Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Cheap electrolytic caps - reliability
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Miyuki:
Hi folks,

I have a question, are cheap electrolytic caps really bad or are they just commonly misused (exceeding ratings fairly)
I'm talking about capacitors with datasheets from common distributors, but unknown brands (which cost like 1/4 of Panasonic or other brands)
For example if they say 5000h at 105°C and rated current can these values be believed ?
Do good brands work longer than specified Or are they more commonly used in good designed products with proper rating ?
tkamiya:
I have not taken data recently but one certain name brand manufacturer used to rank its products, sold the best one under its own brand name, second for OEM, and the rest for "dumpster".

I would think, if it does not bear company's name or does but it is an obscure company, there is no intensive to make them reliable and long lasting.  Only motivation is to sell as many as one could, as fast as one could. 

I have a packages of cheap parts to experiment with and use in emergencies.   I check them against calibrated sources to check its value before putting them in a circuit.  If it is anything I care, or a final product, I buy name brand from top shelf companies.
RobK_NL:
I'm not even going to bother to find out.

The products I design and build are supposed to last. Buying 'no-name' capacitors might save me a few euros per year, but a single field return because of a prematurely failed component will cost me lots more. Not to mention the cost of losing my reputation.

If your business is consumer electronics with numbers >100k per month, it might be a different story.
EHT:
I wonder about how to translate the lifetime figures. Even the highest rated ones still do not represent a long life for equipment which may be operated 24/7 (i.e. 8760h / year), such as a UPS. The figures quoted are at the highest temp but they never say how long the caps are rated for at lower temps e.g. < 50C. I select those with the highest lifetime given the other constraints, but I'm not designing commercial products.
bd139:
I had some ChongX capacitors arrive a while ago covered in exploded capacitor fluff. Looks like one blew up in the factory somewhere and they just chucked it in a bag and shipped it.

Ergo, I buy Panasonic now.
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