I was wondering if you already had a capacitor in mind at the start of the thread... It's helpful to include as much info as possible but that's fine.The capacitor I have is a Monster Cable High Performance Stiffening Capacitor with 1 million micro Farad 20 volt capacitance (which is 1000 Farad). I found this photo of a similar capacitor on the internet, mine don't have the 3 digit display segment on top. It weighs several pounds.
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Find Leakage Current (multimeter or ammeter required)I am thinking about connecting the large capacitor in parallel to the car battery. Have anyone done this before? I know there will be a leakage current through the capacitor. Is that leakage current high enough that the car battery will be dead after sitting for a few days?
No worries, great thread. It was pretty interesting to get into, and we all generated some insightful content I think.I guess my 1 farad capacitor will have no effect on prolonging the car battery life.
Thank you for the helpful comments.
I don't disagree that it's not a lot of capacity for starting. but he already has the capacitor. If he's not going to replace his 5yr battery or buy a larger 100F+ supercap module, it's the only thing besides his float charger that's going to help him for the upcoming winter concerns he mentioned, as caps work great in cold temperatures.I would not pay $120.00 for capacitor that gives me an extra 20 milliseconds of cranking time.
Yes, you read that correctly ... 20 milliseconds.
That capacitor will not "make the alternator happy".
That capacitor will have less than a 0.1% affect to the electrical system = a total waste of time and money.
The "under the hood" temperature will most likely exceed the max rating of that capacitor and most LiFePO4's = early failure.
If you want more cranking time, then buy the biggest battery ( by CCA rating ) that will fit in the tray.
That's not the situation at all ... $50 worth of capacitor will relieve all the strain from the battery , it does not like supplying many 100's of Amps ... A capacitor will reduce that down to many 10's of Amps greatly extending battery life ....I would not pay $120.00 for capacitor that gives me an extra 20 milliseconds of cranking time.
As the posts on this thread have covered , this 1F capacitor is old generation ...meant for audio use only (some people have a KW of audio power in their car , current drawn from batteryand alternator to power this fluctuates with sound level by the msec)....The Monster Stiffening Capacitor being discussed in this thread does cost about $120.00 ( new ) and it is only 1 Farad.
It is rated at 83 amps maximum
It only has a 1 year warranty
Connecting this capacitor to an automotive battery is a worthless effort.
That is the situation.
A capacitor that is 50 times bigger and half price of this capacitor is a completely different story, but change no figures in this thread.