Power Supply Modification

[dmw16]

Here's the story...

I want to modify an Apple G5 case to house a PC. I have a pretty good idea how to tackle most of the problems, but there is one that has me a little bit puzzled and I am hoping someone here might be able to help.

The corners of the Apple case have radii and as a result a standard PC power supply won't fit. So what I'd like to do is remove the guts from a regular PC power supply and drop them into a Mac power supply chassis. (Very similar to what's seen in THIS thread, post #7.)

I know there is some serious voltage stored in the capacitor(s) inside the power supply, but I am wondering if anyone with more knowledge of these things could tell me if I can do this transplant without having to discharge the cap(s)? Or if I do, what is the PROPER (ie, no screw driver ) method of discharging it?

THanks.

 

[bloodugly]

I'd just advise you to be EXTREMELY careful and get a lot of info before attempting this. Honestly, if you know anyone with electronics experience, or a local shop that might do it reasonably, you might want to go that direction instead. Or maybe someone on here would do it reasonably if you mailed the parts to them.

 

[dmw16]

I'd be willing to pay someone to do it if I could find someone capable of doing the work.

Truth be told, I am considering bagging the whole project because of the power supply because I know enough to know they can be VERY dangerous.

 

[bloodugly]

I'm sure there are more than a few people on here for whom this would probably be pretty simple and could use a few bucks.

 

[frostedflakes]

It's really not, I've never heard of anybody getting shocked from working on a non-live PSU. The charge in the caps should dissipate very quickly.

Before working on a PSU I unplug it from the mains, then press the power button on the computer to make sure any charge is drained (the computer will usually start up for a split second). Then I just take it out and start working in it right away. I'm not careful at all about avoiding components in the PSU and I've never been shocked. Well I have been shocked before, but that was when I was messing around inside a live PSU. Not a smart idea.

 

[dmw16]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't planning on messing with a live PSU I really know that's not a good move.

 

[bloodugly]

I've never been zapped either by a PSU, but I also discharge like mentioned above and read a lot before I ever started messing around inside them, and I'm still really careful. Electricity hurts