Hi:
Every once and awhile I come across in radio's large multivalue Dry Electrolytic caps that have range of 500 W.V. DC. Would a elrctrolytic 450v D.C. cap be just as good? Thanks

Hi John,The rule of thumb is that when replacing electrolytics,to always use the W.V. rating(or higher) of the original.I've heard a few people say that the "bean counters" were very difficult people for the radio engineers to deal with.If they put a 500 volt capacitor in a radio when their other models used 450 volt caps.,the engineers were always asked to justify this extra expense.So,the way I see it,the 500 volt caps are probably used for a good reason.Mike

Agreed that due to cost manufacturers don't normally overate parts. You can compute the maximum voltage the caps will see. Square root of 2 times the rms input to the rectifier will be the peak voltage the caps see.

Electrolytics often have sure ratings that are above the constant working voltage. However, since this is often a murky area as to exact specs and reliability, it is safer to stay within the WV limit as measured or computed.

:Hi John,The rule of thumb is that when replacing electrolytics,to always use the W.V. rating(or higher) of the original.I've heard a few people say that the "bean counters" were very difficult people for the radio engineers to deal with.If they put a 500 volt capacitor in a radio when their other models used 450 volt caps.,the engineers were always asked to justify this extra expense.So,the way I see it,the 500 volt caps are probably used for a good reason.Mike

:Agreed that due to cost manufacturers don't normally overate parts. You can compute the maximum voltage the caps will see. Square root of 2 times the rms input to the rectifier will be the peak voltage the caps see.
:
:Electrolytics often have sure ratings that are above the constant working voltage. However, since this is often a murky area as to exact specs and reliability, it is safer to stay within the WV limit as measured or computed.
:
::Hi John,The rule of thumb is that when replacing electrolytics,to always use the W.V. rating(or higher) of the original.I've heard a few people say that the "bean counters" were very difficult people for the radio engineers to deal with.If they put a 500 volt capacitor in a radio when their other models used 450 volt caps.,the engineers were always asked to justify this extra expense.So,the way I see it,the 500 volt caps are probably used for a good reason.Mike

Thanks "Voltage",I knew there was a formula for that, but couldn't remember where I saw it.Just wrote it in my "radio notebook" for future reference.Appreciate it,Mike