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0 pointsvictorhooi7mo ago0 comments

I think perhaps you might have not read the entire article? =)

The danger isn't so much in the fan, but in that the fan is INSIDE OF A COMPUTER PSU. There are mains AC voltages (220V, or 110V) here, and even if unplugged (which is should be) there are also capacitors in there, which you should definitely be cautious of.

I've worked in DC (datacenters) before - and I've seen people accidentally drop screws into power supplies...and well, electrical arc, boom, you can guess the rest. And in a domestic situation, a 4" cooling fan (yes, I know, larger) stopped suddenly due to a motor issue, and send flying bits of plastic shrapnel around (always wear eye protection!).

This isn't quite like tinkering with your little Arduino board, or Raspberry Pi.

If you did read the article =(.... I think that's a bit arrogant and disingenuous to make fun of people saying you should be cautious around things that are connected to AC mains, or that involve capacitors.

0 comments

hobs7mo ago

I appreciate that most folks talking about power on HN are talking about computers, but I decided to not become an electrician in an earlier life.

Taking standard precautions doesn't mean you suddenly shy away from doing basic maintenance. You can use iso alcohol to clean things even if its flammable, just don't use an open flame at the same time.

umbra077mo ago

> I've seen people accidentally drop screws into power supplies...and well, electric boom, you can guess the rest.

Are we talking like, bad electrical shock, hospitalization, death, etc?

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