Most efficient way to charge caps

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herr waffl

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hey, i need to charge 2 pairs of 250v 1200µf caps in series, so I'll get 500v at 1200µf. What is the most efficient and fastest way to charge them? any suggestions are welcome
 
You should add a balancing resistor in parallel with each capacitor, maybe 1 Mohm, to keep the voltages the same on each one.

The fastest way to charge them probably won't be the most efficient. What power supply have you got, and how fast do you need to charge them?
 
Charging them in parallel is both the fastest and the most risky. They have to be taken off charge before the WVDC is exceeded. Charging time will be a little under 1RC TC.
 
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I'm currently using 3 disposable camera cap chargers in parallel. That only puts in a volt every couple seconds though, and i was wondering if there was anything better to use.
 
herr waffl said:
hey, i need to charge 2 pairs of 250v 1200µf caps in series, so I'll get 500v at 1200µf. What is the most efficient and fastest way to charge them? any suggestions are welcome
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2 x 1200uF in series is only 600uF (not 1200).

Do you have mains available to charge them?, or only battery power? - there's no magic solution, to charge them fast you need LOT'S of power.
 
If you are really concerned about charging efficiency, then use an inductor resonant charge circuit. You connect the supply voltage through a large inductor in series with a diode to the capacitor. That will charge the capacitor to nearly double the supply voltage with high efficiency.
 
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