Re: Safe handling of Capacitors (fwd)

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

Original poster: Tesla List Moderator <mod1-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 15:13:39 +1100
From: John Crighton <jcrighton-at-sia-dot-net.au>
To: Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>, tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Safe handling of Capacitors (fwd)

Hello Erik and the Group,
The resistor you are suggesting Erik would have been
 good to show my boss at the time, that I had learnt my
 lesson well and not to discharge big electrolytic capacitors
with screwdrivers  especially if it were mounted on a  nicely
 polished  wooden base and had a brass nameplate.
Nothing like a bit of over kill to ease the tension in the
workplace. Good one Erik. :-)))
Regards,
John Crighton

> From: ebyng <ebyng-at-netlimit-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re: Safe handling of Capacitors
> 
> I've got a 300 ohm 1000w ohmite resistor sitting around.  Would that work
> according to your description???
> Erik
> >
> >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
> >