Which Capacitor Brand is Best? - Why so Many? Does it Matter? And how to Choose One

An explanation of why there are so many capacitor brands and which one to buy.

[shoosh]

I buy Made in USA ones from Amrad. Or the Titan HD, also US-made.

[johngori]

Would have been nice to have a top 3 recommendation instead of top 1. The stores in my area that will sell to non-HVAC companies don't carry Genteq.

[drsundgren]

Nice video. Thank you. I echo the request for more options. Also, for better sound quality, if you use a lavalier or earpiece mic next time, then you'll be able to cut down on the echoing in the sound and improve sound quality.

[jimmurphy]

Spoiler alert: Genteq is his recommended capacitor brand. The rest is just interesting info about reliability, testing, market forces and similar subject matter.

[MORCOPOLO]

What Titan HD capacitor will replace the CBB65B 30./5uf +6% capacitor for my outside Carrier A/C unit? I have seen some Bojack brand versions on Amazon but I am not sure of the quality of them. I do not want to buy a Chinese made capacitor.

[waltheisenberg]

Woke up to a a warm home a few days ago. Checked the outside Condenser which wasn't running and making the typical blown run capacitor humming sound. I'm not a HVAC person but mechanically schooled so I knew it was likely a capacitor as my Bryant 5 ton was installed new 12 years ago. I safely discharged and tested with a ohm meter which confirmed it defiantly died. It also had the typical round barrel top. Now the problem for the average home owner like myself is HVAC run capacitors, especially 80+5 370 V aren't readily available and many local HVAC suppliers won't sell to the general public. Since the inside of the house was already in the mid 80's by noon and my three dogs were panting like crazy, after multiple frustrating calls, I ended up grabbing my ankles at $35 (their $20 online shipped) for a Titan Pro TRCFD805 at a local HVAC supply who got one in a few hours latter with not being returnable and no warranty. I get the feeling that while they sell to the general public, it's frowned upon a bit. Anyways, I found out that the Titan brand comes in two flavors. Pro and HD. The HD series is made in the USA while the Titan Pro is made in China. While most China made capacitors take a beating from HVAC pro's since they don't appear to last as long as US made AMRAD, MARS and older GE, from what I can tell, the Titan Pro does seem to be one of the few China made ones that gets some respect for longevity. Packard owns both along with their own third Packard branded capacitors which are also made in China like the pro but a few dollars cheaper online. The original GE lasted 12 years. GE sold their capacitor division to Regal Beloit who makes them under Gentec and what seems to be a lower grade brand called Proline which Gainger sells however is rated for 10, 000 hours instead of the usual 60, 000. Both Gentec and Proline are made in Mexico which is neither bad or good. In fact, I'm almost 100% sure it doesn't matter where it's made but who makes it and stands behind their brand. Because of the hassle of getting one locally, I'm ordering a spare so I will either buy a Titan Pro or HD or a Gentec online at better prices.

[SevenDeMagnus]

So true, buy the reputable brand coz' most chinese brands have the wrong capacitance from the label on the capacitors.

[livens]

All of the local HVAC parts stores in my city stopped selling to the general public. I used to be able to walk into the Trane shop and pick up a usa capacitor for under $30. I think the local HVAC union pressured them into it.

[averageguru]

Man i replace a lot of gentec capacitors being a hvac company

[alexholland]

Not a bad video and it answered my question of which brand to look for. My use it for an elevator where a 3.5hp motor drives a hydraulic pump that fills the elevator ram to rise it. My my case I only need the start side not the run side of the capacitor. I have been in the fine electronic industry for 25 years and in that time I have seen the electronic component field filled with low cost, low quality parts that blow up on a regular basis. I will no longer buy chinese if I can because of the cost cutting they do. I would rather pay $50 for a good Cap. then $25 for a bad one and risk blowing my device or having a service provider have to come back in a couple of years at $100 a visit or more. As he said, you get what you pay for and as I say, beware chinese products. They are fully capable of making good components and many of their factories do make good parts but there is almost no way of knowing the good from the bad and even today I am going though my house outlets that seem to have had cheap chinese clone parts installed that melt down at 50% of their rating. They have all the safety stamps, UL or CSA markings but in no way can they handle even 50% of rated current for more than a minute or two. My house almost burned down. Thanks for telling me about the Genteq Caps which answers my question....yah volume is a bit low and you could run it through some software to increase the volume without any changes and then put it back up again.

[craigmarshall]

I have had these fail the most after 5 years I was buying them from you intel I started replacing them I do not buy them anymore

[NETWizzJbirk]

Genteq are not that great. Certainly better than Titan Pro, Supco, and Tong Feing, but not really better than Amrad, Trade Pro, or Mars/Jard.

[Timmer]

he needs to max out his microphone volume
i had to crank mine up

[jjjohn]

I replaced the original GE cap after 21 years of use due to age only....Bought the Genteq replacement and it only lasted 2 years....they are making garbage IMO....reinstalled the old one.

[indioflechudo]

The best Audio capacitors comes from Japan

[RicksAdvantechAutoRepair]

They are made in Mexico! NOT MADE IN THE USA! It is printed right on it.

[amPain]

WE ARE THE BEST CAPACITOR ON THE MARKET as far as we are concerned. LOL

[Myles]

Good info until the end.
A crummy commercial? ... Son of a bi***!

[dannyg.]

WTF 2 minute commercial????
correction 4 minutes.... bye

[gemal]

z best capacitor in z world is Italian capacitor undeniable