peltier, how cold

[concepts]

I know most system range from -10 - 10 depending on how they cool the hot side but if you phase cool the hot side down to well below 0 say -30 they wont get much colder than that right?

[Paxmax]

Sort of I would say.

It's true that TECs won't cool as efficient at low low temps, but it will cool none the less.

TECs are (usually) made to operate (best) with a hotside above room temp.

So, if a TEC setup will create a temperature difference between coldside/hotside of 30C around room temp, you might still get 15-20C difference at -30C. But thats just my guessing, I haven't learned anough about TECs yet.

To get a more accurate answer I think we need to consult "doc".

[doc]

You are right Paxmax, TECs will cool below the limits of freon based cooling, but they are not as efficient at these temps. If you were to cool a TEC with a phase change system such as freon, and pump the heat generated by the TEC and cpu, you could take the cpu down another 20C to 30C below what you could do with just freon. It would be a power hog! Is it worth it? I dont know. You may have the coldest cpu without using LN2. Just a side note I have use TECs ( at my job ) near LN2 temps and they work just fine.

[Big Lar]

If i remember correctly, it has to do with the Delta T of the actual TEC. Check out under Water cooling on the front page, and look for "Big Lar at 1006" or something like that for a couple interesting pics.