On Mon, 23 Sep 2002 13:54:21 +1200, Ian <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Barry's reply to James' post prompts me to ask a question that's puzzled me
>for a while - just which components in the Power Supply box are the ones to
>avoid touching?  And how long does it take for them to bleed away their
>charge?  I understand that under the right (or wrong!) conditions, they can
>deliver quite a hefty belt if you're not careful.
>TIA
>Ian Porter
>Computer Guys Inc.
>Arrowtown
>New Zealand
>[log in to unmask]
>

I have found that the majority of PSU's discharge within a few minutes of power
being removed, unless they are not connected to the mobo, in which case they
could remain charged for several hours. The components that can hold a charge
are the capacitors which act as a reservoir to smooth out the ripple in the
supply from the conversion of alternating current to direct current, the ones
to be wary of are the high voltage (300v) capacitors where the ac mains is
rectified as they can give quite a larg 'bite' if you touch them when charged.

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