Adding electrolyte to a fake (dry) capacitor.

Рет қаралды 313,544

4 жыл бұрын

After discovering that the capacitors in a "vehicle performance enhancer" were fake (real caps, just dry with no electrolyte) it was suggested that I could add some electrolyte to see what happened.
I'm not sure what the official recipe is, but some early electrolytes were based on ethylene glycol and boric acid. I made some up and then dunked the capacitor in it...
Here's a link to Andreas Spiess's component tester video.
• #290 How do Transistor...
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Пікірлер: 1 100

@kriskotooBGXD 4 жыл бұрын

"It's considered toxic.. I've never actually tasted it.... ... Let's taste it"

@aaronbrandenburg2441 4 жыл бұрын

Remind me of the guy on sliced the Discovery Channel or TLC when that show was still on it was kind of wife what's inside kinda it maybe on KZfaq I haven't sorry if I knew I would recommended.

@zombieswitapple 4 жыл бұрын

@@aaronbrandenburg2441 bruh what the fuck are you trynna say

@Tommyinoz1971 4 жыл бұрын

I'd buy the T-shirt.

@licensetodrive9930 4 жыл бұрын

@Aaron Brandenburg I remember that Sliced show, one of the most fascinating ones was when he sliced up a coin operated pool table and showed how the white ball always returns when the spots & stripes don't, even though they're all the same size & weight. Turns out it's all done with magnets :) Metal pieces in the white ball which gets pulled into the return-to-player channel internally by the magnets.

@pluto8404 4 жыл бұрын

@@zombieswitapple he done talkin bout tlc yo, dang ol youtube show go slice slice man.

@Mythricia1988 4 жыл бұрын

I KNEW it, the moment you went silent after saying "I've never actually tasted it", I knew you were going to do it.

@stranger7968 4 жыл бұрын

*desire to taste toxic material intensifies*

@jlucasound 4 жыл бұрын

He always does, doesn't he. He understands moderation. Most people that are exposed to (even more) toxic substances, usually aren't aware. We humans are incredible mechanisms. Very resilient.

@ketas 4 жыл бұрын

it's a liver test

@FroggyMosh 4 жыл бұрын

@@BitterCynical Yeah, but I don't think this mixture has such nice effects to the brain as Fentanyl (or any other opioid) does. So I don't think he'll be going for another dose anytime soon.

@wickedprotos1937 4 жыл бұрын

I used to always joke that," and it tastes good too" about things. Once, a green engineer I was working with, delicately tasted a tiny bit of soldering flux after I had made that joke, SO now I tell the story first and not just say that anymore.

@packetguy42 4 жыл бұрын

I worked at a capacitor factory, where we made both ceramic disk and electrolytic caps. The materials for electrolytic caps are quite specialized compared to paper disc or paper rolled caps. First, the foil is embossed or etched chemically to increase surface area 100X, providing more electrolyte contact with which to store charge, which reduces the size of the device dramatically. Then the aluminum foil anode gets oxidized, and that happens before being rolled, by exposure to a heated O2 atmosphere at about 500C, or with a liquid chemical treatment. This oxide is the dielectric, which typically has a dielectric value or 7 or higher, much higher than in disk caps at 3. Unlike in a paper or ceramic cap, which has two metal plates, separated by a dielectric, the electrolyte serves as the cathode plate in an electrolytic. The final capacitance is a function of the surface area of the dielectric sandwich, given by the formula C = e * A/d, where e is the dielectric constant for the dielectric, A is the surface area of the plates, and d is the distance between the plates. The electrolyte is simply a conductive medium of known properties, composed of two substances, an insulating solvent (e.g., ethylene glycol) and a conducting salt (e.g. ammonium borate), to arrive at a specific ionic conductivity appropriate for the voltages permitted. Assembly happens in this order: (1) the three layers are laid up on assembly spools, AlO2 foil, plain paper, and absorbent paper. These feed into a unit spooler, which first spot welds the anode lead while winding the leader paper, and then winds all three layers together for a specific length, while wetting the absorbent paper with electrolyte just before wrapping around the unit spool. Then the cathode lead is inserted, the foil is cut, followed by a few more turns of just paper. Finally the paper is cut and the unit is canned, immediately tested in the machine, and rejected if out of tolerance. If the rejection rate is too high, a human is summoned to figure out what’s wrong (usually electrolyte composition or application). A machine can make thousands of caps an hour.

@Conservator. 4 жыл бұрын

Packet Guy Thank you very much for your comprehensie explanation! I’ve always wondered how electrolytic capacitors can have such high capacitance. That the electrolyte serves as the cathode, explains it all to me. I really enjoyed reading this and I’m sure many others will have too.

@HattmannenNilsson 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the great explanation! I've never had anyone explain the actual process of making an electrolytic capacitor before, only the general principle behind them. Suddenly it all makes much more sense to me. Thanks for sharing with the class!

