4mm vs 5mm capacitors

[jwyles90]

So I'm sourcing some parts right now and am wondering if it's ok to use 5mm electrolytic capacitors instead of 4mm ones. If the voltage and values are the same, and they fit in the board, will it make that big of a difference if they're 1mm off from what the build docs have listed? Sorry if this is a super beginner question, I'm just not entirely sure what the difference between  the two are other than physical size.
Thanks!

[John Lyons]

For 9v pedals the specs you are mainly concerened about
are voltage rating, value and size.
For electro caps 16-50v is typical.
For a PCB you want to make sure it will fit and not bump
into other parts. All or most 16-36v caps if not 50v will fit
fine on most layouts. The voltage rating and capacitance
are the main spec you need to worry about.

[Phend]

No problem, they come in all sorts of dimensions, all being the same uf. Higher volt ratings might mean larger size. Make sure the volt rating is higher than the supply voltage.

[jwyles90]

No problem, they come in all sorts of dimensions, all being the same uf. Higher volt ratings might mean larger size. Make sure the volt rating is higher than the supply voltage.

Ok cool. So as long as the volt rating is higher then I'm good to go? I've got a couple that are 50 or 100v, is it possible to have too much voltage?

[John Lyons]

The voltage is what the caps are rated up to.
With a 9v pedal it will only see around 9v
as that's what the pedal power supply/battery generates.

[bluebunny]

The electrons don't know the shape or size of your caps.  Go with what you've got to hand.  "Too much voltage" isn't a thing.

[antonis]

I've got a couple that are 50 or 100v, is it possible to have too much voltage?

Only if you give them too much voltage..
Capacitors (ex condensers) store given energy and release it by demand..
The amount of energy is defined by Q²/2C, where Q = electrical charge and C = capacity
For a given capacity, energy depends on Q = V/C, where V= voltage
So finally, energy is proportional to given voltage..

As you can't get more energy than you give, you can't get more voltage than you give..

P.S.
We're talking about single capacitors and not nasty configurations like voltage multipliers..

[Processaurus]

No problem, they come in all sorts of dimensions, all being the same uf. Higher volt ratings might mean larger size. Make sure the volt rating is higher than the supply voltage.

Ok cool. So as long as the volt rating is higher then I'm good to go? I've got a couple that are 50 or 100v, is it possible to have too much voltage?

Don't get super overrated caps.  I wasn't paying attention and got the 250v 5mm film caps from Mouser and they were huge, and the wires just slanted down to fit in the 5mm footprint.  The 5mm box caps might not sit down totally flat on a 4mm footprint.  TNot that it would be the end of the world if they stuck up a little off the PCB for a one-off. The greenie or the Panasonic film caps that at Chicklet shape should fit fine.

[Processaurus]

I really like the Kemet box (film) caps.  Semiconductor shortage kinda forced me to switch to them but I'm glad I did. They say the value on top and I've liked the sound of circuits I've made, doing an A/B comparison with an older version made with the Panasonic caps.