Capacitors

[Ewhaz]

I'm trying to find a 600v 3.3uf capacitor out there and I'm running into trouble finding a vendor online.

Either A) they don't have the rating I want or B) the cost is prohibitive (probably due to specialization, IE Audio or HF)

So I'm considering making my own glass plate capacitor unless I can find something availible online.

Does any one have any vendors for these high voltage capacitors that are reasonable?

OR

Does any one have any experience making capacitors?

[ren]

Ewhaz, try looking in old electronic equipment, old crt monitors or vcrs etc. I believe the disposable cameras have a cap in them for the flash, hence the term photocap on some of the diagrams you may have seen. Failing that remember you can bunch capacitors together (in series or parallel) to achieve a desired limit. Have a look at this page for some more info ....

Capacitors in Series

By the way, be careful pulling apart electrical equipment as many of the caps can still have power in them. Short them out or drain them through a light globe before you touch any terminals. Especially the high voltage ones!

[Aaron]

cap info

Hi Ewhaz,

For that high of voltage and that low of capacitance, the ones I found I pulled out of some old microwave ovens. They were about 600v and 1uf. The are ac caps, but I find they worked just find being charged with the Bedini type circuits if that is what you're using for. Anyway, about 3 in parallel and you have your 3uf at least.

Aaron

[Ewhaz]

Well, I just had a thought though. The capacitance is what I'm looking for.. I always assumed that the voltage was just what the capacitor would automatically discharge. However, as I was reading the information on making one, it occurred to me that the voltage is ONLY the safe range the capacitor can handle before the dialetric suffers a short. In other words, the voltage doesn't matter for the circuit unless its rated below the voltage you'd already be using.

I had thought that the voltage mattered because that was the amount it would be pulsing to the battery, however with the new info, I'm thinking its more to the point that the timing of the pulse would determine the amount of power going to the batteries and that the voltage range is simply a safety for the capacitor itself and not the battery.

Its been so long since I've worked with my electronics.. I hate having to learn it all again!

[Aaron]

cap description

Yes, the voltage is like the height of a bucket and the capacitance is like the diameter of a bucket.

Any particular cap of a specific capacitance can be filled up to any height for it's capacitance or diameter. So a 300 v cap at 1uf can be filled only at 1 uf for as many volts as you fill the bucket up in height.