@userPrehistoricman 4 жыл бұрын

Unfinished lists of numbers are mildly triggering

@Deipnosophist_the_Gastronomer 4 жыл бұрын

@@userPrehistoricman 'Mildly' doesn't apply to 'triggering'. Like switching, it is a binary state. If you find unfinished lists to be mildly annoying, you can say so, you don't need to grasp at memes.

@Conservator. 4 жыл бұрын

Pongo Ponginae + Prehistoricman What are you two talking about? I get the point that triggering is binary but I’ve no idea what is the “unfinished list of numbers” referring to.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for mentioning me. Actually I am the guy with the Swiss accent ;-)

@bigclivedotcom 4 жыл бұрын

Yes you are. I got it completely wrong.

@bigclivedotcom 4 жыл бұрын

I've added a link to your component tester video in my video description.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

bigclivedotcom Thank you very much!

@yusufh741 3 жыл бұрын

:) Hear Before this comment blows up

@LULU1422__ 3 жыл бұрын

@@yusufh741 yep

@Limhes 3 жыл бұрын

For future reference: Your electrolyte solution contains water. When you apply voltages over ~1.2 V you start electrolysing the water and forming H2 and O2 (the bubbles you see) and thus passing a DC current (until the all the water in the electrolyte is gone). That's also why the Chinese tester says "two diodes". Your other capacitance tester tests the capacitor at lower voltages, too low for electrolysis, and as such it "sees" a proper capacitor.

@EngiesParadise 4 жыл бұрын

“It’s something I don’t want in my mouth” 5 minutes latter “Ok let’s taste it”

@runeodin7237 4 жыл бұрын

5 minutes? More like 5 seconds

@tomlouie2855 3 жыл бұрын

And then tastes it again! "No Clive, don't do that!"

@geraldgepes 4 жыл бұрын

Clive, after the video on that battery booster it began appearing in the Wish adds on my facebook page. Thank you for replacing the various BDSM wear with cheap Chinese products.

@a89proof 4 жыл бұрын

I get the best of both worlds - cheap Chinese BDSM wear

@bitelaserkhalif 4 жыл бұрын

@@a89proof with latex that can break anytime

@otm646 4 жыл бұрын

@@bitelaserkhalif Don't threaten me with a good time.

@legominimovieproductions 4 жыл бұрын

I got some of the cheap chinese BDSM stuff, i could recommend buying quality stuff at local shops or at good onlineshops XD

@drunkenhobo8020 4 жыл бұрын

Bitelaserkhalif 555 • - I'm allergic to latex and it causes severe pain to my skin. Would that just add to the kink factor?

@BooBaddyBig 4 жыл бұрын

To form a capacitor you're supposed to *gradually* wind the volts up to give the coating a chance to electrolytically form; taking many hours.

@misterhat5823 4 жыл бұрын

And... I'm fairly sure the voltage needs to go above the rated voltage of the capacitor a slight bit.

@laharl2k 4 жыл бұрын

Many hours? I doubt that, caps wouldnt be so cheap if it took hours to form. There must be a faster way, my businessman instinct tella me so.

@petesmith13 4 жыл бұрын

@@laharl2k well there is likely a quicker way, but something that is such a common component even before they worked out quicker ways they would have just made machines or jigs that allowed thousands to be done at the same time, something can take an hour but still have a high component produced per minute just by the scale at which its done.

@kmoliverio 4 жыл бұрын

Forming the fine bubbles near the plates is a function of current and time. Low current and long time provide the smallest bubbles and the best overall capacitor. If they are reformed too fast or with high current, while they may still work, they will not work at peak. Electrolytic’s that have sat for a very long tome ( but not dried out) should be reformed very slowly for best results.

@excitedbox5705 4 жыл бұрын

@@laharl2k A CPU takes about 3 months start to finish to make yet they are pretty cheap comparatively. Also why Intel was so screwed when they killed a batch at TCSM with contaminated cleaner.

@jackkatogh 3 жыл бұрын

"I'm just going to taste this" Have you been talking to Cody lately?

@1pcfred 4 жыл бұрын

I've reformed capacitors. It takes some time depending on the capacity of the device. It is a vintage radio thing. There's info about reforming caps online.

@djordjeblaga7815 4 жыл бұрын

Big Clive: "I don't know just how toxic this stuff is." *Also Clive:* "Let's taste it."

@Rainbow__cookie 4 жыл бұрын

He's is too dangerous to be kept alive

@OAleathaO 4 жыл бұрын

@Das TIER - It wouldn't be BigClive if he didn't. ;)

@Xorthis 4 жыл бұрын

I learned more about capacitors in this video than I've ever learned. Amazing stuff! Keep it up!

@benbaselet2026 4 жыл бұрын

Well that was one fake product well worth the money :-) I'm just waiting how long it takes for aliexpress to bring out DIY electrolytic capacitor kits.

@octapc 4 жыл бұрын

Now that's a great idea

@DoRC 4 жыл бұрын

As a mechanic I've tasted antifreeze more times than I can count:) and brake fluid, and transmission fluid, and oil and......

