How to burn in bare caps?

[johnsonad]

Well I've been sitting on a project for some time now and plan on getting to it eventually. Part of it will be installing a few BG caps and I was wondering how to burn them in (without burning down the house) before installing them in the project. If this can be done safely would you please share your method. Thanks!

 

[Nebby]

I'm also interested in this too, though some will say that caps burn in within the first few seconds of having power run thru them....I say it can't hurt

 

[FallenAngel]

Why not install them and then burn in the entire equipment?

 

[johnsonad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why not install them and then burn in the entire equipment?

Long story and it may be a couple of months before I get this project up and running. I am looking for something that would work in the mean time.

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnsonad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Long story and it may be a couple of months before I get this project up and running. I am looking for something that would work in the mean time.

Uhm... but you won't use the caps for a couple of months, so why burn them in? I'm seriously confused here.

Oh well, if you just want to use them, just "use" them. I'm guessing these are PSU caps - so just take an AC/DC wall adapter, build a little setup on perfboard of a couple of SIP sockets across V+/V- with V+ going to an resistor + LED then V-. That'll put a constant current through the circuit and have the cap sitting in the sockets across V+/V-.

Why you'd actually want to do this still is beyond me though.

 

[tomb]

FallenAngel has given a good suggestion for PS caps. However, if they're signal caps and they're large enough to worry about burn-in (say Millett MAX output couplers as opposed to Alien DAC output couplers), I'm not sure there is a safe way - safe for the cap, anyway.

Besides, even if you discharged them safely after running them in somehow, you'd still heat up the electrolyte while soldering them in place in your final project. That would probably ruin any "setting" in the electrolyte, but I could be wrong. If they are signal caps, though, they won't burn in from connecting them in a circuit - it takes playing music through them.

 

[nikongod]

there are a few designs around involving a smallish AC wallwart, a 1/2wave rectifier and a few power resistors.

you dont need DC to burn in black gates, you need ac.

the 1/2 wave rectifier makes sure that the voltage is plus/minus, but with WICKED ripple.

the resistors keep the currents to safe levels, and discharge the caps between cycles.

teh alternate, is wire them in series with the output of whatever amp you use now and just use them that way.

 

[johnsonad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod /img/forum/go_quote.gif there are a few designs around involving a smallish AC wallwart, a 1/2wave rectifier and a few power resistors. you dont need DC to burn in black gates, you need ac. the 1/2 wave rectifier makes sure that the voltage is plus/minus, but with WICKED ripple. the resistors keep the currents to safe levels, and discharge the caps between cycles. teh alternate, is wire them in series with the output of whatever amp you use now and just use them that way.

Great idea! They are small caps for a Twisted Pair Opus DAC. Would running them in series from the output of my speaker amp be too much? (I'm assuming it would)

 

[nikongod]

i would shy away from using on the output of a speaker amp.

i didnt realise that they would be those ittsy bitssy ones.

i would wire them between the output of my present CD player, and my amp. i would not replace the caps in the CD player now (if so equiped) but jsut put these in series. not exactly hi-fi to have 2 caps in series, but it gets the job done.

 

[johnsonad]

Thanks, that should be easy to do, break open a cable (cheap one), solder them in series and let it spin. I'll give it a shot.

 

[peranders]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnsonad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Long story and it may be a couple of months before I get this project up and running. I am looking for something that would work in the mean time.

The burn-in takes only minutes of your are worried for this. Just put them in when the time has come.

Compare this thread! Here you can talk about burn-in!
diyAudio Forums - Failure in a huge capacitor board