Condensers

quickchange34

quickchange34

Well-known member
I need a couple of good condensers for a Harmon Collins Dist. The last ones I got were from Jim at Bubbas Any body know where to go . Thanks
 
Here's a picture of a couple of mine mounted on an H&C dual coil. I will be the first to admit it, they are kind of expensive, but then again, you don't want to mount a couple of wimpy looking condensers from your FLAPS on a high performance distributor.

Plus, they have proven to be super reliable. I have had the prototype on my '51 Club Coupe since 2016 and have since sold over 300 without a single reported failure.

EDIT : I will also add a couple of pictures that a customer sent me of one of my condensers mounted on an H&C single point distributor. This guy polished everything!
 

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Denny/Tubmans condensers are what he says they are, a quality piece.
A more conventional look is a STEINER F-4, Google SteinerTractor parts

Charlie ny
 
Just send me $ 64 bucks and a sell addressed envelope and i will ship ya two new vertex units ??
Bubbas Ignition
5237 Ford street
Indianapolis Indiana 46224
 
BUBBAS IGNITION said:
Just send me $ 64 bucks and a sell addressed envelope and i will ship ya two new vertex units ??
Bubbas Ignition
5237 Ford street
Indianapolis Indiana 46224
Click to expand...

Bubba, would you please post a picture here of that Vertex condenser. I'm looking for a good condenser to use on my '35 helmet distributors, and would like to see how that Vertex unit could be mounted. TIA
 
I use ASC magneto condensers/capacitors on my HC builds. These are what Bubba will supply you, though you can also purchase them from various magneto builders. There are two different ratings --> .36 uF and .28 uF.

Either would probably work for your needs - though the smaller ones are quite a bit cheaper (if cost is an issue). If Bubba can supply you with two of the .36 uF ones for $64, that is a cheap price. ;)

https://www.rbssuperchargers.com/Products/FIE_Mallory_Super_Mag_2_Sprint_.36uF_Condenser--2500-0093M

https://www.rbssuperchargers.com/Products/FIE_Vertex_.28uF_Condenser--2500-0093N
 
Question: Is this a new HC build . . . or an existing one? There are a lot of "tricks" I use on these older distributors - primarily to ensure that the "yellow" secondary plate doesn't leak high-voltage to all sorts of bad places. There are two versions of the secondary coil plates - one tends to have more problems than the other and even NOS ones have been shown to have issues. If you find issues with misfiring on the four plugs that run off the yellow mid-plate, then the only real way to fix it is to replace the plate, modify it or put some modifications/tricks into play.

I highly recommend that you run it up on a distributor machine with your actual coils and plug wires - you may see some very interesting results related to the secondary side. Also, try to NOT run any sort of noise suppression wire - as they will increase the resistance from the cap to the plugs and this increases the likelihood that the secondary high-voltage will find "other places" to jump too - versus your plugs.

Now, if you have a great running unit that only needs new condensers, disregard my babble!. LOL
 
Bored&Stroked says:

"I use ASC magneto condensers/capacitors on my HC builds. These are what Bubba will supply you, though you can also purchase them from various magneto builders. There are two different ratings --> .36 uF and .28 uF.

Either would probably work for your needs - though the smaller ones are quite a bit cheaper (if cost is an issue). If Bubba can supply you with two of the .36 uF ones for $64, that is a cheap price."

450339100W_36-condenser.jpg
https://www.rbssuperchargers.com/Pro...er--2500-0093M

FIE/Mallory Super Mag 2/Sprint .36uF Condenser
Price: $42.95 Part No.: 2500-0093M

Categories:
Mag Drives
Mag Accessories
Mags & Coils
FIE
MALLORY

This .36uF condenser is used on Sprint Mags and Super Mag 2's. Also used on some Vertex mags that have been slightly increased in output. Mounts internally on the point plate. Mounting hardware included.

450339100W_24-condenser.jpg
https://www.rbssuperchargers.com/Pro...er--2500-0093N

FIE/Vertex .28uF Condenser
Price: $15.80 Part No.: 2500-0093N

Categories:
Mag Drives
Mag Accessories
Mags & Coils
VERTEX
FIE

This .28 uF condenser is used on stock output Vertex magnetos. Mounts internally on the point plate in the stock bracket.
 
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Not having used a points style distributor in quite a few years, I'd like to know what's available for the SBC points style distributor? Would Tubmans condenser work on 12V?
Gramps.
 
Ol' Ron said:
Not having used a points style distributor in quite a few years, I'd like to know what's available for the SBC points style distributor? Would Tubmans condenser work on 12V?
Gramps.
Click to expand...




Yes. I've been using Tubman's condenser for a few months now...probably 3500 miles...on my 8CM with 12v and Chev distributor. Very nice and works perfectly. It's mounted on the coil bracket.
A condenser won't care if 6v or 12v by the way.


Terry
 
Bored & Stroked I was lucky to find three of the Harmon Collins Distributors NOS plus parts for them years ago. You are correct , there is a difference in the secondary plates . Which one gives the most problems . I have two of the three distributors on two of my cars .They both have about 10,000 miles with no problems so far. Both engines were fresh builds . The third one is going on a engine I am building now. I have replaced the condensers on the first two when i installed them on the engines even though they were new. Yes I am running soled core wire on all three.
 
quickchange34 said:
Bored & Stroked I was lucky to find three of the Harmon Collins Distributors NOS plus parts for them years ago. You are correct , there is a difference in the secondary plates . Which one gives the most problems . I have two of the three distributors on two of my cars .They both have about 10,000 miles with no problems so far. Both engines were fresh builds . The third one is going on a engine I am building now. I have replaced the condensers on the first two when i installed them on the engines even though they were new. Yes I am running soled core wire on all three.
Click to expand...

The secondary plate that tends to be the most problematic is the one where you can see the points wires screws/lugs on the rotor side of the plate. Usually they tried to shield the lugs from potential coil leakage with a bit of plastic (which deteriorates). I've seen many cases there the high voltage from the coil would arc into those lugs. If you see issues, you might grind those areas out with a rotary bit and put non-conductive electrical epoxy into the areas.

The later version of the plates used a screw out the side of the plate to attach to the points wires.

I test this stuff with a full coil/plug setup on my distributor machine - with a "special" test cap that has holes bored in the top so I can see what is going on. You'll usually see the issues with the 4 plugs related to the secondary plate - the observed sparks don't fire correctly.

Maybe I'll post a couple videos to Youtube and show the issues.
 
Bored & Stroked Thanks for your information . Much appreciated . I have a couple of the secondary plates for parts and they are new but one has the lugs where you said and the other has the lugs on the outside. It would be nice to see a video on the Harmon Collins.
 
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