@ToTheGAMES 4 жыл бұрын

...meth

@OldBenOne 4 жыл бұрын

You haven't lived until you've had warm transmission fluid drip into your ear.

@DoRC 4 жыл бұрын

@@ToTheGAMES like burning plastic amiright?

@threeMetreJim 4 жыл бұрын

Don't forget battery acid, tastes like a real sharp lemon.

@SarahRWilson 4 жыл бұрын

@@threeMetreJim A low enough Ph, I can believe it. When I saw a friend lick a transmission dipstick, I freaked out. He was checking for particles, friction material, etc.

@nickbird7742 4 жыл бұрын

Hi Clive knowing that you like alcohol and will try any liquid with ice, I strongly recommend you label that bottle. Good to see you are back on the subject of electronics.

@twotone3070 4 жыл бұрын

"This is not very exciting for you" Understatement of the year, edge of the seat stuff this. Will it go bang? Will it do nothing? Will it form a capacitor? Will we be paused momentarily?

@Timbobjr 4 жыл бұрын

Will he put the extremely toxic fluid in his mouth?

@pickelsvx 4 жыл бұрын

@@Timbobjr Welp, we all gotta eat a bucket of shit before we die anyway...

@davidv1289 4 жыл бұрын

At one point in my career I worked on a battery charger/power supply that operated on 208 volt three phase power (US) and charged a 660 amp-hour 36 volt battery bank. It used triacs directly connected to the mains and several farads of capacitance for filtering. We would "form" new capacitors before installing them using a current limited power supply set to the working voltage of the capacitors and wait until the current was down to a few microamps. This is also how we would test in-use caps, checking their leakage current at working voltage.

@PhattyMo 4 жыл бұрын

A very similar method is used for 're-forming' old capacitors in tube/valve equipment. Limit the current,and slowly ramp up the voltage over several hours,or days. You'll know it's worked (or not) if the leakage current eventually settles to a low enough level (or doesn't).

@Elodea 4 жыл бұрын

Ethylene Glycol is sweet tasting and highly toxic in that it destroys kidney tissues. Dogs are known to lap at puddles of ethylene glycol anti-freeze around sloppily maintained automobile service facilities, only to be found dead a short time later. Propalyne glycol is also sweet but in addition to being used as an antifreeze in potable water systems like motor homes or caravans prepared for winter storage, is used as a food grade sweetener.

@stephen1r2 4 жыл бұрын

And laxative.

@al_kaloid 4 жыл бұрын

@@stephen1r2 That would be Polyethylene glycol (PEG). The Polymer is considered non-toxic, the mono- and dimer are.

@dufferzzzzz 4 жыл бұрын

Ah the old "is there coolant in this water" test! First time I've seen someone not in a workshop/garage do it!

@nooneyouknow9399 4 жыл бұрын

Need a higher voltage (up to or over working voltage) and 470K resistor in series. And several hours - overnight perhaps

@MatthJenks Жыл бұрын

I wonder if the polarity was accidentally reversed when it started bubbling? Too late to wonder now, but I can't help but wonder. Thanks for the deep dive on electrolytic internals!!

@veraxis9961 4 жыл бұрын

As soon as I saw that tiny hesitation after saying "I've never actually tasted it," I knew he was going for it.

@Inexpressable 4 жыл бұрын

How did you know this was exactly what I wanted to watch at 3am?

@christopher88719 4 жыл бұрын

BigClive is the best thing to watch before bed. So calming and yet so interesting.

@djstringsmusic2994 4 жыл бұрын

It's 2:30 am, I just woke up. And I'm starting my day with Clive Edit: I now have to get up earlier at 11:30pm, I start at 12:00am now. No more wake up Clive, it's first break clive

@jurivlk5433 4 жыл бұрын

I love that Alexander Volta type of experiment, going back to the roots. Makes electronics more comprehensive. Nice idea to build your own capacitors!

@shodan2958 4 жыл бұрын

It's not even decades old stuff that needs recapping, people like me who like fiddling about with old computer equipment from the early 00s are still dealing with the capacitor plague of that time.

@p166mx 4 жыл бұрын

I have been running a computer repair business for far too long now. I used to see loads of motherboards with popped capacitors but it is very rare now, the laptop I am typing this on is nearly 10 years old and still going strong. These days I am finding even ATX power supplies are far more reliable than they ever used to be. The big brand TVs still seem to be using crappy capacitors in their power supplies though. I think what I am trying to say is cheap Chinese capacitors are far better than they used to be in stuff like branded power supplies which tend to come with long warranties but you can still get cheap crap for stuff like TVs which of course. I miss those motherboards that used to pop their capacitors after just a couple of years!

@dr_jaymz 4 жыл бұрын

Samsung tvs seemed to have caps with no cap.

