What do the numbers on a start capacitor mean?

The higher the voltage rating on your capacitor (or other electrical item) the faster the electrical current moves. The second rating is the microfarad (MFD) rating. A microfarad is a term to describe a capacitor’s level of capacity. That means the higher the microfarad rating, the more electrical current it can store.

Can you replace a start capacitor with a higher UF?

An electric motor start capacitors can be replaced with a micro-farad or UF equal to or up to 20\% higher UF than the original capacitor serving the motor.

What does mF mean on a capacitor?

For most applications, the farad is an impractically large unit of capacitance. Most electrical and electronic applications are covered by the following SI prefixes: 1 mF (millifarad, one thousandth (10−3) of a farad) = 0.001 F = 1000 μF = 1000000 nF.

Is MFD same as UF?

In short, the answer is yes — mFd is the same as uF- which is also the same as the symbol ‘µ’ as seen in ‘µF’. Technically ‘mfd’ represents ‘milliFarad’ while ‘uF’ stands for ‘microFarad’ which is an order of magnitude smaller.

How do you match a capacitor to a motor?

As a general rule of thumb, electric motor start capacitors can be replaced with a micro-farad or µF or mfd rating equal to or up to 20\% higher µF than the original capacitor serving the motor. On the replacement capacitor the voltage rating must be equal to or greater than the original.

What does the uF on a capacitor mean?

microfarad
The uF (microfarad) on a capacitor refers to the size of the capacitor. It indicates how much electrical energy a capacitor can store for use.

Can I replace a start capacitor with a run capacitor?

Start capacitors give a large capacitance value necessary for motor starting for a very short period of time (usually seconds long). A start capacitor can never be used as a run capacitor, because it cannot not handle current continuously.