PSU Charge Dissipation

Jul 14, 2005 1 Replies

Excuse me if this is the wrong group?



I have an old home computer PSU and I want to remove the electronics temporarily while I cut extra metal off the rear circular exhaust port as it interferes with exhaust air flow. Obviously I would prefer not to come to any harm!



Can somebody please tell me how many day/weeks it would take for any stored electrical charge in a computer's power supply unit (PSU), i.e. in the capacitors, to dissipate enough for it to be okay to touch the circuit board and yet be safe from any potential electric shock?


I can't give you a accurate figure, but I've opened and worked on several, and that has been 2 minutes after they've been unplugged. I've never been harmed. The capacitors store little energy, so while they might be painful, they're not dangerous unless you have a heart condition.

On my Sun Sparc it says capacitor c3 will retain charge for 5 minutes...

If you want to be on the safe side, yank the power cord while the psu is on (i.e fans running and a load like a 12V/20W lightening bulb connected.)

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