If you silicone them in it will be harder to rebuild the can again, and most caps these day are not designed to last the lifetime or three that these sets are likely to be kept around in the collector comunity.

What I do is to arrange my caps together so that they will fit in the can. Then wrap them in electrical tape 1 layer thick( thicker than that on the exposed metal surfaces of course). And wire them to the old phenolic base.

I just got a good idea for you to try. Get a toilet paper roll and cut a stripe along it's length and glue the edges together so that it can be slid in and out of the can cut a piece of card board out and glue it in to seal the top squirt some silicone in the bottom of the cardboard tube, put the caps in before it begins to dry, then squirt some more silicone in after the caps are in. This should give you a card board tube that can easily be pulled out of the can in the future and which should posess whatever benifits you hope to gain from the silicone potting.

Just some thoughts.

How about some shrink tubing around the bundle of capacitors? That's what the manufacturers use to cover the outer aluminum case anyway.

Wouldn't it be nice if someone could make new empty cans with a threaded base? THsat way you can get back into them easier in the future.

Hi All;
DRH4683, You make it look so easy.. But, I am sure that it isn't as easy as it looks.. I think that taking out the inner ring, which is the first step, would be the hardest, I would be afraid of breaking the bottom plastic piece..
THANK YOU Marty

Hi Is there a number to reach you at?Doug have a question about a zenith color also need a knob if you can help. Is there a number to reach you at?

Hi Doug I have a question about a early zenith color set. Also a small knob missing if you can help. Is there a number to reach you at? Maybe you can help, they say your the zenith master. Henry

Here's a good video showing the uncrimping technique: http://youtu.be/azc2RRQw6Tk

Its better late then never. Thanks Doug.I used your tips on restuffing a power supp elecro cap in a 1967 Motorola stereo record player last summer.

I'm glad I did the job outside due to the horrible small they put off.

The record player sounds great now.

This is an old thread, but its the proper place to ask.

How do you do the first step, uncrimping the lip, NEATLY?

I tried very hard tonight and failed. I could find no way to get
the crimp started at all without a big mess. I could find
no way to get even the tiniest knife under the lip.
Help!

Doug McDonald

There's no real way to do it neatly. The lip is generally not visible once installed so mutilation isn't a big deal, just try and avoid chewing up the sides. :thmbsp:

I just finished my can and want to thank the OP for this guide.

In my case, however, removing the innards was not nearly so simple. It took me a good hour or so to get it all out and used my heat gun on high for MANY minutes in total. So much tar and it just wouldn't release. I had to drill out as much of the innards as I could and that went a long way to getting it done but it was still quite an effort even after that.

Also, sadly 3 of the 4 tabs that hold the can to the chassis broke because of being too weak. I had to solder the stubs in the holes of the chassis to anchor the can to the chassis. So be careful with those tabs!

Earlier, someone asked about using silicone. if you do use it, make sure you order electronics grade silicone. hardware store silicone is acid cure, and the acid will eventully corrode your wire.