norek

I have a Phoenix Gold Octane 800W mono blasting 2 12" Cerwin Vega V-MAX at 2 ohms.

My question is, what farad do I want my capacitor to be? 1, 1.5, 2??

I don't mind having enough for future plans, but I don't want to get too big if it will hinder performance.

Thanks!

Pipes

"Installation Tip: As a general rule of thumb, the more capacitor storage, the better."
http://www.cardomain.com/item/ROCCPCC2
You can never have enough farads [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

Chadxton

iTrader: (1)

Or you could have none. Save that kinda cash against a better battery or alternator.

Haunz

iTrader: (3)

Large reserve capacity is all good, but isn't for everyones application.... it depends on how stable you want the system, or if you want long key-off listening times...

Just remember batteries draw power themselves....

Hey norek... when it comes to caps, the lower the ESR the better... 2 1f caps in parrallel will have a much lower ESR then a single 2F in most cases.... (but will cost more)...

By the time you start looking at 10 or 15F banks... they are useless....

Do you know what the actual benifits of extra capatance in the system are ? why do you want a cap in the first place ?

JohnVroom

Few systems need a capacitor! Their function is to provide a small amount of voltage when needed.

midnightmazda

i go by the saying for every 1000w use a 1 farad cap, but a little bit extra will help even more.so for that ph amp a 1 farad would be ok or even a 1.5 for a bit more juice when you might need it depending on the price jump between them. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

MR2NR

iTrader: (66)

Throw the saying out the window, a cap cannot create power, it uses and stores it. Get a good battery, upgrade the power / ground lines and a HO alternator.

norek

I'm under the impression that a cap acts as a reserve. It's like a water tower supplying water to a town. It's constantly filling up, but when the amp decides to draw more power, it quickly graps that power from the cap and not the battery.

I'm trying to prevent any potential premature wear on my battery, and especially, I want to get rid of my blinking electrical system everytime a low bass note hits.

Your tips for a new alternator, bigger battery and new grounding is great, but I can't afford to be upgrading all that.

My problem is that I don't know the physics behind how many farads are needed.

Thanks.

Jmac

If you're having dimming problems, a capacitor may not even help you (it could even make things worse). A capacitor is NOT a solution to dimming, it is a solution to voltage drops during dynamic passes in music. The first thing you should do is upgrade the big 3 wires : Battery to Ground, Battery to Alternator, and Alternator to Ground. This is both cheaper than a cap and can be more effective.