Things to do with a old computer

Step 5 Power Supply

There arnt as many uses for the power supply but thats not to say the few there is for it isn't good.

1.Convert it to a Bench Top Power Supply
Computer PSU's provide stable voltage with short circuit and thermal protection. Makes it perfect for a bench top Supply.

See HERE for my very own Instructable on the matter

2.Build A Fireworks Launcher
DONT ATTEMPT THIS IF YOU NOT OVER 18 but if you want to risk blowing your head off be my guest.

See HERE

3.Recycle it into a fume extractor.
All you have to do is take the guts out of it and hook the fan up to 12v. Great for soldering!

See HERE

Comments

[or_ford98]

''....but if you want to risk blowing your head off be my guest.....'' 
- great warning bro, it made me roflol

[wolf1234link]

would there be any risk if the computor was unplugged for a few months like of getting shocked

[xana]

no

[wolf1234link]

thx

[WanderingAuthor]

Voltage will sting, but it is the amps that will kill you. You can get a nasty burn from high voltage, but what it takes to kill you is a quarter of an amp across your heart. A twelve volt car battery could give you a lethal jolt, if you got careless.

[90kar08]

You need the voltage to get the amps! The resistance of the human body is way to high to get a zap from 12 or even 24 volts.

[Pixels303]

thats right folks, 90kar09 is spot on. I did the tests and found that around 70 volts is the highest potential a person could sustain with dry hands before the current was too much to hold. 12 Volts simply doesn't have the potential for passing enough current through you (Even if you have wet hands). Only way you have any concern is when you have a inductive load on 12 volts is turned off passing current through you when the magnetic poles collapse.

[dla888]

24 volts is very hazardous. 120 volts will zap you and jerk you around, while 24 volts will zap you and hold you.

[SpantaX]

24 volts is not hazardous.. you won't even feel it.. unless you touch the power source with your tounge.. the tounge is sensitive, and you can feel 9 volts..

[The Incredible IT Maker]

only if it has a high amperage.

[dla888]

AR eyou refering to AC or DC power.

[SpantaX]

up to 24 V - DC over 24 V - AC

[awang8]

That's right. You need volts to carry the amps across.

[vitruvian8807]

I wonder if there's such a thing as an electrical capacitance bracelet or something. Or something you could wear that would absorb some or most of the electricity from a zap, provided you don't touch electric poles and such.

[yellowtwo]

I'm at work, this made me LoL, people looked at me funny...

[schetleft]

maybe a layden jar that you could wear?

[blakdragon19]

ummm, a car battery can deliver about 500 amps on average... so yeah.

[prodlad]

to be presise its 60 milliamps

[Derin]

120Ah,about 200A cold crank.

[awang8]

But it doesn't usually reach your heart in time to kill you...

[Nando_Kommando]

right, I've been zapped by the car battery when I was really young. It through me a little ways, but I'm still here!

[Plasmana]

Yeah...

[iMake]

Please be carefully when working with a power supply or a monitor. The can hold a charges and zap you to death.

[prodlad]

Yeah there are very high voltage power supplys in a monitor and its pretty painful just getting zapped with 240 and even 110. (Bad earthing on a hotel light switch, LOL)

[The 4th Doctor]

Quite often these have some fairly nice capacitors in them for a coil gun or what have you usually 400uf to 600uf at 200 to 250 volts from what ive seen (older psu's) found 2 at 470uf 200v and lined em up for 400v in my 3000uf 330v capacitor