Panasonic Film Caps

[Gaz]

Anyone using these? They make them in Polypropylene and Metallized Polyester. The specs look more than adequate, and a .1uF/630vdc cap is a quarter of the price or an 1/8 of the price of a Mallory 150M if you buy 10! Not a trivial price difference.

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Pan ... bJlA%3D%3D

...leads look pretty long too.

[martin manning]

Those look pretty good, worth a try for sure.

[Richie]

didn't see it on that data sheet but look up the poly life hrs. they are rated somewhat low, compared to others. thinking it was 500hr rating

[Gaz]

didn't see it on that data sheet but look up the poly life hrs. they are rated somewhat low, compared to others. thinking it was 500hr rating

How could that even be possible?

[Richie]

http://ca.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Pana ... tgL8xzaA==

check "load life" on the data sheet, plus I think that was the polypropylene

the others were polyester

now compare this to the "life test" whatever that is.. on a Mallory 150 is 1000hrs.

http://www.cde.com/resources/catalogs/150.pdf

[Gaz]

Thanks, Richie. You know I never really looked into film cap specs. 150M's seem to be 1000 hours at 1.25 working voltage, which seems really good compared to the other datasheet you linked to which is just 500 hours at the working voltage.

I'm still looking for some info on the actual ones I linked to. Hopefully they're a bit better.

[Gaz]

Actually, now that I really look at it, I'm not sure if that spec on the datasheet you linked to has anything to do with voltage life span, but is for a humidity test. I think it means that the cap can take 85% relative humidity at 85C for 500 hours without drifting.

So I think it's actually boasting how much humidity it can take, and the reason it's only on the polypropylene sheet is because PP is especially resistant to moisture. This makes it a good advertising point in the summary at the top of the datasheet where they usually put all the attractive info. Seems to to me, the would not put any crappy stats right at the top

I couldn't find any life/hours ratings for any of their caps, and noticed a separate "humidity test" on the Orange Drop datasheet that looked similar to the Panasonic spec you pointed to, which lead to my little theory above.

Hopefully an engineer can chime in.

[Richie]

Whatever the test are, or how they are done, just seems it was low compared to other caps. Some have 2000 to 5000hr.

I usually look more into what they are used for. Some caps are used for audio,some are not. Some seem to be better used in a trem circuit etc.. Just seems to help to look through the info for some things,or when comparing. I think there are also some cap listing videos on you tube between some different type. I know it gets confusing, people say orange drop, or wima, Panasonic, to whatever brand. There are differences of the types,what or how they are made. And many may look very much alike by size and color. So the data sheet does help figure that out.

This shows an NTE at radio shack.. with 1000hrs.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... absetBasic

[Gaz]

Whatever the test are, or how they are done, just seems it was low compared to other caps. Some have 2000 to 5000hr.

Ok, but what I was saying is that I don't think that was a life test at all. Panasonic has no life test for any of their caps as far as I can see. You are taking the "500 hours" out of context and making assumptions about the cap's life span.

From the 150M sheet:

Damp Heat Test: 95% RH @ +45 ºC for 21 days

From the Panasonic sheet:

• 85 ˚C, 85 % RH, W.V.✕1.0 for 500 hours

Don't you think those look like similar tests having to do with humidity and not life span at a given overvoltage?

Otherwise can we assume the Mallorys are rated for 21 days (504 hours)?

And here's a $0.30 WIMA cap that claims greater than 300,000 operational life. That's the kind of figure I wish they all had.

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/440/WIMA_DC_ ... 4-6200.pdf

[Richie]

You are taking the "500 hours" out of context and making assumptions about the cap's life span.

Where did I say "life span"? I just posted what the manufacture listed in the data sheet as a "life test" and it was a lower rating compared to other Data sheets of similar caps.
The test may vary between manufactures of how they are done. When dealing with parts, the data sheet is sometimes useful or out the window. The part may be bad when you get it! Sorry if it was confusing.

I think many have used the Panasonic, and they are good caps. There are lots of great caps out there to use.

[Gaz]

Ok, well in your first post, you said: "Look up poly life hours...", which I assumed what the life of the cap. Either way, that 500 hour rating is neither as far as I can tell. It's likely closer to the Wima figure, assuming the cap materials/quality is similar for the most part. Anyway, thanks for the clarification. I was just freakin' out because I thought you were trying to say the caps were cheap an only gonna last 500 hours!

[matt h]

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