VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Electrical - 6 volt Condenser Quest For 6Volt System

I have a 1927 Chevy and I am wondering what value (Capacitance) should my condenser be for a 6Volt ignition coil?

Thanks

I use one off of a 54 Chevrolet, also use a coil off of a 54 car.
Call the Filling Station or order online.
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The value of the condenser should be around 0.15uF to 0.2uF.I use a condenser off a V8 chev on my '28 and it works fine.

Go to a NAPA store and purchase a DR-70. It will work great.

Thanks for the number JYD. I would also mention "Don't buy a New Old Stock condenser believing they are better."
They tend to dry up and go bad after being on the shelf for 40 or 50 years.

Thanks everyone, I will look into it.

NOS Condensers are a funny thing. Grandfather told me how even back in the 1940's he would get a "New" condenser right off the shelf, and it would be junk. Paper and wax don't seem to have a good shelf life. When it comes to radios and TVs you can easily fit a new condenser (much smaller package) into one of the old Condenser cardboard tubes, and retain the original appearance.

I would be willing to bet Denny Graham has done that. Only after finding out the Chemical Celouse Paste formula the Factory Used in 1946, duplicating it on his workbench, and then discovering that it was probably, better to just sneak a new one inside it... Love you Denny! haha

I would also bet that Denny isnt the only radio tech that has done it either.
A now retired radio tech told me of that trick a couple of years ago.
Tony

I test a condenser by first measuring the insulation with a 500 volt megger (I am an electrician).If it doesnt show infinity megohms do yourself a favour and throw that nice old shiny thing far away. A multitester with a capacitance scale should then read about 0,2 microfarad.Then your condenser is ok.

Ya think Chef? Taint tackled any of the metal automotive caps but yepper, I certainly have done the paper ones and your absolutely correct, they do have a shelf life.
Now I haven’t documented the process very much, I usually just do it, but here’s a paper cap that I was refilling with wax and a couple of multi-stage electrolytics:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/116636063
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/116635984
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/116636009
The automotive condensers are sealed with something other than wax because of the temperatures and as long as you can still buy a cap from your FLAP I sure taint gonna try and rebuild one O’ dem.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

This was an early "CD Player" It has a photo-Optic Eye, that it uses along with the Needle, It bounces light off of the peaks and valleys in the Record Grooves. It uses those stupid LOCTAL Base tubes, and I haven't made adapters yet. I can't find the right Loctal Tubes, So I am gonna have to use Octal.

What tubes do you need?

Ah, I see you have the disease also cookie. I've got a few of the BOL Philco’s, one of my favorites. The loctals are quite plentiful, have you tried AES in Arizona. www.tubesandmore.com? Also there are tons of tube vendors out there on the net and ebay and amazing as it may seem, tubes are still quite reasonable. In many cases not to much more than they were when new.
DG

I generally have had good luck with World Tube Co. Except with Loctals. In the past I have always just destroyed the Bad Loctal, harvested its base, and adapted an Octal, when permissable. Unfortunatley, That particular Philco, doesn't have any suitable counterparts.

Ray, I am guessing you are implying you might have the proper tubes at your disposal? I will have to check the #'s. I put the project on hold, because of the frustration of finding Tubes.

For everybody who uses High Value Condensers: "Just Radios" out of Canada has an awesome selection of Caps and SAMS Photofact sheets. Ship fast as light too. Its not really easy to find wierd values like .005uF @600v anymore...

If you Noticed the TS-47 in the back ground, It was the very first "Portable TV" 7 inch Screen. That is the unit that I learned what a "Hot Chassis" meant. It is supposed to be Leather Bound, but, it was really bad. It had been sitting in a barn for years. I decided to strip it, sand it, and varnish it to match most of my decore around here. That TV actually transforms into a suitcase. Speaking of transformers, it hasn't got one. All the tubes are strung together, in addition to a big set of ballast resistors, to equal 110v. So if one tube stops heating. They all stop heating. Still a classic example of Immediate postwar USA.

I run them daily in the restaurant. I will either run Vintage Commercials on the TV's or Perry Como, Glenn Miller, or Herb Alpert sorta stuff on the Radio's. Pretty Neat Really. It occupies the mind whilst people wait for thier dinner.

You have some very nicely restored electronics there.
Tony

Thank you, most of them are originals, minus some tubes & caps. The Motorola TV's use a Fuse/resistor. It is kind of a joke, Cause they don't make them anymore. I have 2 on my shelf, but, when they go, thats it! I would have to comeup with something else that does the same trick.