While Evaporust is working and I'm waiting on other parts I've started on restuffing the electrolytic capacitors.
In the past I've used terminal strips under the chassis to mount the replacement caps and left the original electrolytics in place for appearance.
I decided that this set really demands that I up my game both for the sake of neatness as well as the fact that there are a lot of electrolytics! It would just get too messy to re-route all of those wires and find space for the replacement caps. Space was an extra concern because I want to use 630V Solen film caps for longevity.
I read over
previous posts on how others have done it to come up with a process. I don't think I've seen anyone doing it exactly this way but I was drawn to the idea of using a rivet to attach a solder lug to the case so that no additional electrical connections would need to be made to the capacitor. It also makes a handy way to route the wire to the positive stud.
I'd rather connect to the stud internally but couldn't think of a good way to do that. A solder lug crimped onto the stud internally might work - but I don't have anything like that to try it out.
0. Start
I practiced on a couple of spare electrolytics to smooth out the kinks then started in on part 166 - an 8uF capacitor.
Shaking the can I could tell that this is the 'wet' type and still contained liquid.
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1. Drill hole for rivet
This is also useful for draining the liquid before sawing the can. I first drilled a 1/16" hole - then widened it to 1/8" for the pop rivet.
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2. Cut open can
I used a wire jeweler's saw.
Wrap the can in tape to avoid scratching the can if the saw slips.
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3. Attach solder lug with rivet
Use an aluminum pop rivet to attach a solder lug to the inside of the can.
I used a 1/8" x 1/4" pop rivet from an
assortment that I bought off of eBay.
The solder lug I used was
RadioDaze LUG8A-10. It appears to be
Keystone Part 7313 that you can buy much cheaper from Digi-Key.
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4. Make the rivet hollow
Push the head of the pop rivet out using an awl so that the rivet is hollow
5. Connect positive stud
Route a wire from one end of the capacitor through the pop rivet hole to the 'positive' stud of the case.
I used a bit of heatshrink to protect the connection on the bottom of the cap so that it can't make contact with the case.
6. Connect negative case
Solder another wire from the other end of the cap to the 'negative' case solder lug.
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7. Reassemble
I used a strip of HVAC aluminum foil tape cut to ~1/2" to reconnect the two halves of the outer can. It's important to keep in mind that although the HVAC tape is metallic it's really just for appearances and good adhesion - and does not connect electrically to the can due to the adhesive layer underneath. So the strip needs to be narrower than the clamp holding the capacitor.
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8. Test
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