[SOLVED] Melted plastic inside Altis ATX-350PT PSU

**Rooster2000** · December 13th, 2014

I got this old Altis ATX-350PT(EC) PSU inside used computer. I tested it few times and it seems to work. However, when I took a look inside, I noticed that something has melted in there and has spread in many places. There seems to be two different kind of melted material inside, the white and the yellow one. I am not probably going to use this PSU again, and am going to recycle it, but was just curious to find out what that melted material might be. I see no clear source for it inside. Has anyone had a similar problem with PSU?

**deadflowr** · December 13th, 2014

Looks like normal silcone.

Edit: Oh, and glue.

**grahammechanical** · December 13th, 2014

What makes you think that stuff is melted stuff? It looks to me as stuff looks when it is used to seal transformer coils. I would think that if the transformer coils are overheating to the point of coatings melting, then there would have been other components (electronic ones) with obvious sign of burning. The smell often indicates a circuit board with components experiencing thermal runaway. Surely the thing is fused?

I think that components and wires on the computer motherboard would have burnt out long before the transformer over heated.

Regards.

**sammiev** · December 13th, 2014

Looks normal to me. Seen that before on other PSUs.

**pqwoerituytrueiwoq** · December 13th, 2014

here is my old psu, leaking caps and all, idk how it did not die before it was retired from service
http://i.imgur.com/BsK8N.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/G9CDK.jpg

that psu looks normal
the white stuff is epoxy glue
looks like the transformer in there got a little warm

**sammiev** · December 13th, 2014

Originally Posted by pqwoerituytrueiwoq

here is my old psu, leaking caps and all, idk how it did not die before it was retired from service
http://i.imgur.com/BsK8N.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/G9CDK.jpg

that psu looks normal
the white stuff is epoxy glue
looks like the transformer in there got a little warm

Now if I saw leaking caps, it would have been retired immediately.

**pqwoerituytrueiwoq** · December 14th, 2014

Originally Posted by sammiev

Now if I saw leaking caps, it would have been retired immediately.

was opened up after being retired. it was noisy and a semi-modular seasonic unit was on sale for 51 shipped

**tgalati4** · December 14th, 2014

It's a high-temperature wax or plastic potting compound. Transformers tend to vibrate at 50 or 60 Hz and that vibration can rub the varnish off of the wires causing them to short. The potting compound absorbs the vibration, making them quieter and extending the life. Over time, as the windings start to fail, or as the power circuitry pulls more current, the transformer heats up and the potting compound melts. Wax is cheaper to use than silicone, so that is one thing that differs between a "cheap" power supply and a "good" one.

**Rooster2000** · December 15th, 2014

Oh well, good to know it's normal. Now I can sell it instead of recycling

The reason I took it for granted that it has to be something melted was that it looked so messy and ugly for me. That's the first PSU I've ever opened though.

**/ADM** · December 15th, 2014

They don't normally pretty these things up. The average user isn't going to disassemble their PSU so they just give it a good coating (slopping it everywhere) instead of doing it nicely.