Taking apart a capacitor
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Barrymagrec
pfm Member
Even more fun when you see a much larger one take itself apart up the wall behind the TV it had been in.....
Yes, I had one take itself apart in an old computer PSU at about 2am. The thing was turned off but clearly still had power applied. There was an almighty bang that woke me up, I went to see what had happened and there was a vile stench in the living room. I turned everything off and cursed my taste for old audio gear, thinking reasonably enough that some bit of ancient amplifer had packed up. Wrong. it was the 1 year old computer PSU, which was now full of exploded tinfoil and white powder.
Darth Vader
From the Dark Side
You haven't seen one of my home made very high voltage oil filled capacitors go up in flames many moons ago!
These were built from thin copper foil rolled around thin plastic sheet stuffed into a piece of plastic pipe and filled with oil. They were gradually tested up to around 6KV or so in an area covered in sand before being put to use in my Tesla coil. After several successful Tesla demos that capacitor over heated resulting in spreading flames and thick black smoke and a large mess. Good job it was contained by the sand.
Cheers,
DV
MJS
Technical Tinkerer
I will never forget the smell of exploding tantalum capacitors.
I've also seen a Hicap go up in flames from capacitors mounted incorrectly. True story (which I've mentioned here in the past): The wiring team at Naim used to use the vent caps to orientate the caps in assembly. One day the manufacturer changes their orientation and they're all wired up wrong. I, personally, use those little + and - symbols but no, the wiring team always want to use the vent caps. So someone colours them in with a pen and paints new ones in the 'old' position from then on.
I've also seen a Hicap go up in flames from capacitors mounted incorrectly. True story (which I've mentioned here in the past): The wiring team at Naim used to use the vent caps to orientate the caps in assembly. One day the manufacturer changes their orientation and they're all wired up wrong. I, personally, use those little + and - symbols but no, the wiring team always want to use the vent caps. So someone colours them in with a pen and paints new ones in the 'old' position from then on.
That would be the epoxy encapsulant - a weird sort of fishy smell.
The cap' itself would have not smelt but burnt ferociously - tantalum is one of the options for the tips of amour-piercing shells - when the shell hits anything solid the kinetic energy being turned into heat is enough to ignite the tantalum and once lit, it makes aluminium look like a damp squib. If the shell hits a tank or suchlike, the occupants suffocate as all of the oxygen is used-up by the burning tantalum.
Yes, umpteen tens of volts too many across a cap' with a paper electrolyte makes very nice micro-confetti - a small snow-storm. One hell of a pop as well. All very tame by DV's standards though.