Re: Safe handling of Capacitors

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "John Crighton by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <jcrighton-at-sia-dot-net.au>


----- Original Message -----
From: Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Friday, 23 March, 2001 11:39 AM
Subject: Re: Safe handling of Capacitors


> Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>"
<Mddeming-at-aol-dot-com>
>
> In a message dated 3/22/01 1:47:02 PM Eastern Standard Time,
tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> writes:
>
>
>
>
> >
> > Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <
> > evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>
> >
> > Tesla list wrote:
> > >
> > > Original poster: "Jim DeLillo by way of Terry Fritz
> > <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <jimdel-at-bellatlantic-dot-net>
> > >
> > > Wouldn't a length of small diam PVC pipe work?
> >
> >    From what I've observed over the years, the "traditional" way to
> > discharge capacitors is with the shaft of a screwdriver, preferably with
> > insulated handle.  If there's enough charge in the capacitor the result
> > is nice little craters in the screwdriver!  Don't know if anyone has
> > gotten zapped doing this, but it could be risky if one carelessly got
> > across the HV.
> >
> > Ed
> >
> >
>
>
>
> I have converted the tip of a screwdriver into shrapnel doing this with
40uf
> kV DC!
> Matt D.
>
>

Hello Matt D, Ed and all on the List,
Like you guys, I used to short out big capacitors in electronic
equipment for my own safety and quite enjoyed the splat that
 was made, causing my  co-workers to  jump.

I had just started working in a place that manufactured Uninteruptable
Power Supplies (UPSs) and before poking around in the UPS, for
my own safety I placed my screwdriver across the terminals of
the some large electrolytic capacitors charged up to 300 volts.
There was quite a splat and everyone in the workshop looked
at me as though I was a jerk and held up their discharging resistors
shaking their heads at me.The boss came running in to find out what
made the noise.
It seems that I had commited a terrible crime by shorting out the
large expensive capacitors and had to spent the next couple of hours
finding new  capacitors to replace the "possibly damaged" capacitors
caused by me and my screw driver.

All the technicians in that company had in their pockets a wire
wound resistor (of a few hundred ohms and several watts) with
 a couple of long insulated wires and insulated crocodile clips, all
 nicely insulated with heatshink tubing.

Since then, after that humilation,  I have always used the shorting
 resistor that was slapped on my bench by my boss to discharge
 big capacitors properly so as to not  risk damaging them,
 but mainly to avoid arguements... heh heh heh... :-))
Regards,
John Crighton