Which capacitor?

[IndyStreetRacer 10+ year member]

I'm looking for capacitors to use on our slot car track. Our power supplies run 14 to 16 volts and we need 2 caps per lane for the track. When researching them I've found that most don't come close to the farad rating. We need good quality. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

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[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Maxwell or XS power brand capactors.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

How much current do your cars draw?

A quick search got 2-20A which is a pretty big range to account for.

I guess if you're running something big on the high side you'd be looking at ~250w at 13v.

A 1f cap amounts to 20-25 w-s or 40-50w for 1/2s, 80-100w for 1/4 sec etc.

I don't think you can have TOO much capacitance -- it would be a like alternator current, what the device doesn't need will just continue to be stored in the cap.

It seems like something in the 3-5F range would give you all the burst power you'd ever need.

I don't know anything about ratings vs actual from brand to brand, but I'm guessing the price tag is a pretty good indicator.

If a 10f stinger cap is $155 I seriously doubt Boss is getting it done for $58.