@pickelsvx 4 жыл бұрын

@@p166mx Never had issues with caps on mobos myself. It was always the ones in the PSU, things used to just pop on me like a filament lightbulb would. Only ever had one mobo fail but that's because i accidentally exploded a bong inside the case while it was running; I did manage to resurrect it after 3 days of drying but it failed completely a few months later. Toughest cheap little gateway i've ever seen.

@andygozzo72 3 жыл бұрын

there far too much of this 'replace all old caps on sight', or 'it doesnt work? replace all caps and it'll be ok', rubbish, capacitors dont necessarily need replacing as much as some think, i have loads of old radios back to the late 30's, and especially in the cases of low voltage caps, in transistor portable radios, late 50's onwards, i've rarely had to replace any.. there were a few exceptions, of course, .. its the modern 'capacitor plague', afflicted , and generally poor quality ones these days thats the problem! ... and cap replacement is not a magic cure all or prevention of further failure or 'futureproofing' as some call it , other components can fail at any time, replacing capacitors wont necessarily stop this, ... from what i've come across, it seems capacitor quality dropped rapidly in the 90's, i repaired many colour portable tvs with dried up caps in their psu circuitry, it was a big problem with some brands, while my old ferguson tx portable from 1986 only ever had one replace, a known common failure with it .... and most of the various crt tvs we had over the year never had cap trouble, we had a 70's 26 inch itt tv for a few years in the late 80s' to early 90's, all original caps still in ....

@andygozzo72 3 жыл бұрын

@@pickelsvx i've come across many pc motherboards with bad capacitors.....and psus ....

@kjamison5951 4 жыл бұрын

“How it’s made/Comment c’est fait”, if you’re watching, May we have a video please? Fascinating experimental electronics, Clive!

@jamestheotherone742 4 жыл бұрын

Your "worst capacitor ever made" is better than the best cap I've never made. Very neat video. Even the ceramic disk caps will go bad sometimes.

@timbaumann9046 4 жыл бұрын

Big Clive... No matter what you seem to be doing, you sure leave a big SMILE on my face for the rest of the day! Thank You so MUCH!!! :)

@keeperofthegood 4 жыл бұрын

On the Antique Radios forum there a few guys that will rehydrate and/or reform old capacitor, or ones that have had a definitely long time since last use. There is some great wisdom in the history contained there.

@andybobandy641 4 жыл бұрын

"....... I've never actually tasted it......" Well, we all know what happens next, don't we!

@FroggyMosh 4 жыл бұрын

*One minute earlier:* _"It’s something I don’t want in my mouth”_

@kardeef33317 4 жыл бұрын

Alot of capacitor meters get thier value by the amount of time it takes to charge the capacitor. Those types of capacitance meters will read a higher capacity since they are acting like a resistor taking longer to charge them.

@user-yw8sr3uj1w 3 жыл бұрын

*their

@dylanfinch2951 3 жыл бұрын

How the manufacturer bought these capacitors: "What size capacitor do you want to order?" "Yes"

@RaithUK 4 жыл бұрын

That was a fun little experiment Clive.. glad you did it.

@DavidWardJr 4 жыл бұрын

This is why I support Big Clive!

@mickward2775 4 жыл бұрын

I was so hoping that you would do experiments with those dubious "caps" and boom Clive delivers this is why I subscribed and never miss a video Hope you have a great day cause you made my day with this video holy crap can't believe that you tasted that but at the same time I kinda can cause I would have done it too

@aaronbrandenburg2441 4 жыл бұрын

Ditto here.

@johnsalmons9222 4 жыл бұрын

Hello... A&E, ....yeah me again, I know, I know, I just wanted to know how it tasted/if there was enough clearance/ would it fit/would it get stuck, the usual Darwin candidacy

@JerryEricsson 4 жыл бұрын

I was playing with an old boost power supply a few weeks ago, I had forgotten that I removed the variable resistor to install a multi turn, a job that I messed up by lifting a trace. The trace must have been touching ground or something, as when I applied 16 volts from 4 18650 cells, the 3300 MFD cap blew. Wow that was loud, my good wife of 50 years, and our daughter who was visiting came running, they thought I had discharged my old .45 ACP Pistol that I carried when on the police force! It was not nearly loud as a .45 but I have heard .22's that were not nearly so loud.

@tomschmidt381 4 жыл бұрын

Another first for Big Clive, DIY electrolytic capacitor project, fascinating.

@zoes17 4 жыл бұрын

"Reforming electrolytic capacitors" as a search here on YT turns up a few videos and one in particular, from 7 years ago, shows an individual doing it on camera. That being said it was fun to watch you try and to see what it looks like when it doesn't work out.

@bornfreeinak 4 жыл бұрын

quite convenient, an antidote/mitigator for ethylene glycol ingestion is ethanol! winning

@SeanBZA 4 жыл бұрын

Competes for the breakdown pathways, so if you keep the liver occupied with the ethanol then the kidneys will filter out the glycol, as the ethanol breakdown components are less toxic.

@chrispza 4 жыл бұрын

Was that the logic the guys in Italy used when they added it to wine?

