Electronic – Looking for a capacitor capable of driving a 12V / 7A valve for ~4 seconds

capacitor

Is it possible for a Capacitor to supply a servo motor with enough power for it to close the servo when power is disconnected? I've got an application where I need to close a servo valve that takes 7 Amps (12 Volts) to run and it takes 4 seconds to close the valve. Voltage can vary between 13 and 7 Volts.

Any idea what Capacitor size I need to look at. I tried a 40V 5100uF capacitor that was sold as a battery replacement for a motorcycle but it discharges before the valve even moves.

Best Answer

Q = C * V Charge stored in Coulombs is Q Rated capacitance in Farads is C Voltage across the plates in Volts is V

Divide both sides by a period of time and interpret V as the change in Voltage across the plates over that period of time and... Q / t = I = C * V / t Current is I in Amps if the is time in seconds.

More precisely, and since things vary continuously in the real world, I = C * dV/dt

The time derivative of Voltage is dV/dt.

Rearrange these with the usual algebra to answer your question.

C = I * t / V = 7A * 4s / (13V - 7V)... as a coarse estimate.

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