I am in dire need of some replacement capacitors. The capacitors I have are MEPCO/CENTRALAB. The part number on the capacitor is 3186EE801T450AMA1. This capacitor is 800uF - 10 + 50% 450VDC500 SURGE 85CMAX AMBIENT. The only other number is 362 8733 56699. It is gray. It is 4.125 inches long. 2 inches in diameter. The screw posts are .875 inches apart. I have to sets of 6 of these. They are used in the power supply section of an audio amplifier. The closest thing I can find is a Cornell Dubilier part that has the same exact part number with the exception of the ATA in the last part of the original part number. I need a replacement for this MEPCO part and I need a price for 12 of these.
Greetings,
In-stock items with which I’d feel comfortable suggesting as replacement candidates can be found here, sorted ascending by unit price @ 12 piece quantities.
In context of an audio amplifier, such devices would almost certainly be used as bulk supply filter capacitors, which aren’t a critical, close-tolerance item. The Mepco/Centralab brand is unfamiliar, but appears to be an older one that’s probably been acquired a time or two in recent decades, with superior products having been developed in the interim. 399-7568-ND might be a good choice, as its tolerance values land it within specification of the original, and the lifetime rating is quite good. Given their shorter length however, one may desire to extend their length by some means if this dimension is relevant for mechanical fixation purposes.
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IIRC Mepco/Centralab became popular in the 1980’s for large value electrolytics with prices lower than Sprague. I think they disappeared in the 1990’s when Nichicon was getting going in USA sales with lower pricing for the same or better quality.
Paul,
Thank you for your response. From the specs on the cap you recommended it will not work for me. It is too short. I realize this may be the only thing you have in stock. Do you have anything that can be ordered that more closely matches. This is going in the power supply of a 26 thousand dollar audio amplifier. I can not afford to make any mistakes.
Thank you sir.
terry Brundige
495-3514-ND is another option available from stock which is closer in physical size.
I failed to notice this before, it’s very possible that Mepco/Centralab was acquired by Cornell Dubilier in the 1990s.
Paul,
Can you find out if the Cornell Dubilier part will work and if so how long before I can get 12 of them. I tried to contact Cornel earlier yesterday and they recommended I contact you.
I do believe the only difference in those last three letters (ATA) is going to be the coating on the capacitor. Mine is a gray colored that appears to be a very thin layer of PVC. I am attaching a photo of the capacitor. Thank you again.
Terry Brundige
I’m not an employee here, just an engineering old timer adding some historical perspective (43 years in the business).
The data sheet for the 3186 series capacitors is at:
Looks like you’ll want part # 3186EE801T450APA1
The “P” is the outer insulation material see page 2 of the data sheet.
Rick is a Digi-Key employee so I’m sure when he’s back at work tomorrow he’ll chime in again.
BTW - the date code on your capacitor is the 33rd week of 1987 (the 8733 in the final line of text). Being that old, I suspect it hasn’t been properly doing its job for at least a decade.
Also, don’t be surprised if there is a large minimum order quantity for the parts (100 to 1000), big manufacturers can have huge overhead to cover when they spin up a legacy non-stock line of components.
Thanks to the world’s top trending microbe, there’s no such thing as “away from work” for me these days spatially, so why not throw the temporal into the mix and burn it all down… In for a penny, in for a pound.
Honestly, sinceriously, and to the best of my knowledge and belief as DK’s resident capacitor snob and a student of audio amplifier design myself, any of the 20-ish products linked previously would appear to do the job electrically. It’s just not the sort of thing that was likely to be a critical, finely-tuned selection to start with. The part had a 60% tolerance range, new, off the line, at the start, and in all probability has drifted way the heck out of original spec over the course of the last 30-ish years, while the equipment has presumably remained functional until recently despite that. It’s a necessary piece of the puzzle, yes, but there’s a whole lotta wiggle room in the slots that it has to fit into…
I make no guarantees; I do not know the original designer’s intent, do not have the schematic, and do not actually -know- the specific circumstance in which the original part was used. I cannot know if any replacements would be correctly installed. I’d rather over-equivocate than be understood as offering false promises… In doing one’s own repair work, one assumes responsibility for the result. The foregoing suggestions are the best that I have to offer based on current stock, and I have a -high- confidence that any of them could do the job as I understand it.
Should one care to place an order for a currently unlisted item based on one of our franchised supplier’s current datasheets in the interest of buying some small measure of assurance however, we would be happy to oblige though lead times, minimum order quantities, and non-cancellable/non-returnable terms would apply. CDE’s lead times currently look to be running on the order of 15-20 weeks.
tl:dr : buy you some B43564A5108M000 and get your tunes on, but I didn’t tell you that…
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Hi Rick,
Thanks much. I have no problem explaining what they were used for. These caps, 6 per amplifier, are in a monoblock tube amp. All 6 are in a parallel with each other in the main power supply to B420+ VDC line. If you want I can send you the schematic.
Thanks again.