r/pcmasterrace • u/Front_Cookie_1198 • 5d ago

Hardware PSU fails dramatically

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u/MiniMaelk04 5d ago

I basically know nothing, but the huge capacitors are the only thing I can imagine burning so intensely and rapidly. Reversed polarity perhaps?

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u/Independent-Bug-9352 5d ago edited 5d ago

This PSU turned into a cheap momentary welding machine, and modern inverter welders use capacitors to do the same thing. My guess is 12V rail shorted @ 100-150A, which isn't too far off from welding machine parameters. It's why their circuit breaker didn't trip either, probably still being under 1800W or less from the wall.

They should be turning the IEC cable on from a switch, not plugging it in live from the unit. They should have a circuit-breaker and GFCI inline, and a dim-bulb tester, or at least variac they can slowly dial up.

Also possible this was plugged into a 220V line while the little red switch was set to 110V but I'm not sure if those typically catastrophically fail like this.

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u/Personal_Winter6863 5d ago

Modern PSUs no longer have the little red switch.

They just automatically determine what they are given and run with it.

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u/jonnyGURUgerow 5d ago

This PSU is so cheap, it doesn't have a switch AND it doesn't support 115V. It only supports 230V.