1u - 3u 250v film caps & 250v small relays wanted.

[Diabolical Artificer]

Has anyone any non electrolytic capacitors of around 1u to 3u 250v rated or above, I'm also after mains relays capable of 250v 10A ish 12-24v ish please? The caps don't have to be new, pulls are ok. Size & weight are a issue as I can't afford to send big heavy parcels as in the past as shipping like everything has shot up in price.

These are for my friend Miguel & forum member over in Cuba where obtaining components is problematic. He uses these caps to build fridge protectors which are in demand in Cuba as electricity supply blackouts are frequent resulting in dips & spikes of the mains voltage. The income from building these helps him & his family.

If you can help out & send any bits over to me, I'll make up a parcel & forward them to Miguel. TFL, Andy. Hope this is ok moderators,

[Bazz4CQJ]

You've asked for 240V caps, but is that 240VAC and where are we with respect to needing X or Y type caps? What's the mains voltage in Cuba?

B

[Diabolical Artificer]

The mains voltage in Cuba is the same as ours, 230v. Rating's wise they'll be used as mains droppers so 250 AC but AFAIK there are no regs in Cuba, remember they have to use what they have like mixing shampoo and sugar for brake fluid. In short any caps rated for 250v AC, X or Y whichever please.

Andy.

[Bazz4CQJ]

OK; sometime ago, I had a capacitor which I thought had an adequate voltage rating to use on the mains, but not an X or Y type.

When it failed, it caused a lot of secondary damage. I've stuck to X and Y types since then, but they seem to have values appreciably smaller than 1-3uF.

B

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi If the mains is so bad there, the caps need to be at least X2 rated. A small resistor in series (100R) may give them a bit more resilience.

Ed

[Bazz4CQJ]

If Miguel is selling these to friends and family, sending him caps which will fail makes no sense.

Following Ed's suggestion to use X2's, I found this interesting offer on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166066396...Bk9SR8ierqzYYg Other offers may be available.

I'd be happy a chip in a contribution to sending Cuba an early Xmas present, if others did the same.

B

[G.Castle]

Hi Andy.
I may have a few, (possibly 10 or so), 24v DC coil/mains voltage rated C/O contact, 5 pin PCB mounting relays. Not sure of the contact current rating, I will check over the W/E for you if you think they could be any good to Miguel, they're out of unused computer mains IO boards.

Don't think I can help with the caps.

Greg.

[Diabolical Artificer]

Thanks Baz, I'll bear those in mind and your offer. Yes X types would be better, again as mentioned anything is better than nothing in Cuba. If a cap goes pop it doesn't matter, if your fridge dies there isn't a Curry's down the road, or come to that, the money to get a new one.

Thanks Greg, much appreciated. I've bought 6 relays I can send and have a few X/Y type caps but not
many @ 1u.

Andy.

[Radio Wrangler]

How small a relay is small?

I've got some in the attic, I think 3-pole changeover in those 12-pin (looks like octal) cases. Might be overkill.

David

[G.Castle]

Hi Andy.
I had my nieces dig the box of relays out for me, the ones I'm thinking off are these:

24vdc 1100ohm coil, change over contacts, (I'd say 8 amp resistive load) they measure 30×25×12mm excluding pins. There are ten of them

If they are any good to you, PM your address and I'll have them sent up to you, it will be after next W/E though.

If I come across anything else I'll let you know.

[paulsherwin]

There are always small relays on eBay at low prices. You could put in a bulk order for Miguel if he has trouble ordering directly.

[Bazz4CQJ]

Andy, I cannot offer you any components, but thinking specifically of the bag of 40 X types, I'll offer you £5 via paypal, hoping others might do the same ( shipping costs needs to be covered obviously). If not used wholly for this job, you can give anything left over to the RSPCA (obviously, this needs the Admin's approval).

Sorry to be dim, but how do these components protect a fridge?

B

[G.Castle]

Originally Posted by Bazz4CQJ

Sorry to be dim, but how do these components protect a fridge?

B

A lot of refrigerator compressor motors are on thermal starters, if the power goes off just long enough for the motor to stop, but the starter has not reset when the power is restored the motor can be powered at stall and will eventually be damaged if it isn't otherwise protected. I'm guessing Miguel has perhaps designed a delayed restart, circuit?

He's an ingenious guy. It would be nice to know what he's come up with, it may help people to find suitable components for him.

[Diabolical Artificer]

Thanks David, whilst they may do the job, they might be a bit too weighty, & I have to mount everything on a scrap PCB's to appease the customs in Cuba which is a pain but not a quarter as hard as winding a relay coil by hand and making a relay by hand, something Miguel has had to do in the past.

Thanks Greg, I'll drop you a PM.

Re Ebay relay's, I think I should have enough relays to send with the ones I got & Gregs. I also have to be careful money wise - moneys tight, times are ard an all that & to Miguel £10 is a fortune, it's tricky. A few fellow forum members contributing something from their stashes is one thing, buying things another, hope that makes sense without having to go into more detail..

Bazz, I can't remember exactly but I think Miguel's Patent Fridge Protectors "sniff" the mains, if too high, too peaky or too low the relay cuts said fridge off from the mains. I would guess the cap dropper part form a potential divider. There is an actual product by an actual company but M makes his own from scratch including the PCB.

Andy.

[Mr Moose]

Hello,
Somewhere I have some 1uF 300V X2 capacitors you could have FOC.
Given they weigh about 10gm each what sort of quantity are you looking for?
It could take a couple of weeks or so for me to get to a post office to send them.
Yours, Richard

[Diabolical Artificer]

hi Richard, they sound just the job thanks, I'll send you a PM.

Andy.

[Diabolical Artificer]

This thread can be closed thanks mods, I've enough bits to send a parcel to Miguel in Cuba that will keep him going for a while. Thanks on his behalf to all who offered help.

Andy.