Ive been told that if an amp sits for too long the capacitors in it leak (i think its the capacitor) so i was wondering how long can an amp sit for without and power going to it?

 

Usually around 2-3 weeks before they start leaking. Who would be stupid enough to let an amp sit for long?

 

i'm sure it doesn't happen on its own too often.

Electrolytic capacitors
click there and scroll down to "three ways to kill a capacitor"

 

there's tons of ppl who have let their amps sit, b/c there's tons of ppl who have lots of amps like few members on here probably have a lot sized of over 10 just hanging out in their house. I already know one member who does and all of this amps work great.

I'm not sure if they leak that easily tho, but i guess i've got a 2 amps just hanging out and haven't been in use for a year now.

 

rumor and conjecture


when was the last time a car audio amp had a liquid dielectric? (milbert?)

 

so your saying its very inlikely? i only ask this cause i baught my amp (rockford t5002) last year for my old car before the motor blew and i tossed it. so its brand spanking new still in ceran wrap and everything so i wanted to make sure wasnt keeping it sitting for too long

 

I have not heard too much about leaking capacitors since the liquid dielectrics went out of fashion (about 40 years ago). Now I have heard of dielectrics (and hence capacitance) changing over time but this is decades not months. I could be wrong on this but I have not had to ever fix equipment due to capacitance 'drift'.

 

Yeah it would have leaked and the amp is now garbage...What's your address ? I'll come take it off your hands...

 

There were problems with some capacitors on some PC motherboards a few years ago. Here are a couple of googled references:

Blown, Burst and Leaking Motherboard Capacitors - A Serious Problem?

Capacitor Plague

It was an issue with the chemistry of the electrolyte filling, so while at the time the focus was on computer parts, it's possible that dud caps could have been used in a wide range of electronics products.

Othewise, a modern, reasonable quality electrolytic capacitor should last for years, used or not.

I haven't been all the way through this, but it does touch on 'shelf life':

Electrolytic Capacitors - Characteristics and Aging

Cheers,
--
Terry McG

 

I've seen them explode but never leaked . Besides If they "could leak" in short periods of time dealers wouldn't be able to hold stock .