Capacitors question

[rdogg07]

what exactly are they needed for? if i just have one 500w amp. do i need it?

 

[jepherz]

Caps are to dampen quick drains off the battery. Think of it as a battery, only it holds a quick charge, much like the flash on a camera would need. Whether or not you need it all depends on your set up. They say 1 farad for every 1000 RMS watts, but that is more for subs. Speakers aren't going to have as much bass and won't drain as much power as fast on deep bass hits. It also will help the dimming problem on your HU and dash/interior lights.

If you are just powering speakers with your amp, try without a cap and see if it works. If you are powering a sub or two, I would at least get 1/2 farad or possibly 1 farad if you plan on expanding later.

Hope that helps,
Jepherz

 

[rdogg07]

would it help protect the alternater and batter at all.

 

[jepherz]

I don't think so, because it doesn't hold enough power to be able to shut the alternator off for an extended period of time. Some people seem to think it does, but that makes no sense to me. Maybe someone else out there has a better explanation??

Anyways, I am running about 850 Watts RMS with 1 farad cap and have no problems, yet.....

 

[VOTBLINDUB]

a half farad cap would make it easier on the electric system for you, but you dont really need one. 500 is not bad. i'd call it a good 800 before a cap. i push 1200, so i need one. im going to move up to 3000 watt, so i'll be needing more upgrades

 

[sophat34]

well, the theory behind caps is all good and all. but, its still theory. unless u are shelling out around 4-500 for 15-50 farad caps your lights are still going to dimm and u are still putting a load on your charging system. I used to work at a radio shop. after playing with the 15 and 50 farad caps from alumapro, we came to the colclusion that caps are a waste of money when compaired to instaling another battery. the 50 farad was almost enough to start the car but the 15 farad still dimmed the lights with a usamps 400x at a 4ohm bridged load. changing out your battery or adding another one is still a better approch to the whole idea. it turns out that its cheaper as well. I have had stinger batterys and optimas. of the two I recomend the optima yellows. they are heavy. but if you are in a spending mood just go get a battcap and you wont have to worry.

 

[Shifty]

Originally posted by rdogg07
would it help protect the alternater and batter at all.

Yes, the battery isn't meant for "huge" discharges unless starting. When the battery gets drained fast, the Alt has to work a little harder to keep that battery charged. Alts will die if you have to big of system and bump it all the time.

1000w = 1 farad

I run 1200 and find that it helps out a lot. As long as you are using that amp for speakers and no sub, then you'll be fine. Just keep an eye on your indoor lights and headlights for dimming.

 

[tunerkid]

im running a 750 watt amp and a 1 farad cap... the main reason i got it was so my lights dont dime - heads or inside.. if i didnt get one everytime the bass would hit, they would dim bad... i would spend the money and get a cap.. it can help save your bat and alt.

 

[sophat34]

the main problem with caps is that they discharge too quickly, once empty they will draw an enormus amount of energy very quickly creating a nasty drag on the charging system. this is a problem if you dont have enough capacetince(sp?) or the note is a sustained low one. using the 15 farad caps we actualy lost 4 db in an extreme class 12 woofer 24 amp system with each amp having its own 15 farad cap with in 6 inches of the amp. the current that the caps were drawing after the discharge was so much that it hampered the preformance of the amps. bacicly it killed the voltage. this was only for a burp not sustained play too.

 

[chriw21_2000]

they discharge too quick to actually act as a storage source. If you run more than one, they would help. I have run them before and found that they actually put more strain on the alt. than without one.

Laterz