Thermal Enterprises CP1 12730

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It's a 545 watt peltier cooler that claims it can operate 0-16 volts and 0-32 amps. Has anyone actually tried this because I am very low on time and need to know how far I can push it without it blowing out. Also I'd like to know what kind of differential I can get from it running something close to max power. Currently I am using two peltier plates (side by side) with 12 volts and 18 amps in a series circuit with a heat sink running under it and I can get the temperature down to about 28 farenheit. If I were to add two more plates, one under each of the two existing ones, and add 12 more volts and 18 more amps in series (or in parellel if it's recomended), should I expect a major drop in the temperature? I need it very cold (-15 farenheit). Anybody have any answers or solutions; I am a noob in desperate need.

TEC stacking i.e. putting one TEC under another, is rarely useful so I wouldn't bother trying it that. Also are your TECs in series on a 12v circuit or 24v circuit? You could get a free power boost by running them in parallel if it's a 12v circuit as they'll both receive twice as much voltage (12v). Remember that in a series circuit, when dealing with identical devices (really it has to do with the resistance of the parts and Ohm's law). In general, assuming the resistance is the same for all resistors on the circuit, it's number of devices / voltage so two identical TECs on a 12v circuit in series will both receive 6v.

I'd guestimate that if you ran that TEC on a 12v line you'd end up with about 300W of heat transfer. To know if you can get that cold, we need to know what CPU you're cooling. If you intend to get that low of a temperature, I'd recommend watercooling the TECs. Also, unless space &/or portability, is a concern, a more efficient way to get