Blog

MIL-C-25A

The world’s largest inventory of off the shelf capacitors as Standard Radio. These military snubber capacitors work well in military and commercial equipment. These capacitors are hermetically sealed for use in rugged audio applications, will withstand 250 hours of voltage rating of 1.4 times rated voltage. These oil capacitors come in voltages 100V, 200V, 400V, 600V and 1000V.

When looking to order these high temperature capacitors (up to 125 °C) use the following part numbering break down:

CP05A1KB104K3

CP05A1KB104K3 – Type: Extended Foil
CP05A1KB104K3 – Case: Floating
CP05A1KB104K3 – Operating Temperature: 125 °C
CP05A1KB104K3 – Voltage: 100V
CP05A1KB104K3 – Capacitance: 100000pF or 0.1uF
CP05A1KB104K3 – Tolerance: 10%
CP05A1KB104K3 – Vibration Testing: 3

Use the following codes to build part number:

Type:
CP04, CP05 = Extended Foil
CP08, CP09 = Inserted Tab
Case:
1 = Floating Case
3 = Grounded Case
Operating Temperature:
K = 125 °C
E = 85 °C
Voltage:
B = 100V
C = 200V
E = 400V
F = 600V
G = 1000V
Capacitance:
First two digits are significant digits. Third digit is a multiplier. For example 123 stands for 12 times 10 to the power of 3 or 12000pF.
Tolerance:
J = 5%
K = 10%
M = 20%

The military has been using these American made oil capacitors since the 1950’s with fantastic results. Great pricing can be found at Standard Radio as well as the world’s largest inventory. Over 100,000 square feet of the best electronic components.

The term “hermetically sealed” often implies to being airtight or being impervious to air and gas. When a capacitor is hermetically sealed, the dielectric is encased and forms a pseudo-impervious barrier to protect against water vapor, humidity, chemicals and other foreign bodies. There are three common ways to hermetically seal a capacitor:

Wrap & Foil: The capacitor is wrapped in a tight plastic tape and the ends are filled with epoxy in order to form the seal.

            Epoxy Case: The capacitor is encased in a molded plastic shell which is then filled with epoxy.

            Metal Hermetically Sealed: The capacitor is encased in a metal can or tube and filled with epoxy.

The rationale behind hermetically sealing a capacitor is to maintain proper functioning and reliability of the component. In the electronics industry, hermetically sealed capacitors can provide benefits to many applications. In some applications, these types of capacitors are vital. Due to a lower incidence of failure, hermetically sealed capacitors are often found in Aerospace, Industrial and Medical applications. Finally, these capacitors provide increased reliability and are able to withstand a more severe environment; including extreme temperatures and humidity.

Today, June 17, 2013, KEMET has announced the release of their new Screw Terminal Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors.

ALS60/61 Screw Terminal Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors

These new capacitors are designed using the latest electrolyte and foil technology in order to meet the high voltage, high ripple current and long life demands of various applications. KEMET expects their latest series of capacitor to be “ideally suited for such applications as frequency converters, inverters, UPS systems, switch mode power supplies, traction and welding.”  Markets that will benefit from the ALS60/61 series are alternative energy, industrial lighting, medical, transportation, defense and aerospace.

Though lead times for this style of capacitor can be quite long, Standard Radio remains committed to solving such delivery issues. In fact, our 130,000 square feet of warehouse space houses one of the industry’s largest inventories of screw terminal aluminum electrolytic capacitors. These warehouse capabilities combined with our product knowledge allows us to offer parts from stock that will fit your application and eliminate any lead time you may face.

Today, May 29, 2013, KEMET has announced the Release of Three New Tantalum Chip Capacitor Series.

T488 Small Case Substrate Terminal MnO₂

T527 Facedown Polymer

T529 Small Case Substrate Terminal Polymer

These series offer the end-user high capacitance values (22uF to 220uF) in a small footprint (2.0mm x 1.2mm and 3.2mm x 1.6mm) and low profile (max package heights of as low as 1.0mm). KEMET expects these capacitors to be popular in applications that use densely populated circuits. Such applications include smart phones and digital cameras.

With billions of capacitors in stock, make Standard Radio your stop for KEMET Capacitors. Whether you require tantalum, ceramic, film, aluminum, electrolytic or paper dielectrics, the product specialists at Standard Radio are ready to assist you with your needs.

Mining.com has recently reported that the price of tantalum, a precious metal, is on the rise. Several manufacturer’s of capacitors use tantalum as a dielectric because they are known to have high capacitance per volume and weight. Tantalum capacitors are also known to have lower equivalent series resistance (ESR), lower leakage and higher operating temperature than other capacitors. Currently, the price of tantalum is approximately $125 - $130 per pound; up from $100 per pound a year ago. While the price of tantalum has been volatile in the past, analyst are now predicting a 5% growth per year through 2020.

