These caps usually plug into sockets, and protrude from the top of your (pre-)amp chassis - each aluminum can actually contains several (two to four) separate capacitors. Most often, many of the electrolytic capacitors needing replacement are of the multi-section can type.

However, if you are considering replacing yours, be advised that whether and how to replace the ToneGenerator capacitors is a hotly debated subject. The wax-and-paper caps used in the filter networks on the Tone Generator degrade like all the others. But before you start poking around in your organ, please note that Hammonds Can Kill You. There's an excellent reference on capacitor replacement at. Many feel that the capacitors should be replaced as a matter of course ( Preventative Maintenance.) Possible symptoms range from hum to tonal degradation to explosion and fire. Eventually, old caps will cause problems. The wax-and-paper caps also 'dry out' and have a similar lifetime.Īs Tone Wheel Hammonds ( Leslies too) are in general, twenty-nine to sixty-eight years old, their caps are long since past their 'pull date'. They have a shelf-life, usually stated to be on the order of ten to twenty years. This happen whether in in use, or sitting on a shelf in a warehouse - in fact, use may prolong their life, see ? Capacitor Reforming). The electrolytic capacitors in old (and new) electronic equipment use a wet dielectric - they dry out with age.

Hammond capacitor replacement