maybe he also wouldn't shot the sheriff than.

bd139 · « **Reply #50 on:** July 02, 2018, 08:24:30 pm »

Bassman59 · « **Reply #51 on:** July 03, 2018, 04:24:46 am »

Quote from: b_force on July 02, 2018, 08:18:21 pm

Quote from: texaspyro on July 02, 2018, 06:25:16 pm
Quote from: bd139 on July 02, 2018, 07:02:43 am
So he puts on the amp and slaps on some Clapton.

He should have used Clapton tape to secure the caps...
Maybe he also wouldn't shot the sheriff than.

Bob Marley died for Clapton’s sins on that one.

Zucca · « **Reply #52 on:** July 03, 2018, 12:36:20 pm »

Actually in a forest with so much wood around you, if you stay silent and concentrace the music is from heaven.
If you then add a good bottle of italian red wine there are no words to describe that.

Wood is the best.


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Author Topic: Wooden electrolytic capacitors (Read 11065 times)

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