Nichicon markets the UPJ series "for switching power supply". Is there a downside to using this family of caps for general purpose filtering/bypassing, for example at the output of an LM317 or LM337?
The capacitors I am replacing are obsolete Nichicon PL series caps that leaked all over the PSU PCB in my Sencore VG91 test pattern generator. I found a datasheet for the obsolete PL family and the UPJ caps appear identical on paper, however I believe that Nichicon suggests the UPM family as replacement for PL. I'm not sure that a ripple rated cap is even necessary in this circuit, but for some reason Sencore used them so I figured I would do the same.
I'm also struggling to understand why there are so many low ESR/ripple ratedcap families with nearly identical specs and case sizes: UPJ, UPM, UHD, etc. I know that most of these are being obsoleted so I guess I should feel fortunate that I can still buy them at all.
The specs for the UPJ and UPM versions of the cap I need are very similar, but neither is identical to the PL. I suspect that either will work as a substitute, and I'm also tempted to just stick an ordinary UVZ in there because I don't think the ripple rating really matters.
Back to the original question, why would a capacitor be specifically rated for switching PSU use, what makes the UPJ any better than any of the other low ESR families, and is there a downside to using UPJ in other non-switchmode applications?
I tried reaching out to Nichicon - no response.