Mikorsa16v
Member
Registered: 2nd Sep 02
Location: Burgess Hill, West Sussex
User status: Offline
|
On my last install, i foolishly had the system up too loud for too long, and thus the battery went flat on the next start (some time with the cd on and ignition off er hmm, wont be doing that again lol)
well anyway, on my new install, i wish to protect the battery a bit more, as i will be building a 300watt RMS setup with mono sub and amp. What sort of power cap is needed, 1.0 farad - what the hell does that rating mean anyway! lol
Will this protect the battery a bit more, as obviously if the amp peaks to its MAX watt then it helps with surges etc.
|
Mikorsa16v
Member
Registered: 2nd Sep 02
Location: Burgess Hill, West Sussex
User status: Offline
|
How Capacitors Work
by Marshall Brain
› Introduction to How Capacitors Work
› The Basics
› Farads
› Applications
› Lots More Information
› Shop or Compare Prices
Farads
The unit of capacitance is a farad. A 1-farad capacitor can store one coulomb (coo-lomb) of charge at 1 volt. A coulomb is 6.25e18 (6.25 * 10^18, or 6.25 billion billion) electrons. One amp represents a rate of electron flow of 1 coulomb of electrons per second, so a 1-farad capacitor can hold 1 amp-second of electrons at 1 volt.
A 1-farad capacitor would typically be pretty big. It might be as big as a can of tuna or a 1-liter soda bottle, depending on the voltage it can handle. So you typically see capacitors measured in microfarads (millionths of a farad).
To get some perspective on how big a farad is, think about this:
A typical alkaline AA battery holds about 2.8 amp-hours.
That means that a AA battery can produce 2.8 amps for an hour at 1.5 volts (about 4.2 watt-hours -- a AA battery can light a 4-watt bulb for a little more than an hour).
Let's call it 1 volt to make the math easier. To store one AA battery's energy in a capacitor, you would need 3,600 * 2.8 = 10,080 farads to hold it, because an amp-hour is 3,600 amp-seconds.
-bit of info on the farad measurment for anyone insterested
|
AdiSRI
Member
Registered: 1st May 02
Location: Berkshire
User status: Offline
|
A cap wont make any difference to the drain on the battery at all, it can just help supply juice when needed to lessen dimmage problems.
|
cdcool1
Member
Registered: 9th Jun 02
Location: Scunny
User status: Offline
|
quote: Originally posted by AdiSRI
A cap wont make any difference to the drain on the battery at all, it can just help supply juice when needed to lessen dimmage problems.
but then adds to the dimming when its charging back up and there is another bass note at the same time
|
Mikorsa16v
Member
Registered: 2nd Sep 02
Location: Burgess Hill, West Sussex
User status: Offline
|
So, conclusion: are these good or not!?!?!?
|
cdcool1
Member
Registered: 9th Jun 02
Location: Scunny
User status: Offline
|
They will only help if you already have a good power supply system mate, otherwise you will probably find that they are more of a strain on your system
|
AdiSRI
Member
Registered: 1st May 02
Location: Berkshire
User status: Offline
|
quote: Originally posted by cdcool1
quote: Originally posted by AdiSRI
A cap wont make any difference to the drain on the battery at all, it can just help supply juice when needed to lessen dimmage problems.
but then adds to the dimming when its charging back up and there is another bass note at the same time
Which is why i said 'can' help....
|
Trucido
Member
Registered: 14th Jun 03
Location: Bristol
User status: Offline
|
look at getting a uprated battery and alternator first
|
cdcool1
Member
Registered: 9th Jun 02
Location: Scunny
User status: Offline
|
quote: Originally posted by AdiSRI
quote: Originally posted by cdcool1
quote: Originally posted by AdiSRI
A cap wont make any difference to the drain on the battery at all, it can just help supply juice when needed to lessen dimmage problems.
but then adds to the dimming when its charging back up and there is another bass note at the same time
Which is why i said 'can' help....
I know, i was just giving him more of a full picture of what happens since he probably didnt realise
|
Mikorsa16v
Member
Registered: 2nd Sep 02
Location: Burgess Hill, West Sussex
User status: Offline
|
thanks all, na i didnt know what the hell they do, am gonna whack one into the supply, must be of some use somewhere lol cheers lads
|
cdcool1
Member
Registered: 9th Jun 02
Location: Scunny
User status: Offline
|
If i was you mate the money would be better spent elsewhere, without a decent power supply it will cause more problems i think you'll find
|