@ianstobie 3 жыл бұрын

@@chrispza Austria

@GeorgeJFW 4 жыл бұрын

I was thinking about these this morning! Clive reads minds!!

@JerryEricsson 4 жыл бұрын

Nice way to spend a few minutes with Big Clive. Thanks.

@jimhough6233 4 жыл бұрын

You blew my mind again, Clive! I can't even Google the composition of electrolyte!

@phonotical 4 жыл бұрын

Yes! I was hoping you'd do that, or make your own

@tranzco1173 4 жыл бұрын

Brawndo has what caps crave!

@threeMetreJim 4 жыл бұрын

Ok, funbags... LOL.

@leeeeeee2796 4 жыл бұрын

Nice reference

@Streaky100001 4 жыл бұрын

Usually to form a capacitor or battery you'd cycle it a number of times at very low rate. So you repeatedly charge and discharge at very low current, generally this is done on a computerised machine, a program will be setup and set running, this is then left for usually days cycling like this. I believe they slowly increase the rate through these cycles.

@staudinga Жыл бұрын

"It's just sort of considered toxic.....I've never actually tasted it......Let's taste it!" I absolutely loved that progression!

@barkchip1872 2 жыл бұрын

All the electronics training I've been the victim of and NONE of the 'highly qualified' instructors were able to impart such a wealth of information and interest that your "Adding Electrolyte" video has - at least for myself. By way of an aside, Ethylene Glycol is the base of most antifreeze products for cars. As you found, it has a distinctive sweet taste. Manufacturers routinely add a product named Bitrex to make it less appealing to drink as this usually fatal (in quantity). If you look on the antifreeze bottle you may find a logo for Bitrex or some other refererence to it within the destructions. Many thanks for all your efforts. Piers in Wiltshire. PS. May I enquire as to the source of your ethylene glycol? I am interested in experimenting with some capacitors myself (see now what you've started?!)

@paulperry7091 8 ай бұрын

There was a bit of a craze in the US a few years ago of poisoning unwanted husbands with anti-freeze. Also at least one case where a person poisoned themselves accidentally thinking that 'anti-freeze" was a drink to keep people warm in winter... as bad as the woman who sprayed her children with "bear spray" in the hope of keeping bears away.

@dismayer666 4 жыл бұрын

5:21 "I've never actually tasted it..." then a second of hesitation... well that's a good idea! :)

@apollorobb 4 жыл бұрын

Glad to see you did the test Clive .

@dallen521 4 жыл бұрын

Morning Clive, I was rather hoping that you would make these in to working capacitors. Good on you.

@Mmouse_ 4 жыл бұрын

That was pretty interesting Clive, I wonder if Ben over at applied science would take a crack at making one of those fake ones work?

@MichaelMacGyver 4 жыл бұрын

Brawndo's got what capacitors crave. It's got electrolytes!

@kalkanort9333 3 жыл бұрын

so far 7 of the 9 videos i watched this guy has wired something in a dodgy way or tasted the contents Loving the channel so far!

@americanrebel413 4 жыл бұрын

Really cool experiment, thank you big Clive!

@mdrew44628 4 жыл бұрын

"I'm going to leave it for awhile....'. Comes back and shop is on fire.....😀

@Murgoh 4 жыл бұрын

Could it be these are rejects from a real capasitor factory that failed some test and so never got filled with electrolyte and were thrown away? Or maybe the machine ran out of electrolyte and noone noticed for a while so they made a bunch of "dry" caps? Why would someone make a fake capasitor with everything but what must be the cheapest part? Disclaimer: though I've worked at a plastic cap factory in my youth I know nothing about electrolytic cap manufacturing.

@SeanBZA 4 жыл бұрын

Could be that they ran out of electrolyte and made a batch of empties, or they got new machines, and somebody bought the old ones as scrap metal, and a big stock of the raw materials just no electrolye, with the intention of setting up a fake manufacturer shop. Make them empty and you can make any voltage and value, in that size can, and they will not blow up on power up in the factory test. Probably were aiming at the LED light market, where the capacitor working is there to prevent flicker, so a fake will work for a while with flicker. Yes seems silly for a part that costs cents, but if you can make them for lower price and copy a real one, then slip them into supply chains and get the real part price, then shift a few hundred thousand fast, you can make a short term profit, then move to the next sucker.

@jesondag 4 жыл бұрын

probably they ran out of electrolyte, or had a fault in the valves, and didn't notice until the first few hit QA, so they threw out the bad ones, and some rogue employee sold them at Huaqiangbei

@RFC3514 4 жыл бұрын

They're gaseous-state capacitors. Several advantages over both solid and liquid ones. They're 100% stable, non-pollutant, cheap to manufacture, and have incredibly long life. Sure, they don't actually work, but overall you gain more than you lose.

@westelaudio943 4 жыл бұрын

@@RFC3514 I know it's a joke, but those would be paper caps since there is paper inbetween it's just not soaked. 5n or what it was is actually in the typical range for paper caps too. And "gaseous" caps with air between the electrodes actually exist - tuning condensers in radios for instance.

