IF YOU DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT ELECTRONICS, PLEASE READ: All capacitors discharge instantly when no resistance is applied. on high voltage capacitors, this will cause a large spark. With these types of caps, instant discharge (if done with no insulated gloves and an all metal screwdriver) will cause injury and potentially kill you. Additionally, the capacitor's dielectric (Which allows more electrons to be stuffed into the plates by reducing their repelling force on the opposite plate) can break down under quick changes in charge. You can imagine this like adding a heavy load to a piece of wood. if you add it slowly, the wood does not need to resist any kinetic energy from the weight being dropped. however, if you drop the weight onto the wood, it will need to bend to absorb the energy from the falling weight. this can easily break the piece of wood. So in order to reduce the risk of damaging the capacitor (and to some extent, yourself), you should get yourself a 2k Ohm resistor rated for 10 watts. this will reduce the current to ~ 1 amp, which will prevent damage to the dielectric. Also, you don't need to worry about which way the resistor is facing. like many electronic components, polarity doesn't matter with a resistor.
Now, the 2k Ohm resistor you're talking about should be in the same room or anywhere near the capacitor or just by purchasing it the risk of getting fried is automatically reduced?
If the capacitor already has a resistor to ground are we safe to use the method in the video? I have discharged some of these capacitors in the past however they've always had resistors to ground and I've left the microwaves sitting for months without plugging them in before I mess around with them.
Thank you 👍 Where do you connect the two points of the resistor? and what sort of gloves is recommended? Ones like those regular marigold rubber sort?...
@@martinp.2753 Sorry, allow me to clarify. The resistor is to protect the capacitor, not you. to protect yourself you should use insulated gloves, and pliers with insulated handles.
This is a prime example of why the dislike counter should not have been removed. If somebody dies or is seriously injured as a result of using this method then RU-vid should be liable.
Please don't discharge capacitors this way. If it's charged at high voltage you will get a nasty spark. Look up other videos that show how to discharge capacitors properly using a resistor.
@Herus doesn't that depend on the voltage that the capacitor is charged to? I don't know what would happen if you discharged a 2200v capacitor with a 230v light bulb, but I'm pretty sure it's something I'd like to see! 😆
@Herus to be fair you could just put a bunch of bulbs in series to raise the resistance, but if it's me, I'm shorting it with a tool. The sparks are only a fire hazard if there's something highly flammable right next to it, and the loud bang makes me smile 😁
@@thecrazyfarmboy he won’t be sending us the video after that since he either in the hospital scratching his head….what to do what to do! A video showing us NOT to do!
Since you seem to know about microwaves, I want to turn an old microwave into a turn table. If I disconnect the magnerton and the fan, will that work? (worried about the capacitor. Should I leave that connected?)
I want to turn an old microwave into a turn table. If I disconnect the magnerton and the fan, will that work? (worried about the capacitor. Should I leave that connected?)
@@johncrow5552 you shouldn't mess with microwaves if you don't know what you are doing, one wrong move and you die in literal milliseconds, even disconnected if that wasn't obvious
Always.....Always best to use a bleeder resistor, afterwards use a volt meter to check if capacitor is Fully discharged. Safety first.....and the reason is called safety first, you might not have a second chance!
Having messed with capacitors in aircraft before I was expecting a spark. I'mm assuming that's what that resistor to ground is doing to help take some of the ompf out of it before hand. As another would say I'd recommend gloves as well preferable thick insulated ones but I've also been shocked a few times and us an experience I don't like to repeat when I'm in control of it.
Please, in all due honor to the intent of this video, but: DO NOT discharge a high voltage/amp capacitor this way. If it is charged fully, you can get zapped pretty badly, even if you wear insulation. 2 Kilovolt is no joke. But: These things (as shown in the video) can have an internal resistor, so they recharge by themself for EXACTLY this reason. It takes time though, so if you can find ceramic resistors on the board you take these from, better use that one, with enough insulation, or just leave your fingers off them.
The annoying thing about this video, aside from the safety aspect, was his lack of understand of shorting out capacitor. He was talking about holding the pliers for a few seconds to make sure it is properly discharged....NO...that is an immediate discharge which makes it dangerous. So whether you hold it for a split second or 30 seconds it is the same thing. Holding it for a few seconds would apply if you had a resistor attached to it to make it slowly and safely discharge.
and I'll third this. There is also the fact that doing this with a fully charged cap can very easily damage the cap. These caps have built in resistors to self discharge whenever power is removed but that resistor can fail, doing what he did in this video with a fully charged cap will not be an enjoyable event.
the annoying thing is that he didnt actually discharge it it this video, it obviously had no charge because there would have been tons of sparks for a > 2kv mircowave capacitor
He's totally right about the need to discharge caps before maintenance but this is not the way you want to go about doing it, you need a resistor to bridge between the terminals to slowly and safely discharge the cap, shorting them out directly with a metal tool can damage the capacitor or damage you, those caps can hold a 2KV charge capable of dropping you on your ass, dead. Get a 2k Ohm 10 Watt resistor or something similar to do it safely.
@laurel1966 It is pretty straightforward, you just bridge the positive and negative terminals on the capacitor with the resistor. Leave the resistor connected for a minute or so and voila! Discharged capacitor. Do make sure to attach a foot or two long lead with an alligator clip to one side of the resistor and an insulated probe tip on the other so you aren't trying to stick a bare resistor in there with your fingers, you just clamp the alligator clip onto one terminal then use the probe to touch the other terminal, it's much safer that way.
This should be labeled "how not to discharge a capacitor!" Whenever you short out capacitors like this, especially high voltage ones you break down the dielectric material. If you keep doing this, one day when you plug on that microwave you'll get some fireworks! There is to much material on the subject to make a video like this, take 2 would be a good start!
metratone5 if the voltage of the capacitor exceeds the maximum dc voltage your multimeter can handle (which it most likely will), then you shouldn’t test with the multimeter
OMG I was looking for a video with an oscilloscope and recommendation for what RESISTOR to use... not some pliers and a darwin award candidate video D: thanks a lot to the ones upvoting the comments warning about this
DONT do this . This capacitor was fully discharged before hand . If it was charged there would have been a huge spark or even fire . You could end up being french fried .
I want to turn an old microwave into a turn table. If I disconnect the magnerton and the fan, will that work? (worried about the capacitor. Should I leave that connected?)
RU-vid does it to purposefully kill people because they need more building space for other companies that give them money. Operation Barbarossa never ended, it's just starting
If I open a microwave and stay away from the capacitor, it should be fine, right ? I'm scared to discharge the capacitor since people say there's a chance of loud bang or sparks and I'm not really keen on that. I just want some parts out of it, I already got the magnet from inside without discharging the stupid capacitor anyway.
This is too risky method of discharge, I was once got burned by camera flash capacitor while attempting to discharge it. So when it comes to handling capacitors, I have to think twice, SAFETY SAFETY FIRST.
discharge? i connect two connectors witw pliers and is done as here! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Wh5sxdyO8GI.html have a nice day brother
Terrifying!!! Lucky it has already discharged previous to making that video. DO NOT DO THIS! Hiring a professional is much cheaper than what your loved ones will pay for your funeral.
