What resistor value and wattage value should I use to act as a “Bleeding Resistor” on a 26 MFD AC POWER CAPACITOR within a 120 Volt AC Line Circuit?

 

I'd use a 120v incandescent lamp. It will discharge the cap very quickly while giving an indication of charge remaining by the light output.

 

I'd use a 120v incandescent lamp. It will discharge the cap very quickly while giving an indication of charge remaining by the light output.

AN ADDITIONAL NOTE: I would like to install a "permanent" resistor within the circuit to take care of this automatically. Would a 100K/5 Watt work? (I need actual values)? Thanks

 

A small 1/4 or 1/8 watt 1 Meg resistor would be enough.

Would take less than a minute to bleed off the voltage. Probably quicker than you could get the chassis open.

 

Yes, a 100k 5 watt would work. In fact, a 100k 1/2 watt would work. Much cheaper than a 5 watt resistor, and 10 times as fast to discharge the capacitor as a 1 meg resistor.

Watts Law: P=e^2/r
P = 120^2/100000
P=14400/100,000
P=.144 watts

half watt will work well. Bend "U" shapes in the legs when you attach it so it doesn't suffer mechanical stress from the heating and cooling that goes on in an air conditioner.