Had a capacitor blow right in my face last Tuesday

Was working on a old Samsung TV in my garage when this 450V cap just popped. Sounded like a firecracker went off and I swear I felt the heat on my cheek for a second. I always discharge caps before touching but I got lazy cause I was in a hurry. Now I'm team "never skip the discharge" but some guys say they never bother and it's fine. Do you always discharge big caps or do you risk it when you're just testing?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_miles20d ago

450v caps pop like a gun. Always discharge.

wade78021d ago

Blew a 400V cap on a CRT monitor back in '09 and the foil wrapper shot right past my ear and stuck in the drywall. That sound is something you don't forget, kind of a wet crack. I was rushing to get a game working and thought I'd be fine. Now I grab my discharge tool with the resistor even if I'm just poking around for five minutes. Takes longer to find the tool than to actually do it, but I've had too many close calls to skip it anymore.