Two relaxation techniques are examined for determining the double layer capacity of porous electrodes of finite length. In the presence of a faradaic reaction, under near equilibrium conditions, analytical expressions are derived for the transient potential response to current perturbations of the form i(t) = Delta i exp (-t/tau) and i(t) = Delta i(1 - t/tau). The ease with which the system parameters (R-T and C-T) can be deduced by employing these two techniques is analyzed. Experimental support for the exponential relaxation technique is provided by examining three electrochemical systems: sintered nickel plaque/NaOH; Teflon-bonded Pt on Pt screen/NaOH; and TiO2 + RuO2 coatings on Ti/NaCl aq.