Sunking Electrolytic Caps Question

[rhcp311]

Hey!

I'm new to the forum, but I'm really excited to get started on building my Sunking. This is the first time I've ever sourced my own parts for a build, so I'm a bit confused about one thing. On the instructions for the Sunking it says that the electrolytic caps should be 25 volts. I'm just curious as to what happens if I use electrolytics that aren't 25 volts, because all of the ones I have are either lower or higher on the voltage scale. Is it going to hurt anything if I use caps that say they are only 16 volts, because most of my caps say they are 16 volts on the side? I really would prefer to use the parts I already have, if at all possible, but I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be doing anything dangerous that could harm the pedal.

Basically, I was just wondering if using lower voltage caps would create a change in sound, or if there is a risk they would burn out or something.

Thanks in advance!

[camsna]

The Sunking's voltage is ramped up internally, so 25v caps really are a must. A lesser value cap is likely to fail. 25v caps, on the other hand, can handle the voltage.

[jkokura]

Yep, you need to use 25v or higher rated electrolytic caps. They explode if you don't. It can be hazardous, so if you don't have right caps, ask and if icant send you some of the right ones I'm sure someone else will.

Jacob

[madbean]

One clarification: C19, C20 and C21 are the ones you really need to have 25v (or more) on. If you are using 16v elsewhere, it should be okay, but C19/C20 can exceed 16v if more than a 9v supply is plugged in (you definitely do not want to do this, BTW) and C21 will get about 18v after the charge pump.

[rhcp311]

The Sunking's voltage is ramped up internally, so 25v caps really are a must. A lesser value cap is likely to fail. 25v caps, on the other hand, can handle the voltage.

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. Stupid charge pump! Haha.

Yep, you need to use 25v or higher rated electrolytic caps. They explode if you don't. It can be hazardous, so if you don't have right caps, ask and if icant send you some of the right ones I'm sure someone else will.

Jacob

Thanks for the offer! If Madbean's comment was correct though, and I it's only C19, 20, and 21 that need to be over 25 volts, I should be good. I just noticed that I only have 1 4.7uF cap that's over 25 volts, but I have plenty of 50v 1uF caps. Thanks again!

One clarification: C19, C20 and C21 are the ones you really need to have 25v (or more) on. If you are using 16v elsewhere, it should be okay, but C19/C20 can exceed 16v if more than a 9v supply is plugged in (you definitely do not want to do this, BTW) and C21 will get about 18v after the charge pump.

Alright, that makes sense. So, I just checked, and it looks like I have caps that are 25-50 volts that should work for all of the other values, it's just that I only have 1 4.7uF cap that is over 25 volts, since the rest are 16 volts. Since I C3 can be removed if I'm doing true bypass is it safe to assume that it won't matter if C3 is only a 16v cap? If that works, then I should be fine to start building, since I think I have all the other caps covered.

One other quick question, while you're here. If I'm doing the buffered bypass version of the build, do I just leave the RTB spot blank, or does it need a jumper?

Thanks for your help!