Ultra / Supercapacitors - Recommendations

[ramonegumpert]

Dear Experts

I am trying to buy some supercapacitors but not sure which is more reliable or good value.

Could you kindly recommend a brand or supplier or company for this?

Thanks for reading.

Best regards
Ramone

 

[ramonegumpert]

supercapacitor size and ratings vs power

Dear Experts

My understanding is Farads is a measure of the Capacitor or power of a capacitor.

I have seen a supercapacitors rated at about 70Farads that are of dimension : 18mm x 45mm
and the same rated capacitors much larger like the size of a coke can.

So, are they the same in terms of power capacity and
is it because of the way the materials in the capacitor are arranged?

Thanks.

regards
Ramone

 

[Windadct]

I have not seen too many real products using super-caps, mostly for one-off and novelty builds and experiments. So for typical quality info - no much to go on. I know they can be bought though sparkfun.

 

[chemnut220]

This still does not answer your question, and I am by far not an expert, but I just ordered 15 of these: 1182-1011-ND
from digikey. I have only used them for some bench testing and I won't have results for a few weeks/months from the intended project. From my reading though, the above referenced company is really active in producing supercaps and related products.

 

[OmCheeto]

I have not seen too many real products using super-caps, mostly for one-off and novelty builds and experiments. So for typical quality info - no much to go on. I know they can be bought though sparkfun.

bolding mine

hmmm... Is this all Chinese propaganda then?

http://www.maxwell.com/products/ultracapacitors/industries/transportation

Every day, in nearly 5,000 buses from China to Italy, Maxwell ultracapacitors are enabling hybrid and all-electric drive vehicles to save fuel and reduce emissions.

---------------------------
I should mention that I have invested heavily in MXWL, and therefore have an invested interest, in the interest of people in über-capacitors.

 

[AlephZero]

Every day, in nearly 5,000 buses from China to Italy, Maxwell ultracapacitors are enabling hybrid and all-electric drive vehicles to save fuel and reduce emissions.

hmmm... Is this all Chinese propaganda then?

I don't know, but considering London Transport operates a fleet of 7500 buses just for one city, 5000 worldwide isn't much of a market share.

The total UK bus fleet is 42,000 buses plus 11,000 coaches and minibuses, according to https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa.../file/11854/annual-bus-statistics-2011-12.pdf

 

[OmCheeto]

I don't know, but considering London Transport operates a fleet of 7500 buses just for one city, 5000 worldwide isn't much of a market share.

I would do the maths, on how much energy/money the London Transport could save/waste each year by utilizing ultracapacitor driven busses, but I have to go shopping.

---------------------------
It's Small Business Saturday!

 

[berkeman]

Dear Experts

My understanding is Farads is a measure of the Capacitor or power of a capacitor.

I have seen a supercapacitors rated at about 70Farads that are of dimension : 18mm x 45mm
and the same rated capacitors much larger like the size of a coke can.

So, are they the same in terms of power capacity and
is it because of the way the materials in the capacitor are arranged?

Thanks.

regards
Ramone

In addition to capacitance, check the ripple current and maximum charge/discharge rates for the different construction capacitors. IIRC, simple supercaps have very limited discharge current capability (good for battery backup of low power circuits, but not for high current drain applications).

 

[Windadct]

My point being that they still are not too mainstream - reliability and value judgments come from experience with the items. The challenge of these is the density - the OP does not say how they are using them, what criteria are important - etc. As for reliability - caps are measured on the scale of 10Ks to 100K+hours and at elevated temperatures - and then statistically, meaning over large numbers. Not to disparage the PF - but if you are asking the question here it is a general inquiry- so just buy some and use them - if they fail it is more likely user error than the product.
As for the Buses - only Hybrid Buses would benefit so a small percentage of the total - yet only someone familiar with that project could speak to the value - the larger metro markets love to step up to try the latest technologies for political reasons, not to mention the manufacturers practically give the technology away to get the first big application. I would not call it "Chinese" - but it is just corporate propaganda - a statement like this from Maxwell says nothing about quality or reliability. If you have to go to the OEM for endorsement - then you are not looking in the right arena.
For larger power applications - you are looking at 300V + so you need these in series, thus dividing the capacitance - for that I have not seen a practical application - and I interact with about 200 companies annually in power electronics.

 

[OmCheeto]

Dear Experts

My understanding is Farads is a measure of the Capacitor or power of a capacitor.

I have seen a supercapacitors rated at about 70Farads that are of dimension : 18mm x 45mm
and the same rated capacitors much larger like the size of a coke can.

So, are they the same in terms of power capacity and
is it because of the way the materials in the capacitor are arranged?

Thanks.

regards
Ramone

screeeetch... back up, rewind..

So you don't know how capacitors work, but you want to buy supercapacitors?

What are you planning on making?