Please DO NOT touch a conductor (the insulator should be ok if it is rated for the voltage) that is being used to discharge a capacitor.

I think at this point, since he works on them regularly a cheap discharger would be sufficient to use on a continued bases.

Just purchase it. Then you can watch the pretty light dissipate while being assured it's not charged when the light dies slowly.

kv

 

Am I correct in understanding I can connect a 120v 60w bulb to a 440VAC capacitor and a the bulb voltage rating does not apply? Is the only consequence that a 120v bulb will burn out sooner or would the filament actually blow quickly not allowing the capacitor to discharge?

 

Just a on the side thought
finding a light bulb with a filament might be a bit difficult, they are becoming less common,

 

I would favour a resistor over a lamp. Filament lamps have a "cold" resistance which is only a tenth of its "running" value, so even a small 230V lamp will take a large inrush current.
I suggest repurposing a couple of old multimeter probes, removing the plugs at the meter end, attaching the resistor and sleeving it. Then you have a device for discharging 300V capacitors safely.

I used to think that all power-factor correction capacitors had a built-in bleed resistor. I found out the hard way that that was not the case. It was even more of a surprise as the equipment was not connected to any supply at the time. It was 200uF.