Case Airconditioning.... Using Peltier Junction Device

[craticus]

I have been hypothesizing the integration of a case airconditoner into my system when I upgrade. What I have been thinking of is a sealed system. Thus eliminating the necessity of cooling large volumes of air... Only that which is present inside the case... Also during the summer months the ambient room temperatures can soar to well over 100F. I'm not home most of the time so running the AC (central unit) is not economically viable. My main concerns are condensation on the inside of the case, and will the temperatures attained be sufficient to provide a safe environment for the CPU (AMD Athlon 1.4Ghz @fsb 266(not overclocked)) while under load. Here is a link the unit I plan to installl (or at least one similar). http://www.melcor.com/ssair.htm

Craticus>

[Paul -The Mad Hatter]

cool idea keep us updated as I'm curios how it will turn out.

[cjtune]

Hmmm, I think condensation can be easily controlled as it forms only on the the cold side of the pelt and on whatever extended surface it has -just construct something to collect the droplets. Your primary problem would be to able to cool the air fast enough before starting up the PC otherwise you'll make your Tbird angry when it find out the air it gets isn't sufficiently cooled yet -otherwise you may have to wait awhile after turning on the pelt before starting the PC.

[craticus]

The system is a server so it will be running 24/7 or as close to it as possible... so turning the pelt on won't be that big of a deal... thinking about adding some sort of thermostat to the system...

[cjtune]

Originally posted by craticus
The system is a server so it will be running 24/7 or as close to it as possible... so turning the pelt on won't be that big of a deal... thinking about adding some sort of thermostat to the system...

As some sort of power-saving feature? That is, turn up the air chiller when the weather is hot and turn it down when it's cold. Should be able to save some $$ especially for a system that is on 24/7.

Why not just get a low-capacity air-conditioner for the server room? I think most of them should have thermostatically controlled power-save mode. Air-conds are more energy-efficient than peltiers (higher coefficient of performance). In the longer run, it's save even more $$ on electricity bills. But the capital cost is much higher though. Something like buying a mini-laser printer over a inkjet printer.

[craticus]

In my apartment that is not an option.... thanks for the advice any how.. i might concider that at my next location.... btw.. any idea where i can get some heatsinks for DDR Ram?

[cjtune]

Originally posted by craticus
In my apartment that is not an option.... thanks for the advice any how.. i might concider that at my next location.... btw.. any idea where i can get some heatsinks for DDR Ram?

I frown at the idea RAMsinks since I never had any success with them. Maybe it'll be useful for DDR-RAM but I wouldn't buy RAMsinks either. Try making them yourself. You just need some old pentium or 486 heatsink and a sturdy metal saw plus superglue and thermal paste. Of course, lap the bottoms for better coupling.