Verifying capacitor polarity before soldering

[Alan]

Before you start soldering those capacitors it’s super important to verify their polarity to prevent any future issues. What’s your favorite way to check? Do you use a multimeter, look for visual indicators, or maybe you have a special trick you’ve learned to make sure everything’s in order before you solder them onto the board?

 

[bit&board]

I once burned out a capacitor because I didn’t pay attention to the stripe there was quite a puff of smoke, and that taught me a lesson.
Now I always make sure to check the stripe for polarity and use a multimeter to confirm if I’m ever in doubt.
Safety first, fireworks come later.

 

[Circuitsmith]

Usually, I just glance at the stripe and the + sign, but I've got my trusty multimeter for the tricky cases. After dealing with an exploding capacitor once, I treat polarity like a code that I can’t afford to mess up.

 

[Tovaren]

A few years back, I soldered some capacitors the wrong way and learned that lesson pretty quickly.
Now, I do a quick visual check and follow it up with a multimeter for peace of mind.
There's nothing like a little smoke cloud to remind you to respect polarity.