Source:

http://www.mining.com/painting-a-rosy-picture-of-lithium-and-tantalum-99638/

R&J Components, “The King of Capacitors,” has over 1.2 Billion Capacitors in stock and ready to ship. We stock almost every style of capacitor including, but not limited to; AC Motor run/Motor start, Aluminum Electrolytic, Ceramic, Dipped Mica, Film, Glass and Tantalum. R&J Components is franchised for such manufacturers as Arizona Capacitor, GE, Illinois Capacitor and Nichicon. Moreover, we stock well known brands such as AVX, Cornell Dubilier, Kemet and Vishay. Our product specialists are available to search the specifications you are looking for and offer parts that will help you get the job done. As always, R&J Components is interested in saving your company time and money.

For over 90 years, Cooper Bussmann has manufactured fuses for the Electrical, Electronics, Wireless, Transportation and Consumer markets. Today, Copper Bussmann sets the standard in circuit protection. As a franchised distributor of Cooper Bussmann, R&J Components Corporation and their experienced product specialists can offer a wide variety of Cooper Bussmann products to help you with your application. Passive components, such as fuses, remain one of R&J Components’ strengths and we will work to cross reference other manufacturer part numbers and offer alternates in order to save you time and money.

Oil-Filled capacitors have been used in a variety of applications for many years. They are most often used in high current and/or high voltage applications. Oil-filled capacitors are large in size when compared to other styles of capacitors because oil is a much thicker dielectric. In most oil-filled capacitors, the plates and dielectric are rolled tightly, insulated and sealed in a metal or glass container. Oil-filled is a commonly used term for any capacitor using a liquid filler to enhance the dielectric. Many types of oils have been used over the years, from mineral oil to synthetic oils. The addition of oil to the capacitor will improve its power factor. It is also used to cool the capacitor. Standard Radio has access to all of the major manufacturers of this type of capacitor as well as one of the industries largest inventories of oil-filled capacitors. Remember Standard Radio is a great source for every style of capacitor.

Common Applications of Oil-Filled Capacitors

Commutation/Snubber Energy Storage Filtering Induction Motor Run/ Motor Start Power Factor Correction Pulse

Popular Manufacturers

Arizona Capacitors, Aerovox, Cornell Dubilier (CDE), General Electric, High Energy Corp, Mallory, NWL, Plastic Capacitor

In an effort to help people identify and source the components they need this blog has been created. In the over 30 years that I have been buying and selling electronic components, I have seen many changes. In 1977 the slogan used by the Sprague Electric Company to sell its components was “don’t be vague ask for Sprague”. They were one of the biggest names in the industry. Today the name Sprague is not used very often. The Sprague Electric Company was purchased by Vishay Intertechnology in 1992 and even though some of the most popular part numbers such as the 30D series, a 105 degree axial aluminum electrolytic capacitor, are still being made many of the others have been discontinued.

Technology has reduced the demand for that particular style of capacitor and many of the other series that have been discontinued. If you need a particular type of capacitor and that part number has been discontinued you know that finding an alternate to use can be both difficult and time consuming. Even if the number you need is still currently being offered by the current manufacturer of the part you need in most cases you find that it is not in stock and has a long lead time.

What I hope to do with this blog is provide you with options. I will discuss a particular part number or style of capacitor and comment on is current market condition, any changes in the part number, what the part numbers are for exact replacements or upgrades that you can use to shorten or eliminate long lead time. In general I intend to make this type of information available in an effort to help you with parts that are creating a problem for you or your companies supply chain.

I hope that you will contact me with suggestions or comments on what I can do to improve this blog or for parts you need help in finding or replacing.

Long lead times for these capacitors have created a problem for many of the manufacturers that use this type of electronic component in their product. Lead times for certain capacitors are now as long as 32 weeks. This is a result of problems in getting the raw materials needed to the capacitor manufacturers.    

Here are a few suggestions on what can be done to help find a solution to the long lead times. In some cases it may be possible to substitute the capacitor required with a different dielectric that may be available for example using polypropylene in place of polyester. Another is to look for parts with a better tolerance such as 5% in place of 10%. In some case it may be possible to use axial style capacitors and then bend the leads to make them work in place of the radial style.

Selecting the right capacitor for your application is a decision that includes price and delivery. Certain materials that were considered common choices for the dielectric are now either obsolete or made in a very limited supply. Polycarbonate and polystyrene are two such materials. The limited availability has resulted in most cases with higher prices. The dissipation factor (DF), low equivalent series resistance (ESR) and maximum operating temperature are just some of the factors that should be considered when determining which dielectric will work best in your application.

Film capacitors are commonly used for filtering blocking and bypassing applications. The most popular styles are precision, pulse and high energy and interference suppression capacitors. Some of the leading manufacturers of this style capacitor are AVX, Epcos, Kemet, Illinois Capacitor, and Wima. If you would like more information on this style of capacitor please contact us.