Vaporizing electrolytic caps a health risk ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Skybuck Flying
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Skybuck Flying

Hello,

I asked:

"Which components on a pc motherboard are most likely to fail first because
of overheat ?".

Somebody answered:

"
Probably electrolytic caps - they are usually the first to fail; heat
causes them to dry out.
"

Does this mean the fluid that is inside vaporizes ?!?

Could this be a health risk to humans ?

Bye,
Skybuck.
 
Skybuck Flying said:
Hello,

I asked:

"Which components on a pc motherboard are most likely to fail first
because of overheat ?".

Somebody answered:

"
Probably electrolytic caps - they are usually the first to fail; heat
causes them to dry out.
"

Does this mean the fluid that is inside vaporizes ?!?

Could this be a health risk to humans ?

Bye,
Skybuck.
Click to expand...

Please chew on some then keep us informed if you get sick.
 
I was going to say 14, but I just helped a 12 year-old nephew build a
machine from scratch (over the phone). About the only thing I had to do
was just critique a few things he was not familiar with, such as USB
muddaboad pinouts.

As far as health hazards from blowing caps, I'd be dead from the ones
I've had go off. Tube amp 552 B&H 16mm projectors had a design flaw that
cause one cap to blow up, and that cap was in front of your nose as you
  made some mechanical adjustments. Thank ghu the cap was sideways to
said nose, but the visuals of having a 200uF 150v cap unwind in front of
your eyes was "interesting". The fish oil smell would linger in the shop
for hours.
Click to expand...

I once had an electrolytic cap explode explode in my bedroom when I
applied 120VAC to it. The smell was just awful - a little like
Bailey's Irish Cream, of all things.
 
Could this be a health risk to humans ?
Click to expand...

If so, then for the last 100 years or so it's been negligible.

If you go blowing up capacitors, you'll probably lose an eye before
you poison yourself.

Don't Try This At Home!

Rich
 
As far as health hazards from blowing caps, I'd be dead from the ones I've
had go off...
Click to expand...

When I was in the USAF, we had a pressurized power supply that had blown
a bank or two of selenium rectifiers. When we popped the enclosure and let
the air out, it _SMELLED_ like it could have killed people. We had to let
the room air out for about two hours before anyone could go back in.

Cheers!
Rich
 
Hello,

I asked:

"Which components on a pc motherboard are most likely to fail first because
of overheat ?".

Somebody answered:

"
Probably electrolytic caps - they are usually the first to fail; heat
causes them to dry out.
"

Does this mean the fluid that is inside vaporizes ?!?

Could this be a health risk to humans ?
Click to expand...

Most of fluid inside electrolytic capacitors is water, and almost all
of the fluid that evaporates is water. Enough water can damage human
health, but I don't think that you need to worry - the main additives
(boric acid, sodium borate, and ethylene glycol) aren't noticeably
toxic, and the rest don't seem to kill electronic development
engineers, who blow up electrolytic capacitors pretty regularly -
mostly by under-estimating ripple currents (which can be high if your
circuit goes into oscillation).
 
Please chew on some then keep us informed if you get sick.
Click to expand...

An electrolytic suppository would be more effective and the twit would
probably enjoy the experiment more.
 
Skybuck said:
Hello,

I asked:

"Which components on a pc motherboard are most likely to fail first because
of overheat ?".

Somebody answered:

"
Probably electrolytic caps - they are usually the first to fail; heat
causes them to dry out.
"

Does this mean the fluid that is inside vaporizes ?!?
Click to expand...

The solvent gradually evaporates.

Could this be a health risk to humans ?
Click to expand...

Only if you open it up and eat the contents.

Graham
 
The solvent gradually evaporates.



Only if you open it up and eat the contents.

Graham
Click to expand...

MSDS info on the materials used is available from the vendor, if there
are real concerns.

I recall Fred Hammond wondering out loud what all the fuss was about
PCBs, as he'd spent the war years "up to the elbows" in transformer
oil.

RL
 
Ok,

I'll tell a little story as well.

I was in belgium with an old pc which I got for free.

It was supposed to be for one of my family members which happened to live in
belgium at the time.

I had slept little...

The pc wasn't working correctly... probably because the keyboard was still
wet from cleaning it.

Then I thought... maybe they have different voltages in belgium.

So I switch the power from 220 volts to 110 volts with the little red thing
on the back.

Then I turn on the computer..

Poooofff... flash... smoke..... smell, stinky little bit lol.

I probably blew up the power box...

Well it was a good thing too... it was a shitty computer... slow 386 or 486
with windows on it or so... it was really shit slow... later on she bought
some good computers :)

Bye,
Skybuck.
 
