Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #02181
To: beam@corp.sgi.com
From: davidperry@mail.geocities.com
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 09:25:23 +0000
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: capacitors exploding
i once blew up a transistor, i mean it blew up! i accidently bridged
a resistor when i was trying to make a bot out of flasher circuit.
The transistor actauly blew in half and had a little fireball, of
course the sharpnel hit me, but being as small as transistors are,
all i managed was a little "shit!" just a warning, i only hooked the
circuit to a 9v battery which it was designd for.
David Perry
> Date: Thu, 8 Apr 1999 00:58:46 -0700 (PDT)
> To: beam@corp.sgi.com
> From: Jacob Booth
> Subject: Re: capacitors exploding
> Reply-to: Jacob Booth
> >Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 18:01:55
> >To: Benjamin Edward Hitchcock
> >From: Jacob Booth
> >Subject: Re: capacitors exploding
> >
> >At 07:43 8/04/99 +1000, you wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>Reading about how capacitors explode reminded me of something I saw at
> >>work a couple of months ago.
> >>
> >>We get all manner of devices in to our workshop to be repaired, and we
> >>have all manner of people repairing the said devices.
> >>
> >>Well, this was the worst combination - a tricky job, carried out by our
> >>least talented tradesman. Anyway, to cut a long story short, he hooked up
> >>a 200 uF, 400V cap backwards onto a 300 volt DC supply.
> >>
> >>He was very glad that he wasn't standing directly over it when he switched
> >>the power on - he only received a spattering of electrolyte. But the roof
> >>of our workshop wasn't so lucky. There were bits of yellow paper and tin
> >>foil all over the place, and some of it was embedded in the roof. And,
> >>there was the loudest bang I have heard for a long time.
> >>
> >
> >I was building a large audio amplifier, and one of the HUGE electros was
> put in the wrong way across the 50v rail. (HUGE meaning one in a can that
> has a bracket attached to the chassis). Power up, and I saw it bulge. Scared
> the life out of me when it blew out a tiny hole, then sprayed a huge cloud
> of electrolyte into the room. Fastest dive and cord pull I have ever
> performed. At least I only needed to replace the elctro, not an eyeball or
> half a face.
> >
> >As an aside, caps do not need to be huge or of a large value to be
> 'interesting performers'... A power isolation cap 'pop remover' (mains rated
> 'self healing' type) in the same amp failed. These are supposed to 'heal' if
> a short occurs internally (that is one of the reasons thay are mains rated).
> This one didn't, and sent out the same amount of electro as the big
> electrolytic, as well as crack open with a fair bit of force.
> >
> >Need I say that final testing was done with me at the wall switch quite a
> distance away :)
> >
> >Oh, and the amp is still working with no problems after five years now!
> >
> > Regards,
> > Jaocb
> >
> -----------------------------
> j.booth@mackillop.acu.edu.au
>
>
____________________________________________
I'm sure David sinceraly apologises if he
insulted anyone, it won't happen again.
____________________________________________
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