clear case static problem

[dejablue]

i've had a clear case...acrylic...for the last 18 months. it's been used at home without any static problems. this past weekend i took it to my office to use (the staff loves it !) but i'm finding that it is building up a lot of static electricity. i can touch the psu every 20 minutes or so and get a slight shock. i live/work in las vegas so the humidity is very low. i've always read that the h.d, floppy, etc., are grounded to the psu, and then to the outlet in the wall. any suggestions on how to remedy the problem ? (don't want to bring it home as i space out and look at it for the first 15 minutes or so each morning.....nice way to start the day !!!) thanks for any input.

 

[Crimson]

I'd suggest running a grounding wire from the case to the wall socket.. Apparently the static that is building up is not draining out the power supply's ground.

 

[pm]

There are a couple of types of sprays that you can buy at Office Depot/Max that pretty much eliminate the static problem. Take everything out of the case, spray it down with two or three coats and put it back together. I used to get pretty big shocks from my chair here at work; everytime that I would get out of the chair, the next object that I touch (usually shaking someone's hand) would get a big jolt. The spray that I ordered fixed my problem completely. I use "Evans International Anti-Static Spray" and you can call them directly at 1-800-368-3061.

It's very odd that the power supply doesn't appear to be grounded though. But what if you are the one carrying the charge, and you are discharging to the power supply after having walked across the carpets in the office?

 

[CTho9305]

plexiglass conducts... it conducts well enough to short out a mobo that touches it (i know from experience

.) It is VERY unlikely that the PSU is building up charge. the ground wire of the electrical plug goes directly to the PSU's case in every power supply I've seen.

Since the plexiglass conducts, your whole case should be grounded, as should any drives that are screwed into it.

I agree with pm that it is MUCH more likely that you are the one building up charge. Try spraying your chair / the floor around where you work and see if that is the problem.

 

[capybara]

Originally posted by: pm


It's very odd that the power supply doesn't appear to be grounded though. But what if you are the one carrying the charge, and you are discharging to the power supply after having walked across the carpets in the office?

yep, thats the root on the problem, the carpet.

 

[dman]

I remember reading in some car forums about using some Liquid Fabric Softener in a spray bottle (like 1tsp to a bottle of water) and that will prevent static build up. (Folks complained about getting shocked after getting out of their car). Might try spraying some around the area you work.... I wouldn't spray it in/on the case though, just on the fabrics/carpet.


Ex:

If you have cloth seats, here's a old fix I've been useing for years. Go rade the Downey fabric softner from the wife's washing machine closet and mix about 20 : 1 with water. Clean the seats in your truck with a vacumn. Place the mixture in spray bottle and spray the seats until lightly damp. Allow to dry. Works for about 6 months before the need to redo the spraying

 

[Yomama21]

You may want to check the outlet that the machine is plugged into. It may not be properly grounded.

You can buy a tester at any electronics store for only a couple of bucks. I had the same problem until I found out that the outlets in my house weren't properly grounded.

 

[Jerboy]

Originally posted by: Yomama21
You may want to check the outlet that the machine is plugged into. It may not be properly grounded.

You can buy a tester at any electronics store for only a couple of bucks. I had the same problem until I found out that the outlets in my house weren't properly grounded.

If you feel tingle from touching the PSU I am aware of two reasons:

1. The computer is not grounded and you're feeling leakage current through capacitive coupling within PSU. You can solve this by plugging computer into a grounded outlet. The neutral side of outlet is connected to ground at the utility company's transformer. You can connect the case to neutral side of the line. This will work fine, but will prove disaterous should the computer ever be plugged into an outlet with neutral and hot reversed(not supposed to be, but happens), because your case will be 120V above ground. That and it is a clear violation of code.

2. Your body collected charge by walking around and you feel the shock when it discharge into ground through PSU case.

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: dejablue
i've had a clear case...acrylic...for the last 18 months. it's been used at home without any static problems. this past weekend i took it to my office to use (the staff loves it !) but i'm finding that it is building up a lot of static electricity. i can touch the psu every 20 minutes or so and get a slight shock. i live/work in las vegas so the humidity is very low. i've always read that the h.d, floppy, etc., are grounded to the psu, and then to the outlet in the wall. any suggestions on how to remedy the problem ? (don't want to bring it home as i space out and look at it for the first 15 minutes or so each morning.....nice way to start the day !!!) thanks for any input.

every 20 minutes? so I take it that you can't get repeated shocked? maybe it's you not the case... or the psu casing is not grounded at all and some moving parts (like the fan?) is generating static and it's collecting up somehow... anyway you can test to see if it's you or not by touching someone else's PC or any grounded electrical appliances everytime you think you can get a shock from the pc. if it's static build up then that means your office has pretty poor wiring nad you need to ground the PSU somehow...

actualy now that i've read another thread about the operations of PSU it might even by the leaked high voltage DC from the psu collecitng up... the capacitance of the psu at 170 DC might collect up enough charge for a perceivable shock... just guessing thoguh.