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Jules Richardson
27.01.2012 - 20:44

Tossing a charged Capacitor in the Bathtub

On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:56:12 -0800, DerbyDad03 wrote:
We
grabbed another dead man stick and still got quite a bang out the cap
since it didn't completely discharge before blowing up the other dead
man stick.

Effect of dielectric absorption, possibly? You short it briefly, it
discharges, but then a small portion of the original charge level appears
to come back moments later...

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_absorption)

cheers

Jules

DerbyDad03
27.01.2012 - 22:33
On Jan 27, 2:440pm, Jules Richardson
<jules.richardsonnews...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:56:12 -0800, DerbyDad03 wrote:
> 0We
> grabbed another dead man stick and still got quite a bang out the cap
> since it didn't completely discharge before blowing up the other dead
> man stick.

Effect of dielectric absorption, possibly? You short it briefly, it
discharges, but then a small portion of the original charge level appears
to come back moments later...

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_absorption)

cheers

Jules

I am familiar with that phenomenon, although in this situation, I'm
pretty sure it was the result of a partial discharge before the
grounding rod exploded. Obviously I can't proof it, that's just my
guess, based on prior experience with these large caps.

As part of our bi-weekly transmitter maintenance, we would ground the
caps prior to removing the bus bars to get them out of the stand-by
transmitter. Before they were even lifted out of the transmitter, we
always put a shorting cable on them to stop them from charging back up
due to both dielectric absorption and the strength of the signal from
the on-air transmitter.

On the rare occasions that we forgot to do this (newbies!) or noticed
a bad ground connection, we would use a dead man stick to short them
before grabbing them. Even after a few hours, the discharge was
minimal and we might get a little bit of a pop. In the case of the
training demo, which was done in a rather neutral environment (the
mess hall, a 1/4 mile from the transmitter building and tower) the
resulting discharge was quire substantial, much higher than anything
we'd seen in "real life".




ChrisCoaster
27.01.2012 - 22:56
On Jan 27, 11:530am, j...@myplace.com wrote:
Most people know that dropping a cord or appliance that is plugged into
an outlet into a bathtub filled with water will electrocute the person
in the tub. 0Yet, you can drop a low voltage item such as a flashlight
with batteries in the tub and no one will be hurt. 0Even a set up jumpe=
r
cables connected to a car battery would not likely do anything, or might
just tingle a little (never tried this, but I've handled plenty battery
cables while standing on wet soil in wet shoes and never felt a thing).

Not that I'm planning to test this, but what would happen if a large
capacitor, charged with 200 volts or more was tossed into a filled
bathtub while someone was in the tub? 0(By large capacitor, I dont mean
the size, but rather, I mean a large capacity, such as 500 MF or one
Farad or more....).

I see no reason this would ever occur, but I'm just curious.

[NOTE: This could be DC or AC]. DC capacitors are used in electronics,
while the AC type are motor start capacitors.
____________________
Can you say HOT TUB TIME MACHINE?

D)


micky
27.01.2012 - 23:13
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:53:10 -0600, jw@myplace.com wrote:

Most people know that dropping a cord or appliance that is plugged into
an outlet into a bathtub filled with water will electrocute the person
in the tub. Yet, you can drop a low voltage item such as a flashlight
with batteries in the tub and no one will be hurt. Even a set up jumper
cables connected to a car battery would not likely do anything, or might
just tingle a little (never tried this, but I've handled plenty battery
cables while standing on wet soil in wet shoes and never felt a thing).

I don't think direct current tingles.

Not that I'm planning to test this, but what would happen if a large
capacitor, charged with 200 volts or more was tossed into a filled
bathtub while someone was in the tub? (By large capacitor, I dont mean
the size, but rather, I mean a large capacity, such as 500 MF or one
Farad or more....).

I see no reason this would ever occur, but I'm just curious.

[NOTE: This could be DC or AC]. DC capacitors are used in electronics,
while the AC type are motor start capacitors.

I call them polarized and non-polarized.



micky
27.01.2012 - 23:51
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:02:19 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
<cayoung61***spamblock@hotmail.com> wrote:

You could write a good murder mystery about this. Like most of the MacGuyver
episodes, the science would be worthless, but the story could be fun.

