[Boatanchors] Electrolytic Reforming Time

[Brian Clarke]

Oh, how I do like your 'insult almost everyone' style. Is this a peculiarly 
American sport or can anyone drop in? Perhaps you should read Catch 22 more 
often.

On Sunday, January 01, 2012 12:35 PM, Bob iterated with great humility and 
totally over-bearing wit, leaving a long tail of immensely well-informed, 
prior messages:


> Lee -
>
> I'm somewhat puzzled and even a bit amused that this particular thread has
> gone on for so long. At the risk of protracting it even further ...
>
> I, too, agree with you and Carl. I've even seen "partial" replacements 
> where
> one or two sections of an old multi-section cap have been reformed and 
> left
> in circuit, and the only one(s) that "can't-get-it-to-reform" replaced.
> Nonsense in the highest degree. I suppose putting new caps inside the old
> can (or tube - melt out the wax, put in the new caps and refill with wax) 
> to
> preserve the "look and feel" of the original perhaps may have some
> anal-retentive cosmetic merit. However, considering the time and bother to
> achieve such correctly, it's not something I'd ever do. (I do routinely
> leave the vertical can cap on the top of the chassis in place (but wholly
> disconnected) for cosmetic purposes while the modern replacements remain
> hidden underneath.)
>
> Moreover, reforming/reusing old caps, in my mind, doesn't show respect for
> the equipment. If the thing is worth restoring in the first place, then 
> it's
> worth bringing it back to life not only to its original performance but 
> also
> its reliability and design longevity. Recall - most if not all of these
> "boats" weren't made under the marketing philosophy of "designed 
> obsolesce"
> that's prevalent today. (How many iPhones does it take to change a P/L
> report?) It seems to me that "reforming", etc. is more in the  realm of
> "gee whiz, look what I can do" much like the gratuitous, over use of
> computer-generated graphics in many of today's movies, i.e. a bit of a 
> "show
> off", ego trip for the person at the controls.
>
> Still, at the end of the day, we each have our own, particular (perhaps 
> even
> peculiar) "operating parameters" that govern our behavior as we pursue 
> this
> hobby. Clearly, our time and other resources, along with our goals and
> values, are our own personal concern, and no one else's.
>
> 73 to all,
>
> Bob  AG5X