@RFC3514 4 жыл бұрын

The paper is soaked in the finest Shenzhen air money can buy.

@TheLuckymod13 4 жыл бұрын

This was a fun video. I liked this more than the usual teardowns actually.

@ianfarquharson3772 4 жыл бұрын

I can't ThankQ enough for the video on driverless full spectrum led chips.I got a 250w light for my peppers for round £10 that has given full vigorous growth for a fraction of the price. ThankQ again. TkEZ

@echothehusky 4 жыл бұрын

I love these sorts of videos!

@cgflyone 4 жыл бұрын

Fascinating!

@julesviolin 2 жыл бұрын

I wish you were one of my teachers in school 50 yrs ago. Fantastic channel content. 🤠🤠 Your voice reminds me of Mrs Doubtfire which is a huge compliment BTW 👍👍

@televisionandcheese Жыл бұрын

Man this was so cool awesome to see the capacitance shooting up as it soaked

@STONEDay 4 жыл бұрын

Electrolyte dabs. Tasty. Never done that before.

@FroggyMosh 4 жыл бұрын

"This isn't very exciting for you watching this." You mean having the guts of a DIY capacitor on your bench, probably live? Touching it ocasionally? Actually it *is.*

@resneptacle 4 жыл бұрын

It's low voltage DC, isn't it? So not really dangerous?

@FroggyMosh 4 жыл бұрын

@@resneptacle Maybe? I don't know. He's had it hooked up to his bench power supply (at 5 volts?) not sure AC and/or DC. And since I'm not that educated on that stuff, it was _kinda_ exciting, at least for me. :)

@ProfStuartHalliday 3 жыл бұрын

Nice to see the test instruments you use.

@pilifx 4 жыл бұрын

Ha! Thank you to the link to Andreas’ video. His swiss accent is even worse than mine, but the explanation was very good and easily understood.

@ScruffR70 4 жыл бұрын

17:35 - it's Andreas Spiess (pronounced like Shpeess [ ʃpi:s ] ) and his is Swiss.

@blancsteve4819 4 жыл бұрын

The machine ran out of cap juice. It carried on and kept calm.

@Aengus42 4 жыл бұрын

This reminded me of my childhood in the '70's. My Dad worked at S.T.C. (Standard Telephone & Cables) in Paignton, Devon. He worked making capacitors in the metallising & slitting section where vacuum chambers vapourised aluminium & coated plastic film. He often brought home rolls of metallised film before they were potted. Xmas decorations in our house were made from many, many rolls of metallised film unrolled & dangled about the place. There were takes of finger stools inflated with helium with loads of capacitor film dangling from it being picked up by Exeter airport radar causing many a UFO flap!

@waynethompson8416 4 жыл бұрын

An interesting, informative and useful video. Basically you showed that a "failed" capacitor, one that was showing no capacitance, could be made to come up to a reading, in this case approx. 1000 µF capacity...but it was still electrically leaky! I know a lot of people believe in "reforming" failed capacitors, I don't. But difference in opinion is the spice of life...and can be a good thing. I'm NOT saying those who believe in reforming are "wrong" , simply that I don't think it is a good idea.

@darcksage1 4 жыл бұрын

Bigclive: Lemme just taste this antifreeze just real quick.

@rfmerrill 4 жыл бұрын

As long as you follow it up with some whiskey you'll be fine, the harmful effects of ethylene glycol are caused by its metabolites and ethanol blocks the enzyme that creates them.

@SigEpBlue 4 жыл бұрын

Well, the FIRST step in forming that dielectric layer is starting with a _good_ electrolyte... ;) hehe Just poking some fun. I used to do this kind of stuff back in community college all the time. You did have the basics of the process right. Reforming electrolytics is one of those 'tricks' I like to keep in my back pocket, so to speak, since it's _usually_ more time-efficient to simply replace them. But there are those times when you can't, or shouldn't -- special VFDs come to mind -- so out come the [HV]DC power supply and power resistors, or the BIG Variac, HV film capacitors, and 3-phase bridge rectifier. I really do enjoy these types of videos more than any other, getting down to the real low-level "how-does-it-actually-work" stuff!

@noname_atall 4 жыл бұрын

what's the process to make the oxide layer ? what did you put in your homemade electrolytes ?

@SigEpBlue 4 жыл бұрын

@@noname_atall In a nutshell, it's the application of DC voltage in *slow, steadily-increasing* steps. As for 'homemade electrolytes,' I'd have to dig up my notes from 20-ish years ago to be certain. But IIRC, I tried things like acetone, various alcohols, glycerin, brake fluid [ DOT3 (glycol ether) and DOT4 (borate ester)], propylene glycol, etc., with the addition of salts (sodium, potassium, magnesium, chlorides, take your pick). Those are all cheap, plentiful, and you can get large quantities, locally, without breaking the piggy-bank. Also note that ethylene glycol is _not_ the same as POLYethylene glycol (PEG)! One is relatively safe to eat, the other is very much not.

