>what's really going on here? It depends... NPE capacitors made in the sixties or even in the eighties have likely drifted far from their original value. I have seen 2x drift, Bret measured one 6-uF device as 22 uF. If leaky, water from the electrolye diffuses away and the acid concentration increases resulting the increase in capacitance. Also the internal resistance will increase. Old electrolytics left unused will need to be reformed, but after 40 years, some may never recover completely -