I had a condenser fail this year and have used my spare. From what I hear they are mostly junk now.
 As I'm going to be heading over to the USA next month I was wondering if there are any brands that produce a quality condenser these days. 

None that I'm aware of, another reason I went to Pertronix..

NAPA or Echlin is supposed to be good, for modern manufacture, and they are also still available yet from Ford. That's what you want.

The NOS available, though depending on how old they are, dry out or whatever the fault is. I did a little experimenting, testing some old school Standard and Motorcraft and Echlin pulls I have in my junkbox. While they test spot on for capacitance value, and show absolutely no leakage at 500 volts DC, they don't "hold a charge" the way a fresh capacitor will. A modern capacitor will hold a healthy charge for at least a day or two. Ask me how I know. I'm not sure if this is an important metric to ignition service or not but I suspect it might be. Pranksters used this characteristic to good effect at one time. Not me, no. Uh-uh.

Some folks ask why a modern capacitor (condenser) can't be used here, and that's a good question. If you want to go this route there are a couple things to look at. The typical ignition condenser had a capacitance rating of 0.20µF to 0.25µF (MFD) or microfarads, rated for around 400 volts or so. The standard "cut" available today is 0.22µF - right in there, so no problems there. Where people might run into problems though is the proper capacitance and voltage rating isn't the whole story.

Ignition service is a high pulse current application (which is why the counterfeit parts can't hang in the first place.) Avoid the compact metalized spray film type and select a capacitor like the CDE "Orange Drop" 715P rated at 400 volts or better. They are a little chunky in size but seem to work absolutely fine in tests and fit inside the distributor. The characteristic that is important here is known as dV/dT rating. Keep the leads short as possible, and maybe pot the unit with something to prevent vibration from work hardening the leads and breakage under vibration. Maybe this is more than you asked, but I find this an interesting subject.

Tedster.  Thanks for making time to share all the info. about capacitors.  This is another reminder for me that all components are not created equal! 


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

While I must admit the fine detail of electronic technology is generally ‘over my head’ (it never occurred to me that, for instance, I might install one of the 0.22 OrangeDrop caps I have on hand for guitar tone controls in the distributor), I am nonetheless puzzled why it might be important for an auto condenser to hold a charge for any longer than it takes for the next spark plug to fire? Years ago I bought a grab-bag of NOS condensers on eBay, and (checking with a multimeter) selected the one with the closest value to instal. It has worked perfectly for over ten yrs./40K miles.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

No idea on that, it's just something I observed, that some of these NOS capacitors on hand have lost this characteristic (that they would have had when new) although, they test OK under high voltage for leakage. The voltage is bleeding off somehow, in seconds, versus hours or days compared with a new capacitor. This is known as the "insulation test".

It might be they will "work" though would prove defective when looking at the ignition pattern waveforms on a scope. A multimeter works OK for measuring capacitance value, but it can't test for leakage at the working voltage rating

The condenser plays an important role in the quality of the spark at the plugs as well as preventing the contact points from pitting or burning.

Interesting. I can only assume the ‘quality of the spark’ is irrelevant if the plugs never misfire under load (?). (either the mixture explodes on cue, or it doesn’t). Same with the contact points. If they continue to function perfectly past the life of most other ignition components, the degree of pitting or burning would also seem irrelevant.
P.S. This brings up another controversial issue, namely whether positive ground system contact points pit & burn at a slower rate than negative ground examples. Also reduced advancement of body ground connection corrosion in pos. grd. systems is debated (?). Seems a largely unexplored subject unfortunately relegated to ancient history.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Sounds like it's NAPA Echlin or from Ford. I don't think I will go down the path of installing an electronics type capacitor.
Lots of interesting information, though some beyond my understanding.
It brings back memories of when I was doing a pre-apprenticeship in auto electric. We would charge up condensers and throw them to the mechanics to catch.
Thanks for the tips on brands to buy.

I bought a rebuilt YBlock distributor last year for my TBird.  The condenser failed within a few days leaving me stranded.  I went to my local O'Reilly's and asked them to sell me quality US made points and condenser.  They've been in my car ever since. It's a good thing the Chinese don't make condoms (do they?) 

You get one guess.

The counterfeit condensers get lots of bad press with good reason, though keep in mind the points included with them these days aren't much better. They should be avoided.

The genuine service or NOS replacements are still plentiful and inexpensive, better made with better materials. The thing about ignition parts, while they may work, that doesn't necessarily mean they are working anywhere close to where they should be.

While you're picking up condensers suggest you find some NOS point sets as well. Still have the old set I ran for quite a while years ago. I wasn't aware then, the distributor cam needs a bit of high temp cam lubricant, so the rubbing block on this set is worn down to a nub. The better made sets use phenolic, not plastic. The el-cheapos will wear down right away cam lubricant or not.

Assembled a complete spare distributor to carry on road trips, just in case the Pertronix were to fail. The idea is to drop a spare distributor in and be on our way with minimum hassle. This is why I lean toward including a modern capacitor. The NOS automotive condensers test OK now but may not work when needed.

Part of setting up the spare is learning (or re-learning) the rituals now, in my garage, instead of on the side of the road.

And I gotta say it's pretty amazing all the contortions people use to have to go through. For one thing, if they sit a while esp. in high humidity, points will get a layer of crud between them that will absolutely kill any continuity. You think "hey I cleaned 'em.", Nope.

The distributor design is an amazing piece of engineering for the time though. Everything ignition related today is handled by sensors, software and computers, they had to make do with the technology they had - springs, weights, & gears, and overall do a great job when setup right.