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Exactly how evil are Capacitors?

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dorke

Jun 20, 2015
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The interesting question now is, how do you discharge a capacitor safely, bearing in mind that in many causes you don't know how much power is stored in the thing

Well,
In order to know what can be stored in a capacitor,
you only have to look at 2 things,
both are written on in: voltage rating and capacitance.
You should assume it is charged fully!
Q=C*V


A.I don't recommend discharging batteries or super-caps,
just be very careful with them(don't short them...ever!)
B.Don't try anything with very high voltages- above 500V !
(that is the realm of pro's).
C."AC caps" in Air-con/Motors equipment can hold charge and voltages
up to about 500V(depends on mains voltage).

How to discharge
0.Use insulating gloves and wear "rubber shoes" for protection
when dealing with voltages above 48V(that is potentially deadly).
and don't stick your face near the cap.:eek:
1.Disconnect the equipment from the power source.
2.Connect a voltmeter to the cap's leads with probes
(leave it connected till the discharge is finished!)
3.Connect a resistor,a few hundred ohms several watts
(preferably use a discharge prob) across the cap.
Monitor the voltmeter till you get about zero volts.

Here is a how to discharge video
 
D

Deleted member 42405

Jan 1, 1970
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Why are there glasses next to my post? Just asking.
 

Harald Kapp

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Which post #? What glasses? I scanned the threat and didn't see any glasses. Post a screenshot?
 
D

Deleted member 42405

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Oh right, its in the corner of all the threads ive replied to. Bit of a weird icon for a reply.
 

jackorocko

Apr 4, 2010
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dorke makes a good point, here in the states I think the max. voltage for UL listed cat 2 measuring equipment is 600V. Everyone here has stated the obvious, electrocution will kill you! The below video is a stark reminder when someone doesn't pay attention to the rules or doesn't follow proper safety procedure. If it doesn't make you think twice before sticking your hand in something that could kill you, then I do not know what will. Learn how to be safe, if you have to ask questions like "Can this kill me?" then you are not ready for what you are about to do.

 

Harald Kapp

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Funny, I'm watching this threat but I don't have a "follower" icon o_O
 

Harald Kapp

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I can't tell, since I don't see it. Can someone post a screenshot, please?
 

AnalogKid

Jun 10, 2015
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The glasses are part of a forum software feature that does not work well. Whenever you reply to anything, this forum automatically assigns "watched" status to he thread. In theory, you will get an alert whenever anyone posts things to the thread. This can be handy if you are participating in multiple threads and want to see a list of that activity when you login, but I get alerts less than 50% of the time. Other forums do not do this automatically; it's ajudgment call on the part of the forum operators. At the top of any thread page you can watch or unwatch the thread.

ak
 

davenn

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OK thread closed .... its is wandering all over the place


Dave
 
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