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Western Electric 302 - Capacitor Smells?

Started by gjstpierre, November 18, 2009, 08:15:24 PM

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gjstpierre

I recently aquired a 302 and upon opening the box I was greeted with an unwelcome wiff of parmesan cheese.  :-\

I opened the phone and could tell the smell was coming from the capacitor.  I've also included a pic, it looks like it's covered with yeast or mold.

Can I just clean it off or is this capacitor bad?

\\Greg

Phonesrfun

If your 302 has a soft plastic shell (cover), then I am sure the smell is the plastic and not the capacitor.  All soft plastics have that smell, and has been the subject of much discussion.  The condenser should never smell like that, even if it has been subjected to high voltages. 

By the way, welcome to the forum!  We always like new folks here.

-Bill G

JorgeAmely

The capacitor seems to have a thin layer of corrosion all over. I would clean it up, spray it with clear paint and put it back on.
Jorge

gjstpierre

Upon further examination, you are correct sir, that phone stinks.  ;)

I'll go ahead, clean it and paint it.

Dan/Panther

The casing of the capacitor is made from LEAD...OMG we are all going to die....
The powder is just a lead oxidation. Wipe it clean, and paint like mentioned by Jorge.
This same thing happens with old solder, you get that fuzzy coating.
The case is soft plastic also mentioned above.
D/P

Don't get me started on lead......or asbestos.

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

gjstpierre

Lead, huh?  So I probably shouldn't have taken it out and started licking it clean?

bingster

Not unless you dried it off with an asbestos sheet.  ;)
= DARRIN =



McHeath

Welcome gjstpierre.  That funny smell is pretty strong sometimes on the older soft plastic phones.  It was a type of plastic called tenite, made from wood pulp primarily, and it makes that cheesy smell.  I rather like that smell, but I'm just weird that way. ;)


Dan/Panther

#8
Quote from: gjstpierre on November 18, 2009, 10:10:01 PM
Lead, huh?  So I probably shouldn't have taken it out and started licking it clean?

Pierre;
Having worked for General Motors Battery plant for nearly 20 years, and having been exposed to 10,000 times the lead a normal person would encounter in a lifetime, plus the normal lead exposure everyone faces every day.
My PERSONAL opiniojn, YES you could lick it clean, It wouldn't taste good but that about it.
D/P


OMG, what is that on the floor next to my desk, where I put my Bare feet, and my dog lays, and my Kids use my computer.
YES it's a 5 Pound chunk of PURE Pb.....(LEAD)
I use  it to pound on if I need a solid base while working on something, or to keep my dinner plate from moving.

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

JorgeAmely

D/P:

As long as you don't grind it and sprinkle it over your salad, I think you are OK.

Jorge

Dan/Panther

#10
I would like to add one small point to my demonstration...

Aproximately 40% of the drinkable water used in arrid parts of the country, most everything West of the Mississippi, gets most (Californis almost ALL) or at least part of it's drinking water from the Colorado River. Everyone knows the Colorado rivers headwaters are located in the Rockies in Colorado. The snow and rain wash over the rockies, and settle in the streams and rivers that feed the Colorado river. Untold tons of dirts dust and whatever is washed along with that rain and snow into the river basins. That same snow and rain also falls on a small Mountain community in the Rockies located also in Colorado where 40 % of the drinking water comes from, That small community is called LEADVILLE, Colorado, where lead is mined.
People don't seem to mind drinking Colorado river water, or drinkng Coors beer, or drinking bottled Pure clean Rockie Mountain Spring water, or taking their families to play every summer at the Colorado River, Or snow Skiing in the Rockies. ????

D/P

P.S.
Talcum powder for your Baby, and Asbestos comes from the same mines.....along with Gypsum, and countless other Chalky substances.

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson