One hell of a capacitor 'pop'...

[dysondestijl]

When I got my Dirt devil Handy, I was told it sparked and then made a loud bang. So I opened it up and this is what had happened to the capacitor- it had completely exploded! (With wires taken out)

 

[dysondestijl]

This doesn't look good...

 

[ultimatevacman]

You see? Capacitor's are a pain, aren't they?

 

[rexair]

why do all uk machines have capacitors?

 

[oreck_xl]

Could it be because the machine was manufactured here in the U.S. and the capacitor was needed to step down the 220 Volt U.K. current?

- Hershel

 

[gsheen]

Thats not a capacitor. Its a suppressor so that teh machine does not interfere with TV and radio. Brush driven motors( carbon brushes) do not need a capacitor to run, Brush less motors like those found on larger lawn mowers and industrial polishers need capacitors to give them a kick start.

Old style suppressor's are wellknown for doing this, More modern ones hardly ever blow up.

You can by pass the suppressor if you like, It will not affect the vacuum but will mean you get fuzzy lines every time you vacuum near a tv thats turned on.

 

[beko1987]

I have a few older machines without the capacitor due to the above (not quite so dramatic pop wise though) and we get no interference anywhere. Do have a flat screen TV and digital TV though.

 

[ultimatevacman]

Well since all TV's are digital now, there shouldn't be any interference. I've had 2 Henry suppressor's pop, and it's damn annoying!

 

[tolivac]

The suppressor device is a capacitor but a very low value one-does just that to suppress the RF noise from a motors communtator-the communtator actually can be considered a "spark gap" transmitter of sorts.Usually the suppresor device is two caps-one across each brush-the other end of the suppresor to ground or neutral.Thus shunting the high frequency noise to ground.Now when the device fails-as shown above-It breifly shorts the brush connection-and blows.The motor feild winding then acts as a current limitor resistor to the power supply line voltage.Thus the fuse or breaker doesn't always blow.Motor start-run caps have a much higher capacitance value to them.And yes,they short out too,when the dielectric fails.Usually those trip the line breaker or fuse-and often blow up,or swell,and their case gets hot.When a cap blows in one of our transmitters-sounds like a rifle shot going off!

 

[rolls_rapide]

"Well since all TV's are digital now, there shouldn&

Actually there still is - it's called impulse interference. It is caused by poorly shielded electrical equipment and mains powered appliances that have a defective suppressor.

Typical effects are the picture breaking up into squares, accompanied by a squawk and a click from the speakers. Usual suspects are boiler central heating thermostats and refrigerator door light switches.