Newbie question: Is it possible to overheat capacitors while soldering them?
I'm afraid I've fried some while trying to make some nice solder joints (not too handy at soldering yet).
It certainly is! Especially with polystyrene caps. Most capacitors are
actually durable towards heat. pl
It depends on the type. Ceramic caps, typically not. Electrolytics may have shorter lives if they are exposed to heat over a long period, but it would take a lot to pop one while soldering it. Some of the film types are heat-sensitive (polystyrene especially).
Here is Harry's capacitor tutorial which explains the various types and their pros and cons: http://www.hoohahrecords.com/resfreq/articles/capacitor.html
I guess I might have killed one or two orange drops then (this is actually a small tube amp project). Although I have heard you may need to measure them with your DMM only when they are out of circuit (take one leg off of the board), and even then it's difficult to check them.
Thanks guys, if I'm not sure I'll try replacing them with some known good ones.