re-soldering a capacitor

[gobble]

Oops! while building my tube amp kit, I made a mistake in not aligning the height of larger caps with smaller ones - the larger caps were meant to be pushed from the solder side of the pcb upto a certain height only. (See image)

Now they they stick above the height of the valve sockets. Unfortunately I nipped the leads very close to the pcb, so even if I de-solder them the leads will not longer be long enough to re-align them to a lower height.

How do I recover from this now? Can I solder the nipped leads back to lengthen them? Or is it a strict no-no?

Thanks
--G0bble

 

[avidyarthy]

If you can manage to solder it back (could be tricky) of course you may. Why should it be a strict no-no?

 

[sudhishkv]

Use a wire to extend the leads and solder the wire to the pcp. Also make sure that the insulation is proper and you can fix the copacitor anyware you think it safe and secure.

 

[omishra]

Oops! while building my tube amp kit, I made a mistake in not aligning the height of larger caps with smaller ones - the larger caps were meant to be pushed from the solder side of the pcb upto a certain height only. (See image)

Now they they stick above the height of the valve sockets. Unfortunately I nipped the leads very close to the pcb, so even if I de-solder them the leads will not longer be long enough to re-align them to a lower height.

How do I recover from this now? Can I solder the nipped leads back to lengthen them? Or is it a strict no-no?

Thanks
--G0bble

No problem in soldering extra leads to existing ones. First solder new lead extensions to PCB. Clip it to suitable length and bend to position with cap leads. Finish contact my soldering it to cap leads. vice-verse soldering leads to caps and then to PCB will make life miserable.


BTW, rather than doing so why can't you make it horizontal?

 

[gobble]

Use a wire to extend the leads and solder the wire to the pcp. Also make sure that the insulation is proper and you can fix the copacitor anyware you think it safe and secure.

Awesome advice from all! Esp OMishra - thats exactly how an FET is soldered except the kit came with pins for this. A little application of mind on my part would have made me happier. I now wish I had waited a while - I wasn't expecting answers so quickly, and in my impatience, I just soldered the caps backwards - upside down from what's in the image. There is room on the underside of the pcb as some very large caps are stationed there.

What is the need for insulation? Is it ok if a cap touches the metal chassis?

--G0bble

 

[avidyarthy]

You may provide insulation on the bare leads (for peace of mind). For capacitor .... no issues if the cap body touches anything metal, since it has a plastic coating.

 

[reubensm]

Awesome advice from all! Esp OMishra - thats exactly how an FET is soldered except the kit came with pins for this. A little application of mind on my part would have made me happier. I now wish I had waited a while - I wasn't expecting answers so quickly, and in my impatience, I just soldered the caps backwards - upside down from what's in the image. There is room on the underside of the pcb as some very large caps are stationed there.

What is the need for insulation? Is it ok if a cap touches the metal chassis?

--G0bble

Please insulate the cap head from the chassis (just in case).

Btw, with regard to OMishra's suggestion - SPOT On!! However a very conservative add-on opinion would be to use the very same component lead pieces for the extension.

 

[gurubhai]

I recommend teflon coated solid copper wire( Like the ones we use for hookup wire).
Better caps are supposed to have solid copper leads, so why use the stock leads & not copper wire.

 

[reubensm]

I recommend teflon coated solid copper wire( Like the ones we use for hookup wire).
Better caps are supposed to have solid copper leads, so why use the stock leads & not copper wire.

makes sense...!!

 

[gobble]

I recommend teflon coated solid copper wire( Like the ones we use for hookup wire).
Better caps are supposed to have solid copper leads, so why use the stock leads & not copper wire.

But when the original legs of the caps are just ordinary sticks of metal, why append a teflon coated copper piece to it?What possible benefit will it provide? Anyways its done. unless the caps now obstruct something at the bottom of the chassis I wont have to redo them.

Thanks all of you guys!!

--G0bble

 

[jls001]

Which tube amp are you building secretly?

 

[gurubhai]

But when the original legs of the caps are just ordinary sticks of metal, why append a teflon coated copper piece to it?What possible benefit will it provide? Anyways its done. unless the caps now obstruct something at the bottom of the chassis I wont have to redo them.

Thanks all of you guys!!

--G0bble

Usually won't be needed but if the leads are long & have any possibility of coming in contact with something hot, Teflon would be safer.
Don't know which tube amp you are making but things can get pretty hot with the kind of voltages tube amps tend to require.

 

[keith_correa]

But when the original legs of the caps are just ordinary sticks of metal, why append a teflon coated copper piece to it?What possible benefit will it provide?

Why indeed!!! Because my friend, that way you will have something pass through a better looking [than plain ole Al] conductive solid thing coated with teflon [to minimize skin effect you see] and then at the end of it pass through a plain ol Al stick and then you can sleep better at night [or if you are like me - in the day] knowing that something has passed faster through the teflon coated Cu only to get throttled by plain ole Al...
Just like the start and stop method.

Make sense? No? Join the club

 

[gobble]

Which tube amp are you building secretly?

Its a secret as you already guessed! I will post a new thread in a couple of days ... patience ...

Why indeed!!! Because my friend, that way you will have something pass through a better looking [than plain ole Al] conductive solid thing coated with teflon [to minimize skin effect you see] and then at the end of it pass through a plain ol Al stick and then you can sleep better at night [or if you are like me - in the day] knowing that something has passed faster through the teflon coated Cu only to get throttled by plain ole Al...
Just like the start and stop method.

Make sense? No? Join the club

Hmmm Now I am curious about the skin effect when I touch the bare leads and when dressed in a teflon shirt/pant.

Cheers

 

[keith_correa]

Hmmm Now I am curious about the skin effect when I touch the bare leads and when dressed in a teflon shirt/pant.

Actually it's not the skin effect. It's to do with the dielectric

 

[heliumflight]

I recently changed electrolitic capacitors for Vintage Akai SW175 speakers. Now it's come back to life.:licklips:

 

[quad]

Naah, with Teflon, an audiophile would be more concerned about
the Triboelectric effect

Teflon insulated speaker cable - diyAudio

Cable Distortion and Dielectric Biasing Debunked — Reviews and News from Audioholics

 

[omishra]

Just buy heat shrink of 3mm diameter. After soldering extra leads to pcb let it cool. Insert this heat shrink tube over extra lead leaving only soldering area open near the cap for soldering. While soldering that to cap leads it it will shrink fit and do the job. Also below this cap, you can paste your visiting/business card on the bottom of chassis to avoid touching any metal/lead to chassis. I liberally use price/advt tags from new clothing's, business card and old credit cards for this.