Will this cap work for my car???

zingo

Well put Exalted. I know that it's not everyones cup of tea, but a diesel truck will end most of your power needs. My Super Duty comes stock with a 120 amp alternator and dual, huge batteries that sit at 12.5 volts resting and 14.5 volts while the engine is running. It's just to bad that I am only running speakers in it and no longer really care about care audio. I could power just about anything...

[Deleted User]

exalted512 wrote: »

But how can that be seen as a load? All it does is store energy.

Look at it this way...a glass stores water, but the water has to come from somewhere. If you drink the water it has to be replenished. So, once a cap is discharged it needs energy to recharge...there's your load.

exalted512

Josh wrote: »

Look at it this way...a glass stores water, but the water has to come from somewhere. If you drink the water it has to be replenished. So, once a cap is discharged it needs energy to recharge...there's your load.

This is where this and MacLeods analogies fall short, theres always something going into the glass if theyre not at the same potential, not because the cap is drawing current, but because the thing that is connected to the cap is using the power.

Its not going to draw anymore current than it already would if there was no cap in place. It actually helps the alternator (when used properly) because its not pulling big spikes at one time, its drawing from the capacitor all the while the battery is still being a 'cushion' between the two.
-Cody

MacLeod

exalted512 wrote: »

This is where this and MacLeods analogies fall short, theres always something going into the glass if theyre not at the same potential, not because the cap is drawing current, but because the thing that is connected to the cap is using the power.

Its not going to draw anymore current than it already would if there was no cap in place. It actually helps the alternator (when used properly) because its not pulling big spikes at one time, its drawing from the capacitor all the while the battery is still being a 'cushion' between the two.
-Cody

It will draw more current albeit not very much. My main contention is that a cap will add resistance to the line as well as an extra current draw.

exalted512

I'm surprised Thomas hasnt popped up yet
-Cody

PoweredByDodge

thomas might have died.

Aimen RG

Capacitor is a LOAD when being charged only, Agreed

but when does the cap charge itself?
after the amp asks more power from the alternator/battery, that is when the cap jumps in and provides the power, acts as a source here

later the cap itslef asks for power to get the lost power back, now it is acting as a load.

i hope every one agrees till here?

NOW
if we look as it from a differant angle, the cap was forced to discharge when the amplifier asked for power, the power YOUR alt/battery could not provide, the power the amp needed to perform properly. by not using a cap, u r actually handycaping your amplifier, u r forcing it to use less power, at the expense of performce of a half a second.

so when a cap acts a load, it actually acts on behalf of the amplifier.
so if ur amp needs only a lil power here and thr, having a cap to smoothen it out wont hurt anyone. the cap will not act as load by itself.

PoweredByDodge

power density of a capacitor (1 to 5 farads in size) is pitifully small given a 13.8 V to 14.4 V charge.

none the less, the instantaneous draw or delivery is grossly huge.

given the charge/discharge efficiency of most capacitors, the degree of suffrage put upon the charging system subsequent to discharge is roughly 35% greater than the power delivered to the amplifiers in time of need.

no matter how you look at it, a cap is a parasite. albeit a needed one. i say again, caps are essential with modern amplifiers of significant size, given switching power supplies.

that being said, they are by no means a substitute or even a band-aid for an inadequate charging / power storage system.