High voltage caps

[Duster]

Hello everyone, I need (well ok, would like) to know where I could obtain
high voltage capacitors. And yes I will be more specfic

Prefferably int he 2-4 kV range (its for a project so EXACT voltage doesnt
matter too much). And a MicroFarad rating of 5+...

Also, um.. anything under $500 would be ideal... I dont exactly have a
goverment funded budget...

And, transformers... A sorce would be nice for transformers that can charge
my caps (DC) with 300-500 (I have several and thus would need several
transistors of course). And another for these high voltage caps...

And for curious readers, these will be used in several projects but the
first being a high powered coil gun and perhaps a rail gun in the future. (I
know rail guns have been done to death it seems, which is why id like to
make a coil gun that can match some of the better amatur rail guns out
there.)

And lastly, anyone with any knowledge of caps, transistors, rail guns, coil
gun, or other electromagnetic devices can (and i encourage lol) email me.

Duster

 

Duster wrote:

Hello everyone, I need (well ok, would like) to know where I could obtain
high voltage capacitors. And yes I will be more specfic

Prefferably int he 2-4 kV range (its for a project so EXACT voltage doesnt
matter too much). And a MicroFarad rating of 5+...

String a bunch of identical capacitors in series - the voltage
ratings add. Let's say you have ten 100 ufd 400 volt caps.
When you string them in series, multiply the voltage rating by
ten and divide the capacitance rating by ten. This gives you the
equivalent of a 4000 volt, 10 ufd capacitor. When putting them
in series this way, put a 100K 2 watt bleeder resistor across each
one. This equalizes the voltage across them, and discharges them
when power is off. If you can use higher capacitance, Allelectronics
sells 330 UF 400 VOLT SNAP-IN CAPACITOR CAT# EC-3341 for $2.00
each. Ten in series would give you a 4000 v, 33 uf cap equivalent.
Run it at no more than 3000 volts to give a good safety margin.

Also, um.. anything under $500 would be ideal... I dont exactly have a
goverment funded budget...

Well, the above is 20 bucks... so you have room in your budget
to string 20 of them in series at 40 bucks, giving you the
equivalent on an 8000 volt, 16.5 ufd cap. DON'T forget the
bleeder resistors, in any event.

And, transformers... A sorce would be nice for transformers that can charge
my caps (DC) with 300-500

Do you intend to charge a 4000 v capacitor with 300-500 volts??
I'm missing something here.

(I have several and thus would need several
transistors of course).

You have several what? And the second part of the above
sentence refers to transistors - did you mean transformers??

And another for these high voltage caps...

And for curious readers, these will be used in several projects but the
first being a high powered coil gun and perhaps a rail gun in the future. (I
know rail guns have been done to death it seems, which is why id like to
make a coil gun that can match some of the better amatur rail guns out
there.)

And lastly, anyone with any knowledge of caps, transistors, rail guns, coil
gun, or other electromagnetic devices can (and i encourage lol) email me.

Duster

 

[Duster]

I heard, or rather read that caps in series is a no no, or at least best to
avoid if possible... Ah well, no harm (eh well...) in trying.

I have several lower voltage caps now. I intend to use most but have no
high(ish) voltage sorce. Thats why i need the transformers. And DC is most
defiently preffered...

Yes i meant transformer lol sorry was late my time and they so similar (in a
twisted spelling sense) And i meant several caps

Thanks a bunch though.

Duster
<ehsjr@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:3F2DC5E2.E284C5AD@bellatlantic.net...

Duster wrote:

Hello everyone, I need (well ok, would like) to know where I could
obtain
high voltage capacitors. And yes I will be more specfic

Prefferably int he 2-4 kV range (its for a project so EXACT voltage
doesnt
matter too much). And a MicroFarad rating of 5+...

String a bunch of identical capacitors in series - the voltage
ratings add. Let's say you have ten 100 ufd 400 volt caps.
When you string them in series, multiply the voltage rating by
ten and divide the capacitance rating by ten. This gives you the
equivalent of a 4000 volt, 10 ufd capacitor. When putting them
in series this way, put a 100K 2 watt bleeder resistor across each
one. This equalizes the voltage across them, and discharges them
when power is off. If you can use higher capacitance, Allelectronics
sells 330 UF 400 VOLT SNAP-IN CAPACITOR CAT# EC-3341 for $2.00
each. Ten in series would give you a 4000 v, 33 uf cap equivalent.
Run it at no more than 3000 volts to give a good safety margin.


