How to discharge a capacitor from a microwave?

Question

Hello, I'm trying to take apart a microwave to retrieve the magnets off of the magnetron. I would like to make sure the capacitor is discharged for safety reasons. The info i got off of the capacitor is 1.05 uF(microFarads i think), 2100VAC, and 10 Mohms. Another thing i was wondering was if the capacitor will or already has discharged on its own? The capacitor has a ground cable(i'm assuming) coming off of one of the terminals and is connected to the microwave case along with another wire going to the transformer thing. Anyways if i need a resistor what size do i need (ohms, watts)?

Answer 1

Capacitors will typically self-discharge over a period of time.

So, how much charge is left partly depends on how long the microwave has been unplugged from the AC plug.



If it has been unplugged for a number of hours, or days, then you can probably just use a screw driver (preferably not your best one) to bridge the connectors. If there is any charge left, it may *spark* "briefly" while it discharges - but only briefly and probably not enough to cause any harm.

A 1-uF cap is not that large and isn't likely to deliver much of a wallop. If you feel better using a resistor to bridge it, use any value. The larger the value of the resistor, the slower the discharge. Even if you use a very small value (< 100 ohm), it will discharge quickly and not likely to do any harm)

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(about your profile)

Hey Charlie, my dad was in Air Force too (Master Seargent ), and worked in electronics and communications. We were stationed in Fairbanks when I was a kid.... many years ago...

Answer 2

Typical insulators = wood, rubber, glass (non fiber) or anything that doesn't conduct electricity. Most of the time there will be no indicator that something is an insulator. It's just logic.

Answer 3

My dear friend, just short out each wire to the frame.GOD Bless you.