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View Full Version : Power Capacitor or Power Cap



cemkarakurt
04-04-2008, 11:56 PM
gents have any one tray to use power cab at all

this my plane to conect and get more power and limit alternater useg
and conection
gated pulser
relay
CIRCUIT BREAKER
pawer cab Power Capacitor 2.0 Farad
cells
do you have any id for this conetion
still i am vating for parts on post

MikeP
04-05-2008, 04:17 AM
I was considering the use of a capacitor as a "pulse" generator... Not sure if a Capacitor stores power, then releases it at a pre-determined time (ie:MicroFarad or Farad rating).

I was under the impression that was the case... ie: they use 1+ Farad Caps to make sure that even when the power dips in a massive car audio install, that in the "off" times the capacitor will offer up the power.

Not sure, perhaps someone more qualified could shed some light?

-MP

Stratous
06-05-2008, 03:44 PM
I have heard of people using caps to limit amperage. I read somplace that the large capacitors found on larger electric AC motors will do the trick. I havent tried it yet, but may attempt it if I can find a burnt out motor someplace.

h2o2steam
06-13-2008, 06:56 PM
I hope to help you with your understanding about capacitors.
1) They are simply a storage device for electricity, just like a battery but without a chemical reaction for longevity. This means that they charge extremely quickly (almost instant) but have very limited ability to deliver long bursts of energy for their relative size.
2) They work by providing 2 opposing large electrical plate surface areas to store protons and electrons seperated by an insulator.
3) They are best used for smoothing a voltage supply which has fluctuation e.g. when using a transformer to step voltage down you use diodes to rectify the sine wave and capacitors to smooth between the peaks of each half cycle. Your car alternator produces alternating current (AC) and has heavy duty diodes inside to convert AC to positive going pulses only which is smoothed by the relative capacitance of your car battery thus producing a direct current (DC).
4) Choosing a size: get the right votage first, but capacitance value should be adequate to smooth supply line under peak oeration, adding additional size brings no benefits.

To directly answer some of the points in prior threads....adding capacitors across your HHO generator will have no benefit to the operation unless you are running it off a battery charger in trial configuration as a car battery does the same job. High power audio systems create very large peak power draws with bass beat delivery which puts strain on wiring harnesses and connectors to deliver these peaks without incurring a voltage drop - 1 or 2 Farad capacitors are used in the feed to the amplifiers to soften the peaks only.
If you are using a PWM to manipulate your HHO generator supply, then you do not want capacitors across the output circuit as you are trying to deliver pulses to the gas generator electrodes and do not want to smooth the power.

Type of capacitors to use if required: motor capacitors are designed for higher voltage use and have quite small capacitance relative to ones you would buy for a car audio installation. Try to use capacitors which are rated for the voltage you are exposing them to, that way you get the most capacitance in the package size that you want to use.
Capacitors in larger sizes 1 uF and above generally are electrolytics which means they have a liquid inside. These have a life expectancy which is adversely affected by temperature. Run them hot and they dry out and reduce their capacitance. Usually you will find ratings of 85, 105 degrees Celcius printed on the label. Mount capacitors away from heat sources to ensure best operation.

Understanding capacitance sizes.
One Farad (f) is really huge (common to find in low voltages 12v).
A micro Farad (uF) = Farad x 10 to the minus 6 (one millionth)
A nano Farad (nF) = Farad x 10 to the minus 9
A Pico Farad (pF) = Farad x 10 to the minus 12