Editing Capacitor plague (section)

===Premature failure===
All electrolytic capacitors with non-solid electrolyte age over time, due to evaporation of the electrolyte. The [[capacitance]] usually decreases and the ESR usually increases. The normal lifespan of a non-solid electrolytic capacitor of consumer quality, typically rated at 2000&nbsp;h/85&nbsp;°C and [[operating temperature|operating]] at 40&nbsp;°C, is roughly 6 years. It can be more than 10 years for a 1000&nbsp;h/105&nbsp;°C capacitor operating at 40&nbsp;°C. Electrolytic capacitors that operate at a lower temperature can have a considerably longer lifespan.

The capacitance should normally degrade to as low as 70% of the rated value, and the ESR increase to twice the rated value, over the normal life span of the component, before it should be considered as a "degradation failure".<ref name=Albertsen>{{cite web |url=http://jianghai-europe.com/wp-content/uploads/JIANGHAI_Elcap_Lifetime_-_Estimation_AAL.pdf |title=A. Albertsen, Electrolytic Capacitor Lifetime Estimation |accessdate=2014-09-04 |archive-date=17 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150117042507/http://jianghai-europe.com/wp-content/uploads/JIANGHAI_Elcap_Lifetime_-_Estimation_AAL.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Parler">Sam G. Parler, Cornell Dubilier, Deriving Life Multipliers for Electrolytic Capacitors [http://www.newark.com/pdfs/techarticles/cornell/multipliers.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042611/http://www.newark.com/pdfs/techarticles/cornell/multipliers.pdf|date=4 March 2016}}</ref> The life of an electrolytic capacitor with defective electrolyte can be as little as two years. The capacitor may fail prematurely after reaching approximately 30% to 50% of its expected lifetime.