How to Safely Discharge a Capacitor | Another Teaching Moment | DigiKey 

That's an understatement.

No! Hsssss!!!

His method is faster tho

I just came from one of his videos

But would he really use it???

That’s what I was going to say. So I checked comments to make sure it was already said. 🎖

😂

No, no, no! You throw the charged capacitor at someone while yelling, "Catch!" That will safely discharge any capacitor. Well, it will be safely discharged for you. Make sure you do not throw the capacitor at a big guy that can whip you like his making an omelet. I learned my lesson. The giant did not destroy me. But it took four huge guys to hold him down. My life was in severe danger that day.

@Andrew Hardy It is like Viagra® without the two hour wait!

thats actually the correct way to do it

Indrid Cold Yahahahahahahahahaha Ohhhhhhhhhh that's messed up.. Hahahahahahahahahaha Bzzzzzzzttt!

I tried this. It works. Im writing this from inside the police car. I’m going to jail.

@@PandaFPV Don't 4get to put one in your Chocolate Zone!

I did this to a guy far bigger than me once. It took four guys to hold that giant down. He was going to kill me for becoming the victim of my capacitor joke. He laughed about it a few days later. But he was not laughing the day I did it. I would have broke me like a twig. Definitely watch to whom you do this joke. The bigger they are, the harder they hit!

Hey bro you wanna help me discharge a capacitor, here catch

That's what I've been doing for years currently I'm doing something wrong 😂

You throw it at someone while yelling, "Catch!"

@@indridcold8433 I left one on my bosses desk once.

@@rodneysmart9774 I love doing that. I left a disguised capacitor on her desk once. I taped a flashlight end on the end of a 350 volt capacitor with black electrical tape. Who would not pick up a flashlight left on their desk? Later, I heard her scream out, "Damn it!" I knew my trap had been sprung. She never asked anything about it.

@@indridcold8433 you're naughty I like you.

Ah the early super caps!

Same. I was taking apart a Kodak when I was 8 and touched something and just remember a spark and a searing pain up my arm lmao. Definitely was more careful after that.

I once got zapped by a capacitor inside a strobe light by unplugging it, then quickly touching the cord end. It flashed once last time after unplugging

A friend of mine zapped me with one of those, they really make you dance like MJ xD

@@em0_tion dance like mj, now that's funny

I learned the hard way. When someone yells, "Catch," just let whatever is being thrown fall on the ground. Fishing lures, capacitors, used condoms, chewed gum, balloons with paint in them, zip lock bags full of urine, I have seen all manner of nasty things been thrown and someone catch it. I fell for the fishing lure, "Catch." It was very painful and hard to get out. It is not worth catching anything that someone throws to you and yells out, "Catch!" That being said, I used to throw charged capacitors all the time.

¡Catch! (ha-ha) The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded.

I don't work at a construction site, so I just use those little circuitry cables which get warm after several discharges (I don't know if it is because of the spark or the current), but I never had a problem. If you were to discharge capacitors at an industrial scale, a resistor might be worth the cost.

I don't work at a construction site, so I just use those little circuitry cables which get warm after several discharges (I don't know if it is because of the spark or the current), but I never had a problem. If you were to discharge capacitors at an industrial scale, a resistor might be worth the cost.

I wouldn't hook up the multimeter every time either.

I tried it with a 1meg ohm and it was very slow. I went to a 6800 ohm resistor and it went much faster.

Of course, motor is basically a resistor, but watch out for the specs of the motor

noname 999999 Same here! One would expect a company like Digital-Key to direct to a secure site.

Check out our Capacitor Safety Discharge Calculator for help with this. www.digikey.com/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-capacitor-safety-discharge

Hello, please use our capacitor discharge calculator to help you out. www.digikey.com/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-capacitor-safety-discharge

Very good advice! Even with low voltage capacitors can recharge enough to damage your multimeter, if you're reading capacitance.

I always leave my discharge lead connected, unless im working on a live circuit

I don't really understand the resistor thing, the only thing it does is spreading the heat out for longer period of time. Immediately discharging just saves time. Sorry Resistors :)

That's something

So you are saying use a screwdriver...

@@mykilpee I forget the video, it was many weeks ago, but no, don't use a screw driver on a pole top industrial capacitor 35 feet in the air. I recommend a load break tool, a hot stick, (specially built high voltage insulated 7 foot rod with specialty fittings I'm too lazy to explain this morning). A capacitor, in a television say, let it sit unugged for 15 minutes or so, and use a lead that is going to ground, and touch the ground, then one hot lead from the plug, the other, then both. The unplugging and leaving it should bring down the charge. You could leave it for a half an hour for added safety. I don't work with home appliances.

@@tomcondon6169 thanks! I honestly didn't think so, but with what it's called it sounds like a glorified screwdriver to withstand that much electricity. and on a side note, just thinking stupid things out loud that will 99% not work but I wonder with that much electricity can you cook things? Just asking so if possible you could enjoy a nice meal too next time.

@@mykilpee Not at all stupid. I was just discussing ancillary aspects of my profession. A load break tool goes on the end of a 7 foot +/- fiberglass rod, tested to ensure it will not conduct high voltage. Look at an aerial switch, or where a thick set of cables go up a pole from the ground. There are switches with rings attached. That's called a cut out. The load break tool connects to the ring, the lower moving switch, and the upper body. When you pull, a spring is pulled to tension, then suddenly releases, opening the circuit quickly, and containing the arc within a tube, until an insulating door cuts it off completely. It is a completely different operation F to m a low voltage, (relatively) electronics capacitor. I thought people might find it interesting.

@@mykilpee My ex foreman had an apprentice get hung up in high voltage. It killed him. He was more burned than cooked. I contacted high voltage through my finger, looked like a wart and didn't hurt. The dead skin that looked like a wart dissolved within 2 weeks, and there was a hole in my finger, I could look in and see the bone. There are many different functions in electricity. No doubt a cooking method could be conceived, but I can see several obstacles to it being useful. One favorite is induction stoves. I question the EMP, electromagnetic pulse radiation, that can disrupt the body, and cause mutation like cancer. I won't use it. Of course, in my profession, I was in proximity to great levels of EMPs, not ideal.

Like it shows in the video? Derp.

Mike DeBell good for you 🙂

@@erichighsmith7299 It was a learning experience. Don't do it by touching it.

I wonder if a space heater would be the ideal solution then... It would work on the same principal as an incandescent but a larger scale.

Yeah but being a bulb a non-ohmic load, it's typically more compact for the same level of power rating

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Good eye!

That's what I usually do, except that the wire gets warm after some time :/

There's always one of you.