Re: Capacitor Safety Discharge Method (fwd)

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 12:12:24 -0700
From: Ray von Postel <vonpostel@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Capacitor Safety Discharge Method (fwd)

Jim:
Sorry, your logic still escapes me.  How fast is the capacitor 
discharged if a resistor is open?   Yes, as you point out "There is a 
world of difference....", but what has that to do with safety?  I do 
not accept that there is any safe level of voltage when it comes to 
safety.  Perhaps you would care to state what voltage level is safe 
under all conditions but I don't.

The bottom line is that resistors are fallible just as are O rings.
Don't trust your life to them nor advocate something that could and has 
killed some one.

The best safety device I know of is a suitable length of bare copper 
braid such as sometimes used to connect storage batteries, one end 
bolted permanently to one side of the capacitor bank (Ground?) and the 
other end attached with a mechanical fastener to a 1/4 inch brass rod 
bent with a hook on the end.  The brass rod is an extension on about 3 
feet of insulating plastic or fiber rod to use as a handle. It is easy 
to see that something like that is in working condition.  So it goes 
flash crackle pop.  So what if it keeps you or some one else from 
getting killed?

I have had my say.  Now if anyone gets hurt because they refused to 
heed this waring they certainly deserve the appellation for which D.C. 
suffered flames, IDIOT!!!

Ray

On Aug 7, 2007, at 3:30 PM, Tesla list wrote:

>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:27:37 -0700
> From: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Capacitor Safety Discharge Method (fwd)
>
> At 05:51 AM 8/7/2007, you wrote:
>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 21:45:35 -0700
>> From: Ray von Postel <vonpostel@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>> To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: Re: Capacitor Safety Discharge Method (fwd)
>>
>> Guys:
>>
>> You are shorting out capacitors to keep from frying yourselves. What 
>> is
>> the safety logic of putting some resistors in the circuit?
>
>
> Small resistors limit the current when discharging, while still
> getting the voltage low enough, quick enough, to be safe.  There's a
> world of difference between dumping hundreds of joules in 1
> millisecond vs dumping it in 1 second.
>
>
>
>
>