Also, um.. anything under $500 would be ideal... I dont exactly have a
goverment funded budget...

Well, the above is 20 bucks... so you have room in your budget
to string 20 of them in series at 40 bucks, giving you the
equivalent on an 8000 volt, 16.5 ufd cap. DON'T forget the
bleeder resistors, in any event.


And, transformers... A sorce would be nice for transformers that can
charge
my caps (DC) with 300-500

Do you intend to charge a 4000 v capacitor with 300-500 volts??
I'm missing something here.


(I have several and thus would need several
transistors of course).

You have several what? And the second part of the above
sentence refers to transistors - did you mean transformers??

And another for these high voltage caps...

And for curious readers, these will be used in several projects but the
first being a high powered coil gun and perhaps a rail gun in the
future. (I
know rail guns have been done to death it seems, which is why id like to
make a coil gun that can match some of the better amatur rail guns out
there.)

And lastly, anyone with any knowledge of caps, transistors, rail guns,
coil
gun, or other electromagnetic devices can (and i encourage lol) email
me.

Duster

 

[Duster]

Well yes there is harm (hence what i put in brackets). I intend to use every
safety measure I can lay my hands on (which means everything).

And my smaller ones I have no desire to hook up in series. Just charge them
and use them on their own for many smaller projects. All in the name of
safety.

Duster

<ehsjr@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:3F2F38A1.2A4D4769@bellatlantic.net...

Duster wrote:

I heard, or rather read that caps in series is a no no, or at least best
to
avoid if possible...

Absolutely not a "no-no". What you need to do is equalize the
voltage when you string caps in series. The resistors I mentioned
do that.

Ah well, no harm (eh well...) in trying.

Sorry, but there is harm in trying, when you are
messing with high voltage - see below. It's not a
capacitor issue - it's the multiple transformers.


I have several lower voltage caps now. I intend to use most but have no
high(ish) voltage sorce. Thats why i need the transformers. And DC is
most
defiently preffered...

DC is not only preferred, it is mandatory. You will need
to rectify the output from the transformer. You do not want
to use a bunch of lower voltage transformers to get your
high voltage. If you have 10 400 volt transformers that you
intend to put in series to get 4000 volts, please forget about
it before you kill yourself or burn the house down. The
insulation in a 400 volt transformer is not likely to stand up to
4000 volts.


Yes i meant transformer lol sorry was late my time and they so similar
(in a
twisted spelling sense) And i meant several caps

Thanks a bunch though.

Duster
ehsjr@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:3F2DC5E2.E284C5AD@bellatlantic.net...


Duster wrote:

Hello everyone, I need (well ok, would like) to know where I could
obtain
high voltage capacitors. And yes I will be more specfic

Prefferably int he 2-4 kV range (its for a project so EXACT voltage
doesnt
matter too much). And a MicroFarad rating of 5+...

String a bunch of identical capacitors in series - the voltage
ratings add. Let's say you have ten 100 ufd 400 volt caps.
When you string them in series, multiply the voltage rating by
ten and divide the capacitance rating by ten. This gives you the
equivalent of a 4000 volt, 10 ufd capacitor. When putting them
in series this way, put a 100K 2 watt bleeder resistor across each
one. This equalizes the voltage across them, and discharges them
when power is off. If you can use higher capacitance, Allelectronics
sells 330 UF 400 VOLT SNAP-IN CAPACITOR CAT# EC-3341 for $2.00
each. Ten in series would give you a 4000 v, 33 uf cap equivalent.
Run it at no more than 3000 volts to give a good safety margin.


Also, um.. anything under $500 would be ideal... I dont exactly have
a
goverment funded budget...

Well, the above is 20 bucks... so you have room in your budget
to string 20 of them in series at 40 bucks, giving you the
equivalent on an 8000 volt, 16.5 ufd cap. DON'T forget the
bleeder resistors, in any event.


And, transformers... A sorce would be nice for transformers that can
charge
my caps (DC) with 300-500

Do you intend to charge a 4000 v capacitor with 300-500 volts??
I'm missing something here.


