DIYbanter - View Single Post - Radial X2-AC Safety Capacitors (Question)

Ralph Mowery

In article ,
says...

1.414 volts peak, on each side of zero

Erm... no. Firstly 275v ac is 389v dc peak, so a 389v dc rating. Secondly the 2 ratings are not comparable, even after conversion to dc. The 600v cap has no fusing and most likely no double layer safety feature, the 275v ac one has both.

Think again. You have a negative and a positive peak, not just a
single peak. You have to add them together. That is why the original DC
cap was 600V, not 300V.

While there is a positive and negative peak, the capacitor only charges
to the peak and not p to p. The charge reverses at each half cycle.