@jakebadenhorst9570 4 жыл бұрын

Another fascinating video. I have replaced many caps in my days and this video has visualized so many curiosities I have had regarding venting and electrolytic degradation. It's encouraging to see how easy it is to vent although I'm curious as to why it would push itself off the rubber seal instead of bursting open the vent? It should surely be secured more tightly?

@kevindondrea144 3 жыл бұрын

I have that little yellow tester too. I could never get it to read anything. I tried after you put the capacitor in it. Sure enough, it read it :) Ohhhhhh I'm so happy . :)

@____________________________.x 3 жыл бұрын

Tries to make a capacitor, gets a diode... lols 😂

@Whigu 4 жыл бұрын

4:48 Rubber bung can pop out of the bottom...

@Zoso14892 4 жыл бұрын

Don't forget it then splurges everywhere...

@Whigu 4 жыл бұрын

@@Zoso14892 Do we really want to remember that?

@johnsiders7819 4 жыл бұрын

LOL

@750kv8 4 жыл бұрын

That's a cute little device, the tester. Very enjoyable video!

@coltronex 4 жыл бұрын

A very interesting insight into an interesting subject,when i change electrolytics in an old radio I will have a better understanding as to the aging process,regards Colin.

@yoctoflop 4 жыл бұрын

Now what is it exactly that destroyed the youtube recommendations for this video?

@cheyannei5983 4 жыл бұрын

Wut do they look like for you? The only things in my recommended are my subscriptions.

@yoctoflop 4 жыл бұрын

@@cheyannei5983 They're ALL kids videos. I've never watched a single one. EDIT: They're gone now. Interesting.

@josuelservin2409 4 жыл бұрын

@@yoctoflop, KZfaq tends to do that with educational videos

@cheyannei5983 4 жыл бұрын

@@yoctoflop when a video is new, the recommendations are either from what's popular in the category or what's popular on YT. IIRC recommendeds are built up over time based on the viewers' tastes.

@edgeeffect 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah that huge mass of little kids videos happens from time to time for me too. Maybe they're the KZfaq AI's personal favourites.

@ucitymetalhead 4 жыл бұрын

I guess I should send you that dollar for coffee so you don't get tempted to taste antifreeze.

@nathanlucas6465 4 жыл бұрын

I'm reasonably sure that Clive has already tasted antifreeze for our entertainment

@nathanlucas6465 4 жыл бұрын

My mistake, it was meths kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m9ZifJZ4y5m3lZc.html

@FroggyMosh 4 жыл бұрын

@@nathanlucas6465 Heh, I forgot about that. Guess we'll have to give enough for 2 cups a coffee.

@nathanlucas6465 4 жыл бұрын

@@FroggyMosh going by the reaction, I'm guessing Clive won't want to try meths again. Could be wrong though...

@FroggyMosh 4 жыл бұрын

@@nathanlucas6465 Probably not, but he might consider other liquids. Does he seem desperate to you? He seems desperate to me. Next thing you know he'll be looking at the bleach... _"A drink. _*_Any_*_ drink!.... Hmmm. This is generally considered toxic...."_ Might need 3 coffees even.

@howardmaryon 2 жыл бұрын

Watching a grown man get mildly excited about something as esoteric as watching a capacitor form is something rare and beautiful. This is what KZfaq is for, and people like Clive who are the everyday geniuses all around us.

@beartastic-ftw 4 жыл бұрын

Haha, the second I heard "I've never actually tasted it.." I knew where that was going. Legend!

@Rick_Todd 4 жыл бұрын

Some one make clive a nice 3D printed case for his Tester.

@CyberlightFG 4 жыл бұрын

I guess,you can buy a cheapy chinese pink case for that

@YbborUberAlles 4 жыл бұрын

S P L U R G E S all over my board

@alexpmK3 4 жыл бұрын

Super interesting, thank you for sharing Clive

@arcadeuk 4 жыл бұрын

Great timing, I had just watched the other video :)

@KeanM 4 жыл бұрын

You really should be discharging the cap before putting it on the tester, especially after applying 12V. I agree that it is probably not holding much charge, maybe you guessed the polarity incorrectly.

@aaronbrandenburg2441 4 жыл бұрын

Is your user image supposed to be a bad looking Commander Keen? It's not what is it. Are you being a commander Keen? As well.

@davidmcgill1000 4 жыл бұрын

@@aaronbrandenburg2441 Appears to be an edited version of Keen 4 title screen.

@phinok.m.628 4 жыл бұрын

As far as I know capacitors are formed by very slowly charging them (until the leakage current 'causes them not to charge further), then discharging them and charging them again multiple times. As you charge and discharge them, the leakage current should slowly start to drop allowing the capacitor to reach higher and higher voltages. You should also be able to "deform" working capacitors btw. by very very slowly charging them with reverse polarity over and over again, 'causing the oxide layer to dissolve on the one side and build back up on the other side. So theoretically you could "reform" a capacitor so that the polarity label is the wrong way around. And then you can give them to someone as a prank... :D

@davepauljones 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks clive, very interesting, saved me having to do it, I don't have the time. More like this please!

