Originally Posted by
Aznman
I have some questions:
1. Has anybody ever open these types of capacitors up? I'm afraid of opening mine.
There is nothing serviceable inside. No need to open it, unless it is broken, or non-functional.
Essentially a capacitor has two plates separated by a gap, and collects the charge between the plates. What you benefit by opening it?
Originally Posted by
Aznman
2. I know that this is AC powered.
How can I quickly convert this to DC?
Using diodes or a rectifier.
Capacitors can help get rid of ripple if it is a problem. However, some ripple may not be an issue for your lights.
Originally Posted by
Aznman
3. This capacitor was designed for high voltage, so it is dangerous. How would I design it to only discharge 8 volts and 3 watts to power my 20 lumen taillight for about 1-5 minutes?
It is easy enough to "short" a capacitor to remove any stored power. Some are wired with a small resistor between the two contacts to help them self-dischage.
You can limit it to 8V by only charging it with 8V. It does not magically get more voltage than you charge it with.
Your generator, however, may not give you a constant voltage output