Capacitor Comparisons: Quality Control, Testing, and Brand Names

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the differences in capacitors, focusing on aspects such as quality control, testing, specifications (including low ESR), brand comparisons, and the cost-effectiveness of purchasing capacitors with varying specifications and prices. The context includes a design project requiring specific performance characteristics from a capacitor.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the differences in capacitors, specifically regarding quality control, testing, specifications, brand names, and the value of purchasing a more expensive capacitor.
  • Another participant provides a link to a resource that offers comprehensive information on capacitors.
  • A participant questions whether the original poster is involved in car audio, suggesting a common context for capacitor use.
  • The original poster clarifies that they are not into car audio but are working on a design project that requires a capacitor with an actuation time of less than 1 second.
  • One participant mentions the need to evaluate the time constant (R*C) to understand the charging/discharging characteristics relevant to the project.
  • Another participant seeks clarification on what is meant by "actuation time," indicating that the importance of ESR and other specifications may vary based on the application.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants have not reached a consensus on the specific requirements for capacitors in different applications, and there are multiple viewpoints regarding the relevance of specifications like ESR based on the intended use.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the specific application of the capacitor and how various specifications impact performance in that context.

foahtein
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Can anyone tell me the difference in capacitors. Such as the quality control in producing it, the testings, the specs (low esr), brand names, and if its worth buying a 30 dollars 1.5 farad capacitor v.s. a 170 dollars 1 farad capacitor.

thanks
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/gadgets/caps/caps.html" , they got a complete info on capacitors.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Let me guess foahtein, you're into car audio right?
 
thanks for the information, and averagesupernova, I'm not into car audio. I know that majority of the people who purchase cap's are into car audio, but I'm doing a design project that need a cap to have an actuation time of less than 1 sec.
 
Well, if you need the capacitor to have a discharging/charging rate of 1 sec, you need to evaluate:

Time Constant = R*C = Time to reach 63% of final value
 
Hmmmm. Actuation time meaning what? More info please. Depending on what you are doing, the ESR and other things might not mean a darn thing.
 

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