Oil-filled capacitors.

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

I work at the University of Idaho. I asked our Environmental and Health 
Safety people about this question.

Their response was that 1) if they aren't leaking, they are not a hazard, 
2) if they are not leaking and you wish to use them, do so, 3) if they 
ARE leaking, wrap them in a plastic bag and call us for disposal, if you 
wish.

The quantity of oil in any reasonably sized capacitor is so small, they 
hardly constitute a hazard. PCBs aren't really dangerous unless they 1) 
get in the ground water, and 2) are burned, when they give off a 
dangerous gas. Yet the method of destruction is to burn them in a 
special furnace.

Those pyranol filled capacitors have extremely low ESR. In fact, even 
the smallest of them are usually shipped with the connecting leads 
shorted since they can "charge themselves" to a substantial voltage 
while sitting around unused if the connectors are left unshorted.

They are extremely good capacitors.

I rountinely use any I can find at work in special lab power supplies 
sometimes.

Ken Gordon W7EKB

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