PSU modding safety question

[Force Flow]

How long should you wait after you have turned off and unplugged the PSU to discharge before you start working on it?

[mattg2k4]

I would wait a day to discharge, then when I open it up I'd connect the leads of the capacitors with a high wattage resistor just to be sure they're discharged. 10 watt 10 ohm would be just fine. You'll have to go on the soldered side of the power supply's circuit board to find the leads. BTW, in case you don't know, the capacitors are the big cylinders, almost always blue, with a strip down one side, with something like 470uF 250v printed on it. Google image search should give multiple examples if you're still not sure.

Or you could skip the day's wait and just discharge them using this method being very careful not to shock yourself until you discharge the caps. This route works best when you have a general understanding of the components inside a PSU so you know what not to touch.

How are you modding your PSU?

[Cricket]

I wait 24 hours before I go into a PSU.

:) Cricket

[FLG]

^^^ What cricket said, i wait a day. Also i shut down my comp disconnect the HDD and then flick the off swich on the back of the psu, then i push the power buttton of my comp the psu has enough stored energy to turn the lights and fans on for less then a second. Then i wait 24 hours.

[Force Flow]

Hrm...someone asked me thinking it was only 1/2 hour and it would be okay. I suggested at the very least 2 hours. I'll make sure to tell them a full 24 hrs. Thanks, guys ;)

[Cricket]

More importantly, tell them not to go poking around in the PSU haphazardly with a metal object.

:) Cricket

[Joeberg]

Originally posted by Cricket
More importantly, tell them not to go poking around in the PSU haphazardly with a metal object.

:) Cricket

FLG once insisted he could fix my dead AT Psu by messing around with it a year or two ago :) He got a little jolt out of it, nothing happened to him serously (Athough it wan't a good idea in the first place) and afterwards, oddly enough the PSU came back to life :D

[Force Flow]

Originally posted by Cricket
More importantly, tell them not to go poking around in the PSU haphazardly with a metal object.

Already told them that. I'm not sure excatly what they wanted to do, but it sounded like they were just putting on a cover mod.

[Dswissmiss]

what about sleeving kits? I'm sure the cables are nothing to worry about but I'm asking just to make sure.