@bigjd2k 4 жыл бұрын

We had a batch of 4.7uF 400V caps at work which had been soldered into little switch-mode power supplies in the primary side, and hadn’t been formed in the factory. Powering them up just blew the fuse. Solution - put a 15W pygmy lamp in series with the supply. This would light for about 2 seconds and then dim down with a “new” capacitor. The leakage current slowly went down to next to nothing. They seemed to work fine after that. Thinking about it the forming process must be pretty quick in the factory, as they’re easily going to be making 10,000’s an hour!

@acrodrigues1 4 жыл бұрын

That's Andreas Spiess - the guy with swiss accent you're talking about.

@RFC3514 4 жыл бұрын

Which is odd, for a Swedish guy.

@SimonCoates 4 жыл бұрын

17:34 - it's André Spears of Swaziland 😁

@eideticex 4 жыл бұрын

One of the other failures of those caps which is really freaking annoying is the seal around the rubber boot develops a tiny leak. So tiny the electrolyte can't pass through but large enough to allow a significant amount of heat to pass. If it's seated all the way against the board, it'll just make a little black dot on the board, no biggie. If it's floating on the pins like most caps it'll whistle as it makes the air outside that hole heat up. I have a motherboard in my closet with that problem, works fine, the cap even works within rating. Had to plop down some hot glue to silence it.

@ElectricUniverseEyes 4 жыл бұрын

Nice experiment! Thank you for sharing

@akkupackage 4 жыл бұрын

That little universal tester isnt always reliable, I have the exact same type myself and once I tried testing some solder wire and it came out as a MOSFET of some sorts. Several times, actually

@BenMitro 4 жыл бұрын

solder wire IS like a mosfet - its either on or not.

@RTBNL 4 жыл бұрын

I ordered a few Tip127’s this month. When they arrived I compared the HFE to the complementary 122’s I already had in stock. The tester (LCR-T4) reported the TIP127 as a NPN transistor, I reversed it in it’s socket and then it reported it as an PNP transistor....

@GGigabiteM 4 жыл бұрын

Those Chinese component testers often get confused if you poke a component in randomly. After much experimentation, I've found that the six pins on the left are most reliable when testing passive components like diodes, resistors and capacitors. The tester will start giving errant results if you span a component too many pins apart in the socket, and especially if you cross the socket divide between the six and eight pin groups. When testing capacitors, ALWAYS make sure they're 100% discharged because the microcontroller has zero input protection other than a couple of resistors. I've killed more than one of these things by accident by putting in a capacitor I thought was discharged. Caps have a tenancy to recharge themselves, especially ones with higher farad ratings. You usually have to short them out for a couple of minutes to drain all of the residual charge in the plates. For larger DIP chips, it's best to treat the top left pin as pin 1, if you insert a chip in upside down, you almost always get errant results. Most of these cheap testers available on Ebay, Ali Express, etc. are all based on the same firmware by the two people listed on the boot screen, and all have the same quirks and faults. There is different versions of the firmware, later versions generally have better component descriptions. I have a recent model which comes in a shell and a color TFT screen which is a lot easier to read and less prone to damage. I had a few of the model BC has and the screens usually end up damaged because the glass falls out and rips the data cable off.

@userPrehistoricman 4 жыл бұрын

Mine has difficulty with inductors with lots of series resistance. And faulty caps can make it behave funny too.

@GusFernCa 4 жыл бұрын

Could someone please add some links to recommended versions?

@garbleduser 4 жыл бұрын

Use Paul Carlson's leakage meter!

@will_doherty 4 жыл бұрын

Very illuminating video - thanks!

@jayare1933 Жыл бұрын

Clive has earned my youtube syndication, Rerun Time!!!

@jayare1933 Жыл бұрын

"bung" lol!

@stuartmcconnachie 4 жыл бұрын

2:20 & 5:21 Not into Austrian wine then Clive? 😉

@kain0m 4 жыл бұрын

That was a loooong time ago.

@Conservator. 4 жыл бұрын

kain0m A prime example of how damaging such an event can be.

@stuartmcconnachie 4 жыл бұрын

kain0m: Indeed. 1985. But I think Clive is of the age group to (just about) be able to remember.

@anidnmeno 4 жыл бұрын

"Forget this, these'll be real capacitors when I get done with 'em!" -- Big Clive probably

@pr0xZen 3 жыл бұрын

Oh I've certainly done this before. Did it all the time during my freelance tours to the ISS as a capacitance specialist, plumber for the space toilet and head-polisher for the deep space deployed Swedish ICBM nuke arrays.

@krackpack1 4 жыл бұрын

I loved that your curiosity shows in these videos. you said you never tasted it before and my mind went to he’s gonna taste it. I mean i would of tastes it. Then bam you are like let’s taste it. I love it