Miss Marple finds the murder weapon: a charged high voltage capacitor taken
carefully from the high voltage section of an old television and...... and
the murder was shocking.

IIRC and I do, the big and dangerous high voltage capacitor in a tv
set is the picture tube. It doesn't seem liike a practical weapon
if removed from the tv set.



micky
27.01.2012 - 23:53
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:03:23 -0800 (PST), Bob_Villa
<pheeh.zero@gmail.com> wrote:

On Jan 27, 10:53 am, j...@myplace.com wrote:


Not that I'm planning to test this, but what would happen if a large
capacitor, charged with 200 volts or more was tossed into a filled
bathtub while someone was in the tub?  (By large capacitor, I dont mean
the size, but rather, I mean a large capacity, such as 500 MF or one
Farad or more....).

I see no reason this would ever occur, but I'm just curious.



My assumption would be...there is no path to ground-so no one would
get electrocuted. I wouldn't try it though!

That's what I've been saying. Well, I said that if you throw a radio
or heater in the bathtub, the current will go through the drity soapy
water sononer than it will go thourhg the bathers body. What is
dangerous is catching the radio when your hand is out of the tub and
the only way to ground is through you.

I need volunteers to check this out. It pays 100 dollars per test, to
you or your heirs.

jw
28.01.2012 - 00:39
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:53:36 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com>
wrote:


My assumption would be...there is no path to ground-so no one would
get electrocuted. I wouldn't try it though!

That's what I've been saying. Well, I said that if you throw a radio
or heater in the bathtub, the current will go through the drity soapy
water sononer than it will go thourhg the bathers body. What is
dangerous is catching the radio when your hand is out of the tub and
the only way to ground is through you.

If you caught the radio before it hit the water, nothing would likely
happen, since it's all plastic. Unless it's one of those real old tube
sets with a metal cabinet and hot chassis.

Now this brings up another question. If the tub is plastic or
fiberglass, water supply is pex or pvc and drain pipes are pvc, the tub
is not grounded. I always wondered what would happen, since the person
inside is not really grounded. (I mean is an AC plugged in device hits
the water ????????


I need volunteers to check this out. It pays 100 dollars per test, to
you or your heirs.

Careful, there might be somneone stupid enough on here to try :)
Some other newsgroups there are definately stupid enough people... lol


jw
28.01.2012 - 00:43
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:19:16 -0600, "Doug" <noemailaddress@msn.com>
wrote:



Like to live on the edge do you <grin> ??? I'd like to ask you next
to test gravity by jumping off your roof but I won't. I think I
already know the answer.

I already know that answer. Last year I stepped off the roof onto an
aluminum ladder and the ladder buckled and I went with it. The doctor
in the ER said I was lucky to land on my ass. Nothing was broke but I
sure had a sore ass for awhile, along with the middle of my back that
first hit a lawn chair. The chair did not survive, it was crushed.

I'll never own another aluminum ladder!!!!



Bob_Villa
28.01.2012 - 00:44
On Jan 27, 11:110am, Evan <evan.news.re...@earthlink.net> wrote:
On Jan 27, 11:530am, j...@myplace.com wrote:









> Most people know that dropping a cord or appliance that is plugged into
> an outlet into a bathtub filled with water will electrocute the person
> in the tub. 0Yet, you can drop a low voltage item such as a flashligh=
t
> with batteries in the tub and no one will be hurt. 0Even a set up jum=
per
> cables connected to a car battery would not likely do anything, or migh=
t
> just tingle a little (never tried this, but I've handled plenty battery
> cables while standing on wet soil in wet shoes and never felt a thing).

> Not that I'm planning to test this, but what would happen if a large
> capacitor, charged with 200 volts or more was tossed into a filled
> bathtub while someone was in the tub? 0(By large capacitor, I dont me=
an
> the size, but rather, I mean a large capacity, such as 500 MF or one
> Farad or more....).

> I see no reason this would ever occur, but I'm just curious.

> [NOTE: This could be DC or AC]. DC capacitors are used in electronics,
> while the AC type are motor start capacitors.

