[jstaf40]

can anyone tell me what a common lug on a bathtub cap is used for, is it a ground lug, if so how is it different from the other bathtub cap with out the common lug
thank you for your help
john

[morzh]

Caps do not have ground lugs, they just have lugs. These can be connected to whatever including ground.

A cap with a common case and two lugs is simply a dual cap with one common. Connect it any way you will.

[jerryhawthorne]

John, to expand a bit on Morzh's comment, if your referring to the black Philco bakelite caps they generally have a lug on the end the mounting screw goes through. This lug would be chassis ground. Components inside the tub often require one end to ground and this is used for that connection. Should you find a can without a lug on that end (I don't recall seeing any) it just means that the component(s) inside do not need to be connected to ground thus the lug was left off.
Make sense? Chuck's Philco repairbench site will provide a listing of the various tub caps listed by the number etched in their sides. It provides the value(s) of the internals and their connection point.
Chuck's site: http://www.philcorepairbench.com/bblokcap.htm
Jerry

[morzh]

Jerry,

No, bathtubs are these:

http://www.tedss.com/144P107M/?gclid=CO-...7Aodch4AQQ
or
http://www.surplussales.com/capacitors/BathtubCaps.html

Often oil filled.

[jerryhawthorne]

My bad, I was thinking of Philcos where I have seen them called many things, often derogatory.
Jerry

[Jamie]

Those little guys are expensive.

[TA Forbes]

Those are "audio quality" oil-filled caps. Yes, they are expensive.

You mainly see them in audio-phile gear or test equipment.

Some high-end radios also used them. My Scott 800B has them. I tested several and they were all right on, so I left them alone.

I have a box full of them I got from my friend and mentor Bob Timms. Many are appropriate values for my Scott, I am saving them for my Great-Grand Children to have in case one of the ones in my Scott eventually fail.

In fact, I believe that when the atomic apocalypse comes, the only things left will be cockroaches and oil-filled caps.

[Jamie]

In fact, I believe that when the atomic apocalypse comes, the only things left will be cockroaches and oil-filled caps.

...and I will add - the tar from thousands of restuffed Philco bakelite blocks. . ..Somewhere, scattered across the globe.

[morzh]

No....it will mix with asphalt roads.

It will only be found in rural areas....

[TA Forbes]

If you melt the bakelite block tar in a bowl and add sugar it's great on pancakes.

[morzh]

Or you can then introduce yeast, fement it, take it to a nearby still and make "Philco noir" moonshine.

[codefox1]

Pardon me, but I thought bathtub caps were used in HV circuits of CRT high voltage supplies in ancient televisions and could cause house fires when failed, but it has been a while...........

[morzh]

Bathtub cap is the one you charge and throw in a bathtub while your MIL is enjoying her bubbles.

[Jamie]

..I'd like to do that with the bathtub AA5..