Is it a must to ground a cap can?

[tribi9]

I've seen some old cap cans with no ground, just wondering if it's even necessary to ground the ones that have a "ground" tab.
Cheers

[jaysg]

I've seen some old cap cans with no ground, just wondering if it's even necessary to ground the ones that have a "ground" tab.

Most cap cans are in an arrangement where ground is part of the circuit. Give us an example where they're not. (I am familiar with Ampeg circuits where the can is at a voltage.)

[dynaman]

I've seen some old cap cans with no ground, just wondering if it's even necessary to ground the ones that have a "ground" tab.
Cheers

You must be referring to modern cans like JJ or F&T. Yes, it's necessary to ground the "ground" lugs, unless you're running cans in series. In that case, just the can at the "bottom" of the circuit gets grounded.

The older style of bare metal cans are a different story.

Which are you referring to?

[tribi9]

Yes, dynaman. I'm talking about cap cans such as the JJ as used in... let's say in a Fender?

[dynaman]

Yes, the ground lug isn't "optional".

[billyz]

I've seen some old cap cans with no ground, just wondering if it's even necessary to ground the ones that have a "ground" tab.
Cheers

On the old Can caps like Mallory FP series the can itself is the ground and all the sections are connected to it. The tabs around the perimeter get soldered to the chassis. On the JJ or other modern type , one lug is always Ground, it get soldered to the chassis with a jumper.

[tribi9]

Thank you, makes sense.

[bitsandvolts]

try building the amp with just one not grounded....it wont sound very good.

[Andy Le Blanc]

I had a West where one of the cans was on a phenolic mount, in series.
I always wondered why one can had a card board sleeve and the other didn't.
One day I reached in to check for heat to find the sleeve on the wrong can.
Don't make any assumptions, theres a few ampegs with the same series trick
It can be dangerous. Ground the can.