Been messing with a box of diodes to make rectifier boards... Not for any other reason than to learn how to construct from schematics and solder practice.
My question is.... If I use 1n4001,002,003 ect. for the rectifier. Does the smoothing cap have to be within a certain bracket of uf or is it the bigger the better. I have a huge amount of capacitors from little ones to huge monsters that are used for trapping lightning.
I'me sure i dont need a 75000v cap on a rectifier but is there a limit to what can be used.
My question is.... If I use 1n4001,002,003 ect. for the rectifier. Does the smoothing cap have to be within a certain bracket of uf or is it the bigger the better. I have a huge amount of capacitors from little ones to huge monsters that are used for trapping lightning.
I'me sure i dont need a 75000v cap on a rectifier but is there a limit to what can be used.
1N400x are 1A diodes.
If you use too large of a filter cap the initial current spike may blow them up.
A good calculation starting point would be to calculate the equivalent Xc of the filter cap at 60Hz and divide that into the applied PEAK voltage for PEAK current.
Xc = 1 / (2 * 3.14159265 * 60 * cap size in farads)
This current may be limited by the effective source impedance of the transformer. (a good thing)
On data sheets for these diodes you will see specs similar to "Peak forward surge current 8.3 ms single half sine-wave superimposed on rated load "
1n400x data sheet that I looked at shows this to be 30A.
So the unfortunate answer is: Yes, there is a limit but that limit is dependent upon other circuit factors.
If you use too large of a filter cap the initial current spike may blow them up.
A good calculation starting point would be to calculate the equivalent Xc of the filter cap at 60Hz and divide that into the applied PEAK voltage for PEAK current.
Xc = 1 / (2 * 3.14159265 * 60 * cap size in farads)
This current may be limited by the effective source impedance of the transformer. (a good thing)
On data sheets for these diodes you will see specs similar to "Peak forward surge current 8.3 ms single half sine-wave superimposed on rated load "
1n400x data sheet that I looked at shows this to be 30A.
So the unfortunate answer is: Yes, there is a limit but that limit is dependent upon other circuit factors.
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