Capacitors/capacitor banks-What are they used for?

[cd90caprice]

I have a general idea, they store electricity, I was hoping there were some smart folks here that could tell me what applications these would have outside industrial use. I'm cleaning up around the shop and was told to sell these. If I knew who might be after them I can post for sale in an appropriate place. Would like to avoid ebay if at all possible. I'll throw some pics up and would greatly appreciate any info some one has. Thanks.

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[cd90caprice]

Few more pics

 

[P7M13]

I could use those Mallory 6 Farad 300V capacitors on an induction melter.

 

[cd90caprice]

@P7M13, send me a PM, I have sixteen of them.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Few more pics

View attachment 1259292 View attachment 1259293 View attachment 1259294 View attachment 1259295 View attachment 1259296

@arakboss needs those for a problem he's been having at his cabin.

 

[gryghin]

When I was in the Navy, we used to charge some up with 9v batteries... then toss them to the person that kept asking questions when it was quitting time.

 

[mrblond]

making a gauss or railgun ?

 

[cd90caprice]

Just need to find the guy who wants to make one. I tried looking at maker forums but I couldn't find any that were very active, most hadn't had a post since 2021 sometime.

 

[Dr Prepper]

Dang I wish you were closer. I bet my buddy would want some, they would go great with his collectors plasma globe and programmable LED strip lights on his house & car.
You can probably use these for a quarter shrinkeras seen here: https://www.capturedlightning.com/frames/interesting1old.html

Tesla coil would be cool but not rated high enough voltage.
Car stereo guys might want the smaller ones for stiffening the bass notes. You can always over charge them and blow them up if nothing else. Big boomers. These probably have a safety vent to prevent that though.

I wonder if anyone has found a way to "turbo boost" their Tesla yet? Could be handy

 

[cd90caprice]

The one in the box surrounded by blue Styrofoam is rated at 88kv. My understanding is they were used on the AWACS plane, the box is sealed with Northrop-Grumman tape. A tesla coil was in the plans IIRC.
@Dr Prepper , you ever make it up around Sellwood they will be around, just let me know. Or I could always throw some in a flat rate box.
Quarter shrinking looks different, guessing someone got really bored at some point to figure out how to do that.

 

[Dr Prepper]

Its just a large gauge enamel coated solid copper wire made into a coil. (Coin size dia.) Then a couple dowels in the ends the center the coin and then take it all together.
Charge the cap and then short it out (maybe duck and cover first) and when it blows up it will induce enough magnetic fields in the coin to crush it inward.

Pretty simple really.

Check out the Z pinch "Z machine" @ Sandios National laboratory now that is an industrial use of capacitors!

 

[cd90caprice]

That does sound like it would be entertaining at the very least, could be a fun project to do with the boy when my wife isn't around. The z machine looks cool, and scary.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Its just a large gauge enamel coated solid copper wire made into a coil. (Coin size dia.) Then a couple dowels in the ends the center the coin and then take it all together.
Charge the cap and then short it out (maybe duck and cover first) and when it blows up it will induce enough magnetic fields in the coin to crush it inward.

Pretty simple really.

Check out the Z pinch "Z machine" @ Sandios National laboratory now that is an industrial use of capacitors!

View attachment 1265863

That's where they make stuff invisible.. that stuff is called money.



Lulz

 

[Dr Prepper]

That's where they make stuff invisible.. that stuff is called money.



Lulz

Yup that's why they are pushing teslas so hard so you can plug 'em up to the grid and every now and then that z machine will suck 'em dry then spike em with a massive overload and then roll in the factory warranty $$$.

(Idk I still want one!)

 

[Mikej]

When I was in the Navy, we used to charge some up with 9v batteries... then toss them to the person that kept asking questions when it was quitting time.

We did that at the Honda shop I worked at with the condensers for the points. The tester would charge it up and we'd toss it to subs or newbies in parts department. They never got me though.

 

[Flopsweat]

Dang I wish you were closer. I bet my buddy would want some, they would go great with his collectors plasma globe and programmable LED strip lights on his house & car.
You can probably use these for a quarter shrinkeras seen here: https://www.capturedlightning.com/frames/interesting1old.html

Tesla coil would be cool but not rated high enough voltage.
Car stereo guys might want the smaller ones for stiffening the bass notes. You can always over charge them and blow them up if nothing else. Big boomers. These probably have a safety vent to prevent that though.

I wonder if anyone has found a way to "turbo boost" their Tesla yet? Could be handy

Its just a large gauge enamel coated solid copper wire made into a coil. (Coin size dia.) Then a couple dowels in the ends the center the coin and then take it all together.
Charge the cap and then short it out (maybe duck and cover first) and when it blows up it will induce enough magnetic fields in the coin to crush it inward.

Pretty simple really.

Check out the Z pinch "Z machine" @ Sandios National laboratory now that is an industrial use of capacitors!

View attachment 1265863

Wrap some duct tape around them and they'll make pretty good bang when you overcharge them.

 

[Yarome]

I was hoping there were some smart folks here that could tell me what applications these would have outside industrial use.

They make excellent stun guns. Unwanted hair removal. Abdominal muscle tone conditioners. Home DIY ECT device....

 

[Flopsweat]

They make excellent stun guns. Unwanted hair removal. Abdominal muscle tone conditioners. Home DIY ECT device....

"Here, go plug this remote sensor in the wall outlet over there."

 

[monks]

I never seen the question answered so forgive me if it has been, but capacitors store potential, also known as volts. Unlike a battery they don't store current too. They're usually used in circuits to resist a change in voltage by loading and unloading as there are spikes and dips in the voltage. Combine it with a coil of wire in the circuit which resists a change in current by building and collapsing a magnetic field and you have a great filter for electrical circuits. At least that's what I remember from my apprenticeship twenty years ago, LOL. I work with big ones on a regular basis and know for certain that a capacitor can be quite dangerous if it's not shorted out. That is how they ship so that there isn't a static charge. Capacitors (condensers) from a car or motorcycle distributor can be quite fun for people to shock other people as mentioned. Bigger ones can kill you and are not a toy so be careful!

 

[Yarome]

Bigger ones can kill you and are not a toy so be careful!

But the bigger ones make the best home ECT devices.