(I have several and thus would need several
transistors of course).

You have several what? And the second part of the above
sentence refers to transistors - did you mean transformers??

And another for these high voltage caps...

And for curious readers, these will be used in several projects but
the
first being a high powered coil gun and perhaps a rail gun in the
future. (I
know rail guns have been done to death it seems, which is why id
like to
make a coil gun that can match some of the better amatur rail guns
out
there.)

And lastly, anyone with any knowledge of caps, transistors, rail
guns,
coil
gun, or other electromagnetic devices can (and i encourage lol)
email
me.

Duster

 

www.amazing1.com I've ordered much from them, great plans,
schematics, a good amount of hv parts....
On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 05:02:45 GMT, "Duster" <dust_puppy@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

Well yes there is harm (hence what i put in brackets). I intend to use every
safety measure I can lay my hands on (which means everything).

And my smaller ones I have no desire to hook up in series. Just charge them
and use them on their own for many smaller projects. All in the name of
safety.

Duster

ehsjr@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:3F2F38A1.2A4D4769@bellatlantic.net...


Duster wrote:

I heard, or rather read that caps in series is a no no, or at least best
to
avoid if possible...

Absolutely not a "no-no". What you need to do is equalize the
voltage when you string caps in series. The resistors I mentioned
do that.

Ah well, no harm (eh well...) in trying.

Sorry, but there is harm in trying, when you are
messing with high voltage - see below. It's not a
capacitor issue - it's the multiple transformers.


I have several lower voltage caps now. I intend to use most but have no
high(ish) voltage sorce. Thats why i need the transformers. And DC is
most
defiently preffered...

DC is not only preferred, it is mandatory. You will need
to rectify the output from the transformer. You do not want
to use a bunch of lower voltage transformers to get your
high voltage. If you have 10 400 volt transformers that you
intend to put in series to get 4000 volts, please forget about
it before you kill yourself or burn the house down. The
insulation in a 400 volt transformer is not likely to stand up to
4000 volts.


Yes i meant transformer lol sorry was late my time and they so similar
(in a
twisted spelling sense) And i meant several caps

Thanks a bunch though.

Duster
ehsjr@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:3F2DC5E2.E284C5AD@bellatlantic.net...


Duster wrote:

Hello everyone, I need (well ok, would like) to know where I could
obtain
high voltage capacitors. And yes I will be more specfic

Prefferably int he 2-4 kV range (its for a project so EXACT voltage
doesnt
matter too much). And a MicroFarad rating of 5+...

String a bunch of identical capacitors in series - the voltage
ratings add. Let's say you have ten 100 ufd 400 volt caps.
When you string them in series, multiply the voltage rating by
ten and divide the capacitance rating by ten. This gives you the
equivalent of a 4000 volt, 10 ufd capacitor. When putting them
in series this way, put a 100K 2 watt bleeder resistor across each
one. This equalizes the voltage across them, and discharges them
when power is off. If you can use higher capacitance, Allelectronics
sells 330 UF 400 VOLT SNAP-IN CAPACITOR CAT# EC-3341 for $2.00
each. Ten in series would give you a 4000 v, 33 uf cap equivalent.
Run it at no more than 3000 volts to give a good safety margin.


Also, um.. anything under $500 would be ideal... I dont exactly have
a
goverment funded budget...

Well, the above is 20 bucks... so you have room in your budget
to string 20 of them in series at 40 bucks, giving you the
equivalent on an 8000 volt, 16.5 ufd cap. DON'T forget the
bleeder resistors, in any event.


And, transformers... A sorce would be nice for transformers that can
charge
my caps (DC) with 300-500

Do you intend to charge a 4000 v capacitor with 300-500 volts??
I'm missing something here.


(I have several and thus would need several
transistors of course).

You have several what? And the second part of the above
sentence refers to transistors - did you mean transformers??

And another for these high voltage caps...

And for curious readers, these will be used in several projects but
the
first being a high powered coil gun and perhaps a rail gun in the
future. (I
know rail guns have been done to death it seems, which is why id
like to
make a coil gun that can match some of the better amatur rail guns
out
there.)

And lastly, anyone with any knowledge of caps, transistors, rail
guns,
coil
gun, or other electromagnetic devices can (and i encourage lol)
email
me.

Duster