I am breaking down my 2 old a/C units.
I see about 4 capacitors.
I know nothing about electricitry except that capacitors store electricity and will bite me good.
I saw 230V on of them.
Could someone please tell me, in pretty simple terms, how to remove these hot things without frying myself?????
What to unplug first?
how to handle them while removing?????
Thank you so very much!!!!
wroxx

 

They are probably no longer charged but to be on the safe side you can take a long screwdriver and short the two terminals together to make sure that they are discharged.

Once discharged it should be safe to remove them.

hgmjr

 

AC capacitors are not likely to hold a charge. Only capacitors with DC applied are going to get charged. And the good news is that with power removed, any charge a capacitor will have on it will leak away in a matter of minutes.

You may not find a lot of use for these caps.

 

Oh thank you so much for your kind and easy to understand answers!!!!!!

And now I'm feeling foolish I had no idea how long they held a charge.

Those units have been sitting there with no power supplied to them for about 10 yrs!!!

But your answers have not been wasted my knowledgeable friends....
I run across these capacitors from time to time but have never ever received an answer that I could understand from any of the other forums out there.

I will save your answers for future reference along with this website and you'll be hearing from me again when I need an electrical question answered.!!!!

Thanks again!!!!!!!
wroxx

 

And now I'm feeling foolish I had no idea how long they held a charge.

Safety precautions are NEVER foolish! You did the right thing when you decided to research before acting!

Some capacitors can store a lethal charge for many days. You don't find these in air conditioners, though.

Most circuits using capacitors capable of harm will contain a "bleeder resistor" to discharge the capacitor in the few minutes quoted by Beenthere.

 

I am breaking down my 2 old a/C units.
I see about 4 capacitors.
I know nothing about electricitry except that capacitors store electricity and will bite me good.
I saw 230V on of them.
Could someone please tell me, in pretty simple terms, how to remove these hot things without frying myself?????
What to unplug first?
how to handle them while removing?????
Thank you so very much!!!!
wroxx

Its better to discharge the capacitors by connecting a 1 K resistor on its terminals as not to destroy it (it may explode of excessive heat-high current through the low resistance screwdriver).