Hensel compact-B 500 capacitor replacement

Hey

I have an old Hensel 500W compact-B flash unit...recently one of the main capacitors blew and I want to replace it

Now Hensel wants 85euro (inc shipping) for it, which I think is an amazing amount for a capacitor and I question if the unit is worth that amount

Does anyone know the nominal voltage and capacity of these capacitors (Type V.1 or newer version type 8.3) and can I replace it with a "normal" capacitor

" can I replace it with a "normal" capacitor"

Short answer - No!

Flash capacitors have a low self-inductance to provide a fast and deep discharge. And beside that a compact capacitor of around 360v rating and several hundred uF capacity isn't going to be easy to come by or cheap to buy.

Your cheapest option (if you must) is probably to scour photo junk for old hotshoe flashes. They go for around €2 each and generally contain a small 600uF 360v capacitor. A stack of 20 all paralleled up should get you somewhere in the region of 500 Watt-seconds.

I'm kinda joking BTW about the stack of capacitors. But ask yourself where else you're going to get a half-decent 500W-s monolight for €85?

You also need to consider whether the blown capacitor is really the only fault, or if maybe a shorted diode has taken out the cappy.