Electronic – Replace ONE 25v 47uf capacitor with FIVE 60v 10uf capacitors parallel

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MY 1000 Watt True Sine Power Inverter blew a 25V 47uf capacitor. The shell was rattling around inside, and the ribbons were exposed. Yay, I found the problem! Sooooo, how can I tell the mounting polarity in order to replace the blown cap?

ALSO, would it be a silly idea to replace that cap with FIVE 60V 10uf caps in parallel (I have these available) essentially making a single 60V 50uf cap? … or should I just buy a direct replacement?

Wondering what effect the slight variation in capacitance might have.

I'm kind of a novice, but the smoke is already out…what can I lose 😛

Thanks in advance 🙂

Best Answer

Wondering what effect the slight variation in capacitance might have

Almost certainly none. It's 6% Most large-ish capacitors have very wide tolerances in the first place, and circuits which use them are very rarely sensitive.

Good background at Wikipedia, which says:

Electrolytic capacitors, which are often used for filtering and bypassing, do not have the need for narrow tolerances because they are mostly not used for accurate frequency applications like in oscillators