Microwave Oven Capacitors Oil

[MrScrOggs]

Hey everyone, I was cleaning my workplace and i noticed that one of my MOCs was leaking some sort of oil. I couldn't tell what kind it was, and it had a strong smell, but I figured somebody on here would know what type of liquid it is.

[Mads Barnkob]

It is almost certain that it is NOT oil. MOCs are film capacitors and depending on the film technology its either a dielectric or impregnating fluid.

Its hard to find a datasheet that really specifies it, as its not a oil, you will not see any "Contains no PCB" on them.

[Felix B.]

Weird. Some of my MOCs say no PCB on them.

[johnnyzoo]

I have also seen microwave oven capacitors that had "No PCB" on them.

Unless the capacitor is very old, it's unlikely that it would contain PCBs. PCBs have been banned in most countries for several decades.

Other than that, I don't know what exact types of fluid are used in capacitors. The Wikipedia article on transformer oil mentions capacitors as well, but I don't know how reliable it is, or if it's applicable to microwave oven capacitors.

Anyway, I would dispose of the leaking capacitor as soon as possible.

[futurist]

Probably mineral oil with some corrosion inhibitor which is responsible for its bad smell
PCB oil shouldn't have any smell

[MrScrOggs]

Yeah all of my capacitors say no PCB on them, don't know if that's because I'm in the US or not. The smell really sticks to whatever it touches and even after washing my hands they still smell lol.

[alan sailer]

You might try rubbing alcohol. That and car mechanics abrasive soap are my last resorts for oil.

Cheers.

[klugesmith]

Put some oil on a wick and see if it burns.

PCB dielectric fluids (e.g. Pyranol ) are non-flammable.  The consequent reduction of electrical fires saved thousands of lives and many millions of dollars.  Kind of like Freon, the stuff has a dark side that was not recognized for a while.

[imp]

I have also seen microwave oven capacitors that had "No PCB" on them.

Unless the capacitor is very old, it's unlikely that it would contain PCBs. PCBs have been banned in most countries for several decades.

Other than that, I don't know what exact types of fluid are used in capacitors. The Wikipedia article on transformer oil mentions capacitors as well, but I don't know how reliable it is, or if it's applicable to microwave oven capacitors.

Anyway, I would dispose of the leaking capacitor as soon as possible.

One of my M.O. capacitors had a tiny crack, exuding a bit of clear viscous stuff. I cleaned the surface thoroughly with Toluene, and carefully covered the crack with epoxy cement. Leak stopped, capacitor works normally in oven. Evidently these things develop very little pressure, or the epoxy/aluminum bond is outstanding.

[DashApple]

It is almost certain that it is NOT oil. MOCs are film capacitors and depending on the film technology its either a dielectric or impregnating fluid.

Its hard to find a datasheet that really specifies it, as its not a oil, you will not see any "Contains no PCB" on them.

They are foil and paper capacitors , with an thin oil like liquid filling normally so in this case some form of impregnating fluid and quite a few state no PCBs

I have non MOC foil/paper caps for PFC that are filled with caster oil .