getting power to my TEC

[chuchII]

i just got a 156watt TEC and connected it up to my power supply (not to the cpu yet). the cold side definatly got cold but not anywhere near freezing if anything it got barely cold enough to collect condensation. when used on my cpu i almost caused a burnout.
anyway, some friends say it's not getting enough voltage.
i think they are right, i was wondering if i could plug a 12v DC adapter into the wall and connect the TEC to that. would that work?

[Thelemac]

What are the power rating specs on it?

[Intraveinous]

When you say "Hooked it to your Power Supply" are you talking about the power supply that supplys the rest of your computer, or a high amperage bench power supply that is going to be used just for the Pelt?
If you mean your normal switching PSU in your computer, STOP right now and find a decent bench PSU. A 156Watt TEC will drain just about any PSU to the point of being unstable, if not killing it. Remember, Watts = Volts * Amps, so @ 12V, a 156Watt TEC needs 13Amps of current. You're not going to find a Wall Wart that will give you that, and trying to pull it from your Computer PSU is definately not a good idea.
Peace
John

[Morphoius]

Originally posted by Intraveinous
When you say "Hooked it to your Power Supply" are you talking about the power supply that supplys the rest of your computer, or a high amperage bench power supply that is going to be used just for the Pelt?
If you mean your normal switching PSU in your computer, STOP right now and find a decent bench PSU. A 156Watt TEC will drain just about any PSU to the point of being unstable, if not killing it. Remember, Watts = Volts * Amps, so @ 12V, a 156Watt TEC needs 13Amps of current. You're not going to find a Wall Wart that will give you that, and trying to pull it from your Computer PSU is definately not a good idea.
Peace
John


your math here is not correct.

(taken from dangerden.com)

Imax = 16.1 Amps
Qmax = 156 Watts
Vmax = 15.8 Volts
Delta Tmax = 69 (C)
Size = 48mm X 48mm X 3.4mm

These are the specs for a 156W peltier. it pulls 16.1A at 15.8V for a total power consumption 254 WATTS!!!(is this correct??)
Watts=volts*amps
volts=amps*resistance
SO:
Watts=V^2/R(R is about 1 in this setup with amps being close to watts or 1.017)

if amp consumption at 15.8V is 16.1 then at 12V it would be 141W power consumption pulling 11.75A.

i don't think there is anyway you can power a pelter that large on a normal computer power supply. you will need a powersupply that does like 13-15V and at least 20A i would think.

my math dosn't seem correct, does anyone know how the power consumption really works?

[Random Nonsense]

Imax (MAXIMUM current)
Vmac (MAXIMUM voltage)

those are extremes of one or the other. it will pull however much current it need to get 156 watts!

[chuchII]

judging from your responses i get the idea that my system PSU is not a good idea and i take it that a 12v DC adapter pluged into the wall isn't a good idea, but what kind of PSU should i use to power it?
i connected it to an old 230watt PSU, not much luck there, the fan in the PSU stops when the TEC is connected to it, and it doesn't heat or cool either side.

[Intraveinous]

A 'Bench Power Supply' or 'Lab Power Supply' that supplys between 12 and 15 volts and about 20 Amps to be safe. The TEC will draw as much current (amps) as it needs and leave the rest. You can do a search on eBay. Someone posted something about one earlier today, but I think that was a 24V which would be too much without some kind of conversion. Do a forum search for 'Peltier Power Supply' and you should find something. Also, do an eBay search for Bench Power Supply or Lab Power Supply and you may find something.
Peace
John

[It_The_Cow]

From what I've learned, you can't just multiply or divide the numbers to get your ratings. That's what I thought at first as well. Using the TEC on a dedicated PSU will probably be ok, but you'll be shortening its life and you won't get the full potential from it. Here's a post on power supplies by Colin


Originally posted by Colin

PSUs

Jameco (http://www.jameco.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=91&prrfnbr=3652&cgrfnbr=780&ctgys=503;528;780;)

Peak to Power (http://www.peaktopeakpower.com/catalogs/meanwell-001.html)

TE Tech (http://www.tetech.com/power/)

Astron (http://www.astroncorp.com/w28.shtml) I use an Astron VLS-35M. It's big and expensive but the front panel controls and meters for voltage and current are worth it.

[chuchII]

ok if i'm going to power this thing off of it's own dedicated PSU first do i need to modify the power supply at all or will just turning it on work?, secondly is there a minimum wattage PSU that i should get (i assume 300watts should do it)?

[Warlord2]

I got a bench powersupply from ebay for less thin $60

its a 24v at 12amp or 28v at 10amp


I would look there first=]


you could also do what procooling did and connect 2 AT psu in series

here (http://www.procooling.com/articles/html/linking_multiple_psu_s_as_one_.shtml)

[Intraveinous]

What happens when you hook a 12-15V TEC up to a 24-28V PSU?
I would assume it's not good?
But I don't know, so I'm asking :D
Peace
John

[Warlord2]

I have no clue


Im going to be doing it to my pelt but not over 5v difference

[Colin]

Originally posted by Intraveinous
What happens when you hook a 12-15V TEC up to a 24-28V PSU?
I would assume it's not good?
But I don't know, so I'm asking :D
Peace
John

Smoke! :D

[dmc]

I nearly burned up a cpu trying to use a 172 w pelt with a 12 v psu. I dont know about all the math but I do know that they require between 18-24 v and around 16 amps. If they dont have it they dont cool to their potential. I shelved the pelt until I can find a 24v 16a psu, I advise you to do the same. Good luck,
Derek

[mw521]

Check at radio shack, they have some cheap priced, usable power supplies.

[Jaster]

u guys saying that a 300 or 400 watt PSU isn't enough to just power a peltier!?!?!

[Warlord2]

yup

no 300-400 watt psu I know of will cute it

I think they make a 550watt psu though that MIGHT work

[ve6jhc]

I have powered my pelt of an old AT power supply....I used the 5 volt lead. It can put out 30 amps. I did a bunch of tests with my pelt using my ham radio power supply. It is a 40 amp supply with a 12 volt out put. This PS is over 30 pounds in weight and over 14" long. I can adjust the power output of the supply from zero to 15 volts. The best cooling with my pelt comes from 9.5 volts. Anything more just make more heat on the hot side. I do agree with the comments of the other posters about a computer PSU not being able to supply 12 volts to a pelt....but try the 5 volt line.

[71skylark]

A 400w computer power supply DOES NOT put 400w out to the 12v lines. The amps for just 12v are written on it's label or should be on the manufacturers website. It's most likely about 60% of the rating, with the rest of the voltage for the 5v and and other ATX required outputs. A computer PS isn't really intended as a high-current supply.
I got a 52A 24v DC supply for $41 off ebay, look there.

[Colin]

FWIW, I had decent results running a 156 watt pelt off the Enermax 651 in my box. I should note this was in the days when 1.4 GHz was fast. At the time I had an old AFJA running at 1392 MHz with a 2.06 Vcore. My experiences with dual 120, single and dual 172 watt pelts is they are happy between 18 and 22 volts.

[Warlord2]

Colin

did you ever try just a single 172 watt TEC?

if so what temps did you get?

[Colin]

Yep. I don't remember the temps but they were not as good as the 156 watt pelt. The pelt was suspect though. After the problems encountered in my dual 172 watt setup, the pelt was pretty much confirmed as the problem. I found the dual 120s were better suited to an Athlon and the problems of disposing of all that heat anyway. If you do a search of this forum, you will find a thread on my single 172 watt pelt experiences.