Peltier cooler

[Danny_75]

Dont think iam going to run this 24/7 its more a little project. Will just bang it on and see what happends Its 400W so should do ok.

I am in the throws of sorting a phase change cooler so while its in bits will test the pelt.

[ben333]

Keep an eye on temps, and without careful considerations, don't even think of running it with a heat sink. I think if you follow some guide lines, you can't really go wrong...

 

The water block must cover the entire hot side of the peltier

There must be a copper shim, or "cold plate" on the cold side, between the peltier and CPU. I have a feeling this peltier is pretty large too... perhaps too large to be practical in this application.

Dielectric grease in and around the CPU socket

Large enough radiator with loud fans. A 2x 120 might cut it with a couple fans moving a lot of air, or a heatercore with a lot of air moving through it. I doubt a 1x 120 rad would work though, wouldn't try it. 3x 120 or a wide heater core to be safe.

Enough power! That 400W TEC needs some juice, lets say it is intended for 16V. That means it could need around 25A, so don't even think of running it on the same power supply as your computer. A spare supply, with a LARGE 12V rail might work, but when we get into this much power, others would recommend a lab grade power supply. Those are quite expensive and IMO not worth it.

 

So... (and this is rough) lets say at 12V, the TEC uses the same estimated 25A. That's 300W, overkill. You want about 2x the wattage of your CPU. If you ran it at 5V, that could be 125W - probably not enough. You want the wattage of the TEC to be about twice that of your CPU. So... (12 * A) = (2 * W) where A is the amperage of the TEC and W is the wattage of your processor.

 

 

My advice: Follow what I said above. To run with that peltier you ordered, you may need some hot/cold plates because it is probably larger than your waterblock. Some serious power, and also some serious cooling. Also be prepared to waste some serious electricity. You might want to consider a different peltier, and carefully plan the whole system.

[Danny_75]

The power will be from a battery charger from the garage. (will start trucks)

The cooler atm is sub zero around -15c so that should be ok. (water temp)

[OwinC]

A battery charger has power spikes.

 

Get a Tripplite power supply for that pelt.

 

I payed around $250 for my unit around 20 years ago. And it runs both a cb base radio as well a small 300 watt booster.

 

I do not remember the total wattage. I removed the label from the unit. The thing is about the size of an average car battery.

Edited February 13, 2010 by OwinC

[Danny_75]

Just thinking of things i have around the house/shop dont want to spend

[road-runner]

I have 2- meanwell s-320-12 I wouldnt mind selling but shipping would be way to much for where you are...

[Scottike]

Throw a 100 or larger mf capacitor across + and - leads coming off the battery charger, and that should smooth out the power coming out a little bit,

should smooth out the spikes enough for you to work with. it should'nt need much, it's a peltier, not a processor.

[Hyper]

Throw a 100 or larger mf capacitor across + and - leads coming off the battery charger, and that should smooth out the power coming out a little bit,

should smooth out the spikes enough for you to work with. it should'nt need much, it's a peltier, not a processor.

 

 

I looked at one of these a couple times but not really interested in OC'ing past what normal water cooling will do...(at least at the moment )

 

http://swiftnets.com/products/mcw6500-T1.asp

[shiver_8]

That unit looks pretty stupid

[Danny_75]

I have 2- meanwell s-320-12 I wouldnt mind selling but shipping would be way to much for where you are...

 

 

Ye the shipping would be insane!

 

 

Iam sure if i dont have or cant power the thing a mate will have something. I have a 900Watt PSU round the place thinking that may do at a push.

If not it will make a good beer mat

[Comp Dude2]

I never got the point of TEC's. The problem with cooling cpu's is the thermal energy per unit area that you have to remove, and a TEC will only increase this, so you have more energy to remove, but are using the same methods (water or air)

 

And i thought the concensus was that cpu wont run faster at lower temps, so it doesnt matter if they are below ambient temp surely?

Edited February 13, 2010 by Comp Dude2

[ben333]

Uhh yeah... A car battery charger is going to put out 12V - 14V of crappy power, and isn't intended to have such a large draw. I'm guessing that you will kill your charger, or something won't work right. Yes, it can start a car, but It can't run a starter all day long, only for a few seconds and then it needs a break. You're going to try and draw double the intended charge level from your charger... (unless it's a really expensive one). Now, please talk about your cooling solution. That -15 deg chiller or whatever it is might become useless or damaged when you give it 300W - 400W of heat to take care of...