There must be some sort of misconception going around as of late about tantalum caps being far superior to electrolytic caps. I just had a member here, Fidde_se, offer to do some work, in regards to that one thread I posted, noting his dislike for electrolytics, and stating:
electrolytes that are prone for failure again in the next 20-30 years.
Better to do it good once and for all.
I'd like to be quite clear on this, tantalum caps service life is not infinite. You can hit many old computer or electronics forums and find discussions where they have had to be replaced in computers and things like stereo receivers from the 80's and early 90s due to failure. So far, it is about the same as any high quality electrolytic from Panasonic or Sanyo, and they are prone to failure when not used right, or due to their lower tolerance to certain things. I have seen failed tant caps all the time on computer hardware. When they popped they took shit with them making repairs hard in most cases, or impossible in some. When used right, they worked well, but on stuff like the Geforce 256 and TNT 2 Ultra, I have seen them go bad on said cards also, among others, and on many motherboards. I am not opposed to using them on repairs here, but I think it should be kept in mind they are not the end all, be all, of capacitor technology.
They will last a long time when they work (but so will good electrolytics), and if you compensate for their flaws with spikes, etc, they work out great(as will good electrolytics). But
I myself , would not go out of my way to pick them over a strong well made electrolytic from a well known, highly regarded company, or even a Japanese solid cap for that matter. If I have them on hand, I will use them if they fit the job. If I need something really really small, they work out well. But their
service life is definitely not infinitely longer then a well made electrolytic. I mean, stating the such is simply not realistic. It's not really a great idea to make blank check promises on mod work involving tantalum caps, stating they will last forever, wont have to sweat out the next 20-30 years, etc. You wont really know how long they will last until they fail.
You definitely wont know if the ones you used will last 20-30 years of service until that set time frame has expired and they are still working. As with all things, please use common sense when advertising work, and keep in mind, your strongest component is only going to be as strong as the weakest one sitting right next to it sometimes.
Per what I sent to
To be honest with you, tat caps are prone to leak DC, and their failure modes are quite severe. People new to this stuff seem to think they are a god send, and while they can be great, they do have a shelf life(note: I actually meant service life here, not shelf life), and when they go they do more damage then an electrolytic. They don't tolerate spikes or inrush easily, and do tend to work best with hardware that originally had them in the spec to begin with due to their not tolerating spikes and inrush. Working with so much computer stuff over the years, the one major negative I have seen with them too is when they go, they take the whole trace they are soldered to with them instantly, making repairs impossible in some cases, as opposed to electrolytic caps which will either vent and pop at the top, or slow leak at the bottom which still buys you time to replace them. I am not really for, or against, using them for repairs here, but they are in no way actually superior to normal electrolytic caps. If you want to go all out, the best caps to use are Japanese Solid caps.
Topic: Tantalum caps versus Electrolytic (Read 178 times)