Does this mean the fluid that is inside vaporizes ?!?
Could this be a health risk to humans ?
Click to expand...

Your post got a number of responses, but almost all of them were
completely useless... okay, I'm not *surprised*, just a bit
disappointed in Usenet here. Sheesh.

This website talks a bit about how aluminum electrolytics are made
and lists some of the chemicals in the electrolyte:
http://www.elna.co.jp/en/capacitor/alumi/principle.html

You can look up MSDSs or other hazard data on the chemicals to see how
toxic they are. They're mostly not, and many of the ones that are
toxic aren't very toxic --- gamma-butyrolactone, for example, was
sold as a health-food supplement for a while before the FDA pulled it
from the market... the most toxic on the list seems to be tetramethylammonium
hydroxide, which can be harmful if you get it on your skin. Even so, I
suspect you'd have a hard time getting a toxic dose from capacitors ...
maybe if you unrolled a bunch of them and ate the paper layer? Keep in
mind that it's just one component of the electrolyte solution. Wash your
hands after dealing with an exploded capacitor and you'll be fine. Actually
you'll probably be fine anyway. As for normal operation, the amount of
stuff evaporating from a capacitor that *isn't* exploding is so tiny I'm
not even sure how to calculate it.

The answer to "Could X be a health risk?" is almost always "yes". Life
is an exercise in balancing and judging risks, though, and many risks
are far too tiny to be worth worrying about. Walking past a barbecue grill
probably puts more toxic chemicals into you than a lifetime of being
near electrolytics ... not to mention actually eating the grilled food! But
the toxicity is, IMHO, well worth it for the pleasure of eating a good
burger or steak.
 
Skybuck said:
Then I thought... maybe they have different voltages in belgium.

So I switch the power from 220 volts to 110 volts with the little red thing
on the back.
Click to expand...

Thought is not the correct word to use here. WHATEVER gave you that idea ?

Graham
 
Skybuck Flying said:
Ok,

I'll tell a little story as well.

I was in belgium with an old pc which I got for free.

It was supposed to be for one of my family members which happened to live
in belgium at the time.

I had slept little...

The pc wasn't working correctly... probably because the keyboard was still
wet from cleaning it.

Then I thought... maybe they have different voltages in belgium.

So I switch the power from 220 volts to 110 volts with the little red
thing on the back.

Then I turn on the computer..

Poooofff... flash... smoke..... smell, stinky little bit lol.

I probably blew up the power box...

Well it was a good thing too... it was a shitty computer... slow 386 or
486 with windows on it or so... it was really shit slow... later on she
bought some good computers :)

Bye,
Skybuck.
Click to expand...

Are you beginning to realize your actually a moron yet?
 
Somewhere on teh intarweb "Craig Sutton" typed:
Are you beginning to realize your actually a moron yet?
Click to expand...

Please don't reply to the moron, it defeats the killfiles of those of us who
know how to deal with morons.

Thank you.
--
Shaun.

DISCLAIMER: If you find a posting or message from me
offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it.
If you don't know how to ignore a posting, complain to
me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate... ;-)
 
Yep. Too much ripple current can make it boil and vent. Keep your
head out of the PC box and you'll be fine.


Not in the small quantities used inside the electrolytic cazapitors.
The electrolyte is a cocktail of boric acid, sodium borate, ethylene
glycol, and a mess of proprietary elixers, mostly acting as
stabilizers to keep the electrolyte from breaking down, floculating,
precipitating, corroding, or otherwise wrecking the cazapitor.

However, be advised that the typcial PC is fairly toxic. See:
<http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/21/a-pc-is-like-an-ogre-its-full-of-toxic-layers/>
"...did you know that your motherboard's Beryllium base
could give you cancer, and your LCD's mercury infused
fluorescent bulb, brain damage.?"
Click to expand...

Wow some of the posters here seem to be already damaged....
Some more so, as the effects work quicker on those with minimal brains.
I wonder how the caps know? Are they intelligent?
 
Not in the small quantities used inside the electrolytic cazapitors.
Wow some of the posters here seem to be already damaged....
Some more so, as the effects work quicker on those with minimal brains.
I wonder how the caps know? Are they intelligent?
Click to expand...

They used to be but they floculated too much and it ruined their brains.

Tom Lake
 
Wow some of the posters here seem to be already damaged....
Some more so, as the effects work quicker on those with minimal brains.
I wonder how the caps know? Are they intelligent?
Click to expand...

Well, it is the truth. ... if you crack open a few hundred LCD
backlights and immediately breath the vapours.

Incidentially, there is no Beryllium in RoHS electronics.

Arno
 
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