Capacitor organizing ideas needed

[monkeybutt]

We have five techs stocking their vans from our small service area in the shop. We have been going back and forth on how to organize our capacitor shelf. We are moving into a new space in a month or so with all new shelving. With this opportunity to start fresh, I would like to see what everyone else has been doing to get some ideas. Thanks!

[pageyjim]

Stock 440V caps and you really won't have to stock 370V. Stock all that you regularly use and some Turbos.

[BNME8EZ]

If you wan to stock caps I would only stock single value caps in the 440 range and use turbos for the rest. I have went away for caps except turbos and will put in a used one as a temp if a warranty one is needed. I got tired of carrying 25+ caps and still not have the right one.

[pageyjim]

Turbos are great in many ways. Storage seems to be an issue here and it may solve that problem. They are expensive but that may be offset some by having to stock less but end cost to customer is still more. I see a lot that are borderline weak out of the box. They aren't supposed to be mounted upside down which is inconvenient especially in many Lennox applications. They also leak when mounted on their sides which may be an issue in many Carrier and Rheem units among others I am sure.

[BNME8EZ]

Turbos are great in many ways. Storage seems to be an issue here and it may solve that problem. They are expensive but that may be offset some by having to stock less but end cost to customer is still more. I see a lot that are borderline weak out of the box. They aren't supposed to be mounted upside down which is inconvenient especially in many Lennox applications. They also leak when mounted on their sides which may be an issue in many Carrier and Rheem units among others I am sure.

I have not had the issue you are mentioning with them but do know they want you to mount them terminals up. I have mounted many in Trane units on their side and not had any fail under warranty. The biggest problem I have with the is in units like the Rheem cube where it slides in the hole, they don't seem to fit which means either a bigger hole or different mount location, both a pain.

[pageyjim]

I have not had the issue you are mentioning with them but do know they want you to mount them terminals up. I have mounted many in Trane units on their side and not had any fail under warranty. The biggest problem I have with the is in units like the Rheem cube where it slides in the hole, they don't seem to fit which means either a bigger hole or different mount location, both a pain.

I'm basically retired so my experience is a few years old so hopefully they have addressed what I experienced. I liked having some of the Rheem caps because they fit so nice and were 3uf many times. And I knew they would be used. Heil had some similar as I remember. Round ones that slid into the unit with very little space.

[ga-hvac-tech]

We stock the xx/5 caps in various values...
Otherwise, use a Turbo.

We also stock 5, 7.5, 10 for blowers...
Otherwise, use the small Turbo.

And of course, keep one of the extra large Turbo's on your van!

[Snapperhead]

caps are a huge necessity , so I carry a shit ton of them

[BNME8EZ]

caps are a huge necessity , so I carry a shit ton of them

Agreed, I just got tired of carrying a Sh*t ton and still not having the correct one most of the time.

[TechmanTerry]

I stock a bunch of run caps.Oval single,oval dual,round single,round dual.For several decades now,I have always had the correct run cap. I store my caps in evap/cond motor boxes. The boxes fit nice and neat on my shelves. I also stock a BUNCH of start caps.

[Deathpunch0311]

I have 25-30 capacitors on my van at any given time. From 5mfd to 80/5mfd.

Most of the time I use a small majority (5,7.5,10, 30/5 35/5 40/5) of them

Our parts nazi organizes them in chronological order starts at 5 and goes up from there

Not to hijack the thread but how do the turbo caps compare to the titan hd pros?

[monkeybutt]

Thank you for the suggestions! We currently stock all 440v caps from 3 all the way to 80 singles and duels. The van inventory is pretty much the same too, consuming and entire shelf. Our biggest issue right now is organizing all these on the new service shelves in the shop. I've searched high and low for anything to place the caps into for organizing on a shelf. Right now we're using cardboard boxs with dividers which works OK at best. This quickly turns in a huge mess when we get a heat wave. Keeping track of everything goes to hell and we end up ordering way too many which makes it worse.

[pageyjim]

Thank you for the suggestions! We currently stock all 440v caps from 3 all the way to 80 singles and duels. The van inventory is pretty much the same too, consuming and entire shelf. Our biggest issue right now is organizing all these on the new service shelves in the shop. I've searched high and low for anything to place the caps into for organizing on a shelf. Right now we're using cardboard boxs with dividers which works OK at best. This quickly turns in a huge mess when we get a heat wave. Keeping track of everything goes to hell and we end up ordering way too many which makes it worse.

How about something like this in the link below? I have seen them in a shallower version but can't find them now.


https://www.logiquip.com/shop/shelf-bin-cat-33-228gr/

[ga-hvac-tech]

In my store-room... I have 3x cap areas on the shelves...
One is for single value caps... mostly blower motors.
One is for the handful of caps that account for 2/3 of sales (30/5-35/5-40/5-45/5); and the handful of Turbo's we stock (200, 200+, mini).
And another area for all the rest.

The contactors are organized in a similar way, 2x areas...
The single pole 30A and 40A followed by the double pole 30A and 40A... then all the rest are organized in an adjacent area.

And yes... they are organized left to right... lower value to the left and higher value to the right.
BTW: we do mostly residential... so we do not have a need for lots of 'odd' size caps.

Thought: Make it work for you... do not allow your mind to be 'boxed in' by a structure that causes problems...
AND... keep it simple...

[BNME8EZ]

Thank you for the suggestions! We currently stock all 440v caps from 3 all the way to 80 singles and duels. The van inventory is pretty much the same too, consuming and entire shelf. Our biggest issue right now is organizing all these on the new service shelves in the shop. I've searched high and low for anything to place the caps into for organizing on a shelf. Right now we're using cardboard boxs with dividers which works OK at best. This quickly turns in a huge mess when we get a heat wave. Keeping track of everything goes to hell and we end up ordering way too many which makes it worse.

I dind't see where you mentioned how many of each you stocked on the truck but you said it took a whole shelf. If you have a sheet metal shop make your own dividers if not go to a shop and have them made. They are easy to make and can be attached to the shelf so they stay in line. Just make the dividers so they only go about half way up the height of the cap. You will still have problems with them falling over while driving but they would only be falling forward cause the divider would keep them from going sideways.

[ga-hvac-tech]

For organizing van shelves, one can get these useful 'bin boxes' in various sizes, and from multiple sources:

https://www.amazon.com/Aviditi-BINMT...SIN=B00BT53K3E

[monkeybutt]

I like those and just found similar bins in the uline catalog with dividers. Thanks I will definitely check these out.

[ga-hvac-tech]

W W Grainger has them also...
Albeit everything at Grainger is costly...

[pecmsg]

At yard sales I look for old Metal Tool Boxes, Sawzall, drills etc. Bust out the dividers for the tool and a great little enclosure for small parts.

you label them 1-25
25-?

[Tom Thermo]

I just use a box in the back(oh no i don't have any 10uF caps time to shop)
I hate it when I'm four wheeling over railroad tracks and they all dump out