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Re: Power Factor Capacitor -- Was -- RE: schematics...Adam Smith's



> Actually, I've been told that Aluminum Electrolytic will work for a 120VAC
> PFC cap.  These are inexpensive and very common.  And to head off criticism
> that Aluminum electrolytic caps shouldn't be used in an AC circuit, I was
> told by an Electrical Engineer (Technician?) who runs all the electrical
> labs here at school.  He said that electrolytics can take the AC, just not a
> constant negative DC bias.
> 
> Mark

Not for this application, NO WAY!  Fairly inexpensive "non-polar"
electrolytics are used in AC circuits all the time, in speaker crossovers
for example, and motor starting, but there are none that I know of that
would be of any use for NST Power Factor Correction.  They just can't handle
the continuous currents that we're dealing with.

You can go ahead and experiment, but be very sure that you are well
protected from the blast of hot alkali that will inevitably spew from the
capacitor!

-Adam
adamsmith-at-mediaone-dot-net