Can cooling peltier

[Bensa]

Ok, I finally found good moding stores in Finland (2 of them :D), and they sell peltiers. I remember that peltier setup that a guy used to cool his beer, but I was wondering, since I have 3 empty 5 1/2 bays, I could place a plastic container to cool cans and cups.

http://koti.welho.com/pwalchli/pics/chiller.gif
So there would be maybe 2 40mm fans heading into ducts, so they would cool as efficiently as possible, air from outside in, air to outside. Would this be enough.

Edit: I would also have a switch so I don't waste power and create extra noise.

[I.M.O.G.]

You will want a coldplate and a heatsink. The coldplate will let you utilize the entire cooling surface area of the peltier, instead of a pop can sized portion of the surface. The heatsink will keep the hotside of the pelts closer to room air temperature and improve the coldness of your cans. :)

EDIT: Sorry, I thought you were using a pop can block to cool a cpu... I deleted the original post. ;)

Welcome to the forums!

[Bensa]

I've read about peltiers, and understand the concept from physics, but for cooling a can, which is a much larger than a cpu core, should I make somekind of special "seat", like and indent into the coldplate (I'm assuming copper, I have copper working tool available". And would 2 40mm fans be able to cool down a any one of these (this is in the extreme cooling section)
LINK (http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=232042)

[I.M.O.G.]

I would stick to a ~50-80 watt peltier. Even with that wattage, given no heat load, you will form condensation. Are you planning to use a heatsink?

A seat would not be a bad idea at all. I would take the base off of a pop can, fill the concave side with something that conducts heat well - molten metal if possible - and adhere that to the coldplate. The can that would be cooled would sit on that seat and it would be in more direct contact with the cold from the peltier.

EDIT: My first post as a bluey... And it's about pop cans - go figure. :rolleyes:

[Bensa]

Originally posted by IMOG
I would stick to a ~50-80 watt peltier. Even with that wattage, given no heat load, you will form condensation. Are you planning to use a heatsink?

On the bottom part of the peltier? Sure will, got some old alu heatsink that would fit those 40-50mm square pelts perfectly (its from my old IS-7 chipset cooler).

Is silicone good for insulation?

The box type thing around everything that you see in the pic, is a thick plastic container, which will be insulated on the outside to stop condensation. I might even have 2 boxes, like this, and have the space between the boxes filled with insulation. Of course there will be a empty space right under the pelt for airflow.

http://koti.welho.com/pwalchli/pics/Untitled-1.gif

Edit: The door will be 3 layers, the middle being insulation foam.

[cupidr17]

dude, thats a cool idea. then when it gets cold in the winter, you can use it to keep your hot cocoa warm =)

[Bensa]

Originally posted by cupidr17
dude, thats a cool idea. then when it gets cold in the winter, you can use it to keep your hot cocoa warm =)

Good point, Ill just switch it over, and I just won't use the fans at all.

[CrashOveride]

Originally posted by cupidr17
dude, thats a cool idea. then when it gets cold in the winter, you can use it to keep your hot cocoa warm =)

lol just flip it over and heat up the cold side!

[Blueacid]

Originally posted by IMOG
EDIT: My first post as a bluey... And it's about pop cans - go figure. :rolleyes:

Congrats on the BLUE stars, IMOG!


Cooling it will be easy - perhaps you might like to massacre an old pentium 1 heatsink to cool down the hot-side of the pelt...


If you are going to flip the pelt over to heat drinks up, remember that you can't let the pelt get too hot, otherwise it will melt itself!

[Kitler]

CRAP!!!i got too do that thats a great idea!=)

[Bensa]

Okay, my heatsinks base is 37mm by 32mm. Its aluminium, and kinda looks like this, except it has more and thinner fins, and the side fins are bent to the sides at the top.
http://www.digital-daily.com/documents/3267/epox-8k3a-nb.jpg

[i_like_penguins]

with an 80watt pelt, you might need a bit more than a horthbridge hs, i would get a crappy xp hsf and go with that. if it is too tall, take the fan off and get a blow. tape up the hole in the top where the fan was and put the blower on the side. actually, now that i think about it, the blower might be a better idea anyway. it will probably be quieter and have better coolling since there will not be a dead spot under the fan.

[Bensa]

I will use the 56w peltier. Do you think I would get any performance gain from a hs on the bottom of the pelt if I just took a block of copper, and drilled holes from side to side? Because the air would be forced into the holes, so I really don't need the fins that allowe airflow into many directions.

[Flewdefur]

you need maximum surface area for heat dispation, thats why the heatsinks have fins. If you put a block of copper on the block would heat up but the heat would have a tough time being transfered to the air. i think the idea of modifying a stock xp heatsink would work. It proly would work fine with the fan in the default location as well.

[Constantinos]

If you dont cool hot side of heatsink it will pretty much destroy itself. The heat will pelt the internal solder joints and you pelt will literaly fall apart.

[Borisw37]

Ok, this is a great topic.
Cooling a can with peltiers was my Freshmen Design Project at Drexel University. I and 5 other people have spent about 4-5 months developing and building it. We used 8 X 80 watt peltiers, and had copper cold plates water jet cut for us, to fit around the can. Unfortunately we powered all of them in series from 120-140DC, and due to a particular behavior of peltiers we ruined all of them. But we still had a working temperature regulator that would turn the peltiers on or off, depending on the set temperature, using a thermistor as a temp. probe.
If only i could find free-easy web hosting i could post the pics. At the end we had a 30 page final paper describing everything to the detail.

[i_like_penguins]

you also might have better luck if you put the pelt on top of the can. since heat rises, having the cold on top would give you maximum cooling. oh yea, there is a farm supply store by my house that sells small pelt powered coolers. they might be large enough for 1-2 cans and are powered by a 36w pelt (i think) if i rember right they are about $20us. if you can get something like this, it almost might be easier since you get a pelt and 2 hsf. (one on each side of the pelt). and, with only 36 watts of load, you could easly tap into your psu for power without blowing it.

[Bensa]

If I use the pelt on top, I would need a complex spring system so can/glass would touch the pelt, and there would be air between the liquid and pelt.

[Flewdefur]

i think for the pelt to be on top you'd have to put a heatsink on both sides. ONe would cool the hot side, the other, with the help of a fan would circulate air through the chilled heatsink fins to create a mini frig type enviroment.

[arabarabian]

I like that idea except I couldn't put a beer in there if I did it.

Thank You,
Daniel

[i_like_penguins]

Originally posted by arabarabian
I like that idea except I couldn't put a beer in there if I did it.

good point. well, maby put it on the back side with a fan to circulate the cold air. i am thinking that once you add a fan to the cold side of the pelt, it is not going to matter what position it is in. just keep in mind that their might be some condensation that you are going to have to deal with. if you made the door and the rest of the box air-tight, condensation will be minimal though. man, it would be sweet to have a computer that chills your beer for you.

[Flewdefur]

if you put the pelt on top, the air will condense and then the droplets could fall down into a like shallow bowl at the bottom of the frig for easy removal.

[Bensa]

Pelt on top also wouldnt work cause Ill use a aluminium or steel glass, not a can since cans are damn expensive in Finland for some reason, I think its the recycling costs. Anyways, with a glass, the droplets will fall in, and I also want to cool as much as possible, and as fast as possible, so having the pelt on the bottom, making direct contact will be more efficent.