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Safety of Older Electronics

Some electronics never die. They just get moved to secondary, tertiary, etc. systems. In my case, I have two old receivers connected to televisions. I'm guessing one is 25 and the other 30 years old. The remote sensors are on all the time and occasionally one forgets to turn the receivers off. They can be replaced with relatively inexpensive amplifiers for how they're used, but I thought if it ain't broke don't fix it. At least until recently when I've started to wonder if continuing to use them is a smart idea even though there is nothing apparently wrong with them. I'm thinking in terms of a damaging (catastrophic?) failure particularly when the receiver is unattended. I'd appreciate input whether one should continue to use older equipment that can be inexpensively replaced.
zmrs13
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Me too. I'm in mid-40's and can't cope with loss of energy. My "mid-aged equipment" must be used daily otherwise -- age, doctors, RX really really sucks and costs lots of money...
Gotta run to play some volleyball after sitting in office. I always go after the wise phrase of Kirk Duglas -- "The life stops when you stop living". It's nice here in North Carolina and every chance to be outdoors is mine.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
o_holter
975 posts
 
Yes. We have some of that in Scandinavia too, great outdoors where I live, big woods north of Oslo, I go there to charge my batteries, so to speak.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
O_holter, romm temperature is around 20degC. It is hard to tell what is lifespan of the cap since different companies put different numbers. I would assume >50 years in 20degC. Capacitor will fail only if you leave it unpowered for many years. Cold capacitor has lower ESR.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
o_holter
975 posts
 
Yes I realize. It can be tested but a lot of work. My experience as a user is that the hotter the box, the greater the need for regular service. Although I have had some great exceptions too. The Krell FPB600 amp ran very hot, in periods, when I played loud music, over twelve years use, and never showed any sign of failure.

So, if it is difficult to make a general rule, service after five, ten or fifteen years, based on temperature in the chassis - perhaps a better way to go, is through the symptoms of aging equipment? What are the typical signs of caps and other parts that are no longer performing optimal?
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Dry power supply caps have high ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance). First symptom is loss of bass tightness/dynamics. I've seen (in commercial equipment) cap that was bulging (placed next to hot transformer).
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