Question about flash capacitors...

[Adam Hicks]

When you charge your flash (I just got 16 MAHA 2300s in the mail BTW, we'll see how they do!) and you get the ready light (green light on the 550) and then you shut the flash down, does the capacitor discharge or does it store the energy until the next time the flash is used? If it doesn't store the energy, how does it release it? via a heat sink or?

Just been curious about this for a while... I hate having the flash charged up and thinking I might be wasting precious battery by turning it off!

Adam

[Harry Settle]

Capacitor has an internal bleed.

[robertwgross]

If I can translate what Harry stated...

The capacitor's charge will be dissipated. Some do it simply with a resistor, and some do it more elegantly.

---Bob Gross---

[Adam Hicks]

Thanks guys, yeah I was just wondering how something gracefully releases that kind of voltage once stepped up, I assume it's ultimately released as heat? It has to go SOMEWHERE :)

[Salleke]

When you charge your flash (I just got 16 MAHA 2300s in the mail BTW, we'll see how they do!) and you get the ready light (green light on the 550) and then you shut the flash down, does the capacitor discharge or does it store the energy until the next time the flash is used? If it doesn't store the energy, how does it release it? via a heat sink or?

Just been curious about this for a while... I hate having the flash charged up and thinking I might be wasting precious battery by turning it off!

Adam

When you switch on your flashunit the main flash capacitor is charged and after a few seconds it wil be ready to be discharged in the flashtube.
If you shut off the flasunit the capacitor will hold its charge for days, even weeks. It will very slowly discharge, like charged battery's you put away. Due to internal leakage and internal resistance the charge slowly disappears. Part of it as very weak thermal energy in the air and part in the internal of the capacitor.
Because it can takes days and weeks to discharge a flash capacitor it's very important to watch out for electric shocks when opening flash units.
Be sure you discharge the capacitor with a resistance. DO NOT discharge it by making a short with a screwdriver. Doing so you could damage the capacitor and your flasunit.
When you put away your flasunit always put it away by first charge the unit then switch it of and then put it away while the flash capacitor is fully charged. That way the capacitor is charged and formd and will not loose its capacity to store power for many years.

[robertwgross]

For most high-quality capacitors like that, they will work the best and last the longest if you "exercise" them periodically. If you store a flash for five years and then pull it out for use, it may have gone bad. So, it would not be a stupid idea to fire off one flash or two every few months.

---Bob Gross---