Water in power supply

[EggyRepublic]

I have this floor cleaner with a water squirter, while using it a tiny amount of water MIGHT have entered my power supply while the computer is on. Should some water particles fall into the power supply, what will happen? Will it release toxic chemicals? Will it break my PC? Is there safety features built into my power supply? I have a EVGA G3 650W power supply, thanks.

[mariushm]

The water can stay on circuit traces and slowly corrode them due to electrolysis and eventually the power supply can fail.

 

Most likely whatever amount got in has evaporated already, as power supplies are generally warm/hot while running and the fan spins moving warm air through the case helping with evaporation. If you're paranoid, it wouldn't hurt to unplug the power supply, open the case and CAREFULLY use some paper towels to wipe any droplets of water that may still be visible then put it back.

 

 

[Airdragonz]

If the PSU is still on, turn the damn thing off, NOW.  Assuming it's still running, your psu should be fine. But give it some time to dry out. And no, there are no water protections in computer psu's. As far as chemicals, unlikely something toxic will get released. Like any electronic that gets wet, it'll likely short circuit and die. Worst that can probably happen are some capacitors blowing up. 

[KEIN NEIN]

40 minutes ago, EggyRepublic said:

 Will it release toxic chemicals? 

why would that happen?

40 minutes ago, EggyRepublic said:

Will it break my PC? Is there safety features built into my power supply? I have a EVGA G3 650W power supply, thanks.

Yes there are many protections in a PSU such as Over Current Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Over Temperature Protection etc but none of them will protect a PSU from a short circuit on the primary side AFAIK but like @marioushm said all that water will be evaporated due to lots of heat before it can cause trouble.

 

28 minutes ago, mariushm said:

open the case and CAREFULLY use some paper towels to wipe any droplets of water that may still be visible then put it back.

 

 

are you talking about opening a PSU?

[EggyRepublic]

29 minutes ago, mariushm said:

The water can stay on circuit traces and slowly corrode them due to electrolysis and eventually the power supply can fail.

 

Most likely whatever amount got in has evaporated already, as power supplies are generally warm/hot while running and the fan spins moving warm air through the case helping with evaporation. If you're paranoid, it wouldn't hurt to unplug the power supply, open the case and CAREFULLY use some paper towels to wipe any droplets of water that may still be visible then put it back.

 

 

Wouldn't I get electrocuted from opening the power supply

[mariushm]

If you unplug the power supply from the mains socket, you will be fine. I mean pull cable out of the socket, not just flip the power switch on the psu or extension cord/ power strip/ wall socket.

 

The case is always grounded, so you can't get shocked by touching the case. The only area where they may still be energy after power supply is unplugged is the area around the big round capacitor (you would know what I mean, there's only one). That capacitor stores some energy, but majority of the power supplies have circuitry designed to quickly discharge all energy from a power supply when it's unplugged, so within around 5-10 seconds from the moment psu is unplugged the energy still inside the power supply should be safe (less than 10-20v). Worst case scenario, you'd feel a tinkle or some buzz in your fingers where you touch exposed metal bits .

 

What I'm saying is open the case, don't touch metal heatsinks on the inside. Get some paper towels .. fold the paper towel several times to make it thicker and pad the surfaces that are wet with the paper towel to absorb the water.  Paper is insulator so even if there's still some energy there, you won't get shocked if you touch that area with a paper towel.

If you're really paranoid, you can get some rubber / cleaning gloves and use gloves when opening the case.

[keskparane]

So long as you've unplugged it BEFORE it goes bang you should be fine. But definitely give it a couple of days to dry to be safe.

[keskparane]

General rule for all electronics...

If get wet then ASAP turn off and disconnect all power sources possible,

Dry for a few days.

 

A bag of rice is a waste of time. No air flow.

[mariushm]

Correct about the rice, don't bother with it. 

 

If you have something wet and can't open it, you'll have more luck with maybe 10-20 baggies of silica dessicant - put the thing in a sealed bag with those dessicant packs and try raising the temperature to around 30-40 degrees celsius inside... the silica gel will absorb humidity but isn't magical, can't "suck" droplets of water from a device.

 

Oh... and with a power supply another option would be to simply use a hair dryer ... blow warm air through the vent holes to speed up natural evaporation.

[Mick Naughty]

I’d just let it dry and be done with it. Had my pump empty my reservoir onto my psu while gaming. Just put a heater on it and was back to gaming another hour or so later. 

[KEIN NEIN]

31 minutes ago, EggyRepublic said:

Wouldn't I get electrocuted from opening the power supply

someone correct me if I am wrong, but you can get a huge discharge if you touch the big primary capacitor(s)

 

moreover, opening the PSU voids the warranty anyway

[EggyRepublic]

I just got a new issue - I aimed my hairdryer at my PSU and quickly realized how hot it gets.

 

How much heat can a PSU handle? I did a couple seconds on low, but I'm afraid it just fried some components from the 1875 watts of heat it just blew onto everything.

[mariushm]

14 minutes ago, KEIN NEIN said:

someone correct me if I am wrong, but you can get a huge discharge if you touch the big primary capacitor(s)

 

moreover, opening the PSU voids the warranty anyway

You're wrong.  There's circuitry which quickly discharges the primary capacitor once the power supply is shut down. Within a few seconds, capacitor is discharged.

Even if that circuitry fails or isn't present, the exterior of the capacitor is sleeved with insulation material (pvc,plastic). The top of the capacitor is usually covered with a sticker or some plastic cap.

You would literally have to unscrew the circuit board and physically touch the solder points on the back side where the capacitor is soldered onto the circuit board, to risk electric shock.

You risk shocking yourself if you unscrew the circuit board and grab the circuit board like a moron, touching the back side with your fingers.  Use your common sense, don't shove fingers where you don't have to.

If you hold the board by the edges or don't remove it from the case, you'll be perfectly fine.

 

[mariushm]

2 minutes ago, EggyRepublic said:

I just got a new issue - I aimed my hairdryer at my PSU and quickly realized how hot it gets.

 

How much heat can a PSU handle? I did a couple seconds on low, but I'm afraid it just fried some components from the 1875 watts of heat it just blew onto everything.

Hold the nozzle a couple of inches from the grill.

Most components in psu can handle up to 100 degrees Celsius for hours - your hair dryer won't get that hot (it won't get hot enough to burn hair or damage skin)

A psu will typically hover around 50-70 degrees Celsius when producing around 60% or more of its maximum output to components.

 

[KEIN NEIN]

On 6/22/2019 at 9:58 PM, mariushm said:

Use your common sense, don't shove fingers where you don't have to.

If you hold the board by the edges or don't remove it from the case, you'll be perfectly fine.

 

this is a forum so common sense doesn't work, the OP clearly doesn't know much about PSUs

 

you should've at least hinted at the possibility of getting an electric shock

 

but thanks