Hum. Never considered that, I don't doubt you but will the instanious current ever exceed the Xc?

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It feels like the maximum current can't exceed the Xc.....and yea feelings are important but engineering is about science and getting the math right backed up by real world experiments.

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I just spent 30 minutes working the math several ways and can't come up with a fast transient from 60Hz, time for real world experiment.

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Sooo I could add the resistor, or, one of the two dozen 30A zero crossing solid state relays I've been trying to come up with a reson not to send them to recycle, or....

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I used a similar scheme with a #47 light bulb, AC mains in, capacitor, #47 bulb, neutral, for at least a decade from 1960 until 1970 as a pilot light for a radio. I'll accept the resistance and inductance of a #47 bulb is very different from a string of LEDs.

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This is something interesting to test, I have a Tektronix CT-1 current probe, bandwidth? 20kHz to 1GHz.

My scope has specs claimed to be good to 200, it will display 144MHz 2M signal with no obvious distortion.

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0.5uf, 60Hz has an Xc of? 5305ohms. I'll measure it two ways, one direct AC hot to capacitor line through CT-1, to nuetral, then AC to capacitor to 100 ohms wire through CT-1, to neutral and see the max current peak on the scope.

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Ought to be interesting.

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And I'll use Teflon wire rated at 2kV for the pass through wire through the CT-1.??