Maybe, just maybe, if it was a *flux capacitor* you would
be transported back in time before you asked such a silly
question...

~~ Evan

Maybe the Mormon will try it and will lose him forever! *L*

jw
28.01.2012 - 00:48
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:56:12 -0800 (PST), DerbyDad03
<teamarrows@eznet.net> wrote:

On Jan 27, 11:53 am, j...@myplace.com wrote:
Most people know that dropping a cord or appliance that is plugged into
an outlet into a bathtub filled with water will electrocute the person
in the tub.  Yet, you can drop a low voltage item such as a flashlight
with batteries in the tub and no one will be hurt.  Even a set up jumper
cables connected to a car battery would not likely do anything, or might
just tingle a little (never tried this, but I've handled plenty battery
cables while standing on wet soil in wet shoes and never felt a thing).

Not that I'm planning to test this, but what would happen if a large
capacitor, charged with 200 volts or more was tossed into a filled
bathtub while someone was in the tub?  (By large capacitor, I dont mean
the size, but rather, I mean a large capacity, such as 500 MF or one
Farad or more....).

I see no reason this would ever occur, but I'm just curious.

[NOTE: This could be DC or AC]. DC capacitors are used in electronics,
while the AC type are motor start capacitors.

I don't know what will happen when you toss it in the water, but I
know what will happen when a dead man stick is used to short the
terminals of a large cap charged up to 7 or 8 KV DC.

A dead man stick is a device with a wooden handle with a hooked rod
threaded into the handle and a braided strap with a clip on the end.
It was used to both ground towers and other electrical equipment or to
pull an energized human from said equipment.

At a minimum, shoting out the cap will cause a bang and a spark that
is sure to strike fear into the hearts of most mortal men. In some
cases, it will blow 4 inches of threaded rod out of the hardwood
handle.

We used to do it quite often when I was in the Coast Guard as training/
warning exercise.

We had large oil filled caps (5F) that ran at 15 - 20 KV DC in the
LORAN transmitter buildings. We didn't want non-Transmitter Techs in
the building without one of us present. As new men would arrive at the
station, part of the orientation meeting included a demo where we
would use a Hi-Pot to charge up a cap to at least 5KV DC, turn out the
lights and then short it out with a dead man stick. One time we went a
bit overboard with the Hi-Pot and I was left holding a smoking hard
wood handle while my buddy retrieved the metal rod from across the
room. We grabbed another dead man stick and still got quite a bang out
the cap since it didn't completely discharge before blowing up the
other dead man stick.

That one even scared me!

Damn, I never knew they even made caps that big. What was the actual
size of that thing? (roughly). Or is there a photo on the web?

That sounds like quite a charge to see (literally) lol..

JimT
28.01.2012 - 00:53
On 1/27/2012 1:15 PM, Tony Miklos wrote:
On 1/27/2012 12:00 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
AC caps don't contain any energy, when you take them out of the circuit.

That's just plain silly. The charge it has depends on where the sine
wave was at when it's taken out of the circuit.


I think Stupid Moron should test that theory in his bathtub.





DC cap would not contain enough energy to do much. And the power
would short
terminal to terminal, not terminal to ground.

Short answer (ha ha), is not much.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

<jw@myplace.com> wrote in message
news:qvk5i7l6v5islcdpufr80hlfco5i1g11jl@4ax.com...
Most people know that dropping a cord or appliance that is plugged into
an outlet into a bathtub filled with water will electrocute the person
in the tub. Yet, you can drop a low voltage item such as a flashlight
with batteries in the tub and no one will be hurt. Even a set up jumper
cables connected to a car battery would not likely do anything, or might
just tingle a little (never tried this, but I've handled plenty battery
cables while standing on wet soil in wet shoes and never felt a thing).

Not that I'm planning to test this, but what would happen if a large
capacitor, charged with 200 volts or more was tossed into a filled
bathtub while someone was in the tub? (By large capacitor, I dont mean
the size, but rather, I mean a large capacity, such as 500 MF or one
Farad or more....).

I see no reason this would ever occur, but I'm just curious.

