Capacitor Question

[trescat]

:roll: Would a capacitor rated at 200 VAC operate alright with a load of 240 VAC going through it ??, Thanks :?

[vanhansen]

For about a nanosecond....then......BANG!!!!  There she blows.  :shock:  

[MartyMart]

Its always better to "over do" the power rating in circuits, if you are going
to run at 12v use 16 -24 volt caps..
For 240v use 300-400v caps
then all will be fine ....

Marty.

[R.G.]

In general,

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER,

ever use a part at a higher voltage stress than it's rated for.

Sudden release of smoke and/or unintended pyrotechnics happen a lot, as does quiet nonfunctioning.

Sometimes it appears to work OK. When that happens, you have to ask yourself - do you feel lucky today... er, I mean, for *how long* will it continue to work outside its ratings?

Sometimes it looks like it worked. This is a little like the T-shirts which appeared after the Three-Mile Island nuke almost melted down. They said
"I survived Three-Mile Island... I think."

A clear dividing line is what voltage ratings are for.

[RedHouse]

Specially with caps, they can pop (explode) and get crap in your eye.
(really, I'm not kidding)

[ibanezts808]

Yeah, I'd rather spend the extra money.  I've grown fond of my eyes.  I have a little rule of thumb around here.  If it sounds like it could be dangerous, it probably is.