[NOTE: This could be DC or AC]. DC capacitors are used in electronics,
while the AC type are motor start capacitors.







jw
28.01.2012 - 00:54
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:25:25 -0500, Tony Miklos <Tony.Miklos@gmail.com>
wrote:

On 1/27/2012 11:53 AM, jw@myplace.com wrote:
Most people know that dropping a cord or appliance that is plugged into
an outlet into a bathtub filled with water will electrocute the person
in the tub. Yet, you can drop a low voltage item such as a flashlight
with batteries in the tub and no one will be hurt. Even a set up jumper
cables connected to a car battery would not likely do anything, or might
just tingle a little (never tried this, but I've handled plenty battery
cables while standing on wet soil in wet shoes and never felt a thing).

Not that I'm planning to test this, but what would happen if a large
capacitor, charged with 200 volts or more was tossed into a filled
bathtub while someone was in the tub? (By large capacitor, I dont mean
the size, but rather, I mean a large capacity, such as 500 MF or one
Farad or more....).

Well there is one hell of a difference between 500mf and 1 farad.
Although 1 Farad 5 volt caps have become quite small, one rated at 200
volts might bludgeon them to death if it hits them in the head, charged
or not.


I see no reason this would ever occur, but I'm just curious.

[NOTE: This could be DC or AC]. DC capacitors are used in electronics,
while the AC type are motor start capacitors.

Lots of AC rated caps are used in electronics.

I can only think of two uses.

1. Speaker filter caps (in crossovers)
2. Line caps which are usually very small, such as .05mf. They go across
the power line for voltage surges and spikes.

What are the other uses?


Larry Fishel
28.01.2012 - 00:56
On Jan 27, 12:320pm, "Ralph Mowery" <rmowery28...@earthlink.net>
wrote:

Ever seen anyone shocked with the deliberator ?

I've never seen a deliberator cause much damage. :)

But a defibrillator works largely because the paddles/electrodes are
placed on opposite sides of the heart. Tough to do with the average
cap without attaching some cables, in which case it would probably
work better out of the tub...


Jules Richardson
28.01.2012 - 00:57
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:51:48 -0500, micky wrote:
IIRC and I do, the big and dangerous high voltage capacitor in a tv set
is the picture tube. It doesn't seem liike a practical weapon if
removed from the tv set.

Hurts quite a bit if it discharges through your hand, though.

"Twayne"
28.01.2012 - 01:03
In news:j4e6i7drljacbgp50e5tlagmqcsilsstlu@4ax.com,
jw@myplace.com <jw@myplace.com> typed:
On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:25:25 -0500, Tony Miklos
<Tony.Miklos@gmail.com> wrote:

On 1/27/2012 11:53 AM, jw@myplace.com wrote:
Most people know that dropping a cord or appliance that
is plugged into an outlet into a bathtub filled with
water will electrocute the person in the tub. Yet, you
can drop a low voltage item such as a flashlight with
batteries in the tub and no one will be hurt. Even a
set up jumper cables connected to a car battery would
not likely do anything, or might just tingle a little
(never tried this, but I've handled plenty battery
cables while standing on wet soil in wet shoes and
never felt a thing).

Not that I'm planning to test this, but what would
happen if a large capacitor, charged with 200 volts or
more was tossed into a filled bathtub while someone was
in the tub? (By large capacitor, I dont mean the size,
but rather, I mean a large capacity, such as 500 MF or
one Farad or more....).

Well there is one hell of a difference between 500mf and
1 farad. Although 1 Farad 5 volt caps have become quite
small, one rated at 200 volts might bludgeon them to
death if it hits them in the head, charged or not.


I see no reason this would ever occur, but I'm just
curious.

[NOTE: This could be DC or AC]. DC capacitors are used
in electronics, while the AC type are motor start
capacitors.

Lots of AC rated caps are used in electronics.

I can only think of two uses.

1. Speaker filter caps (in crossovers)
2. Line caps which are usually very small, such as .05mf.
They go across the power line for voltage surges and
spikes.

What are the other uses?

If you're into analog engineering designs, there are enough to write entire
books on them. Suggest you go research them; not worth trying to make up a
list.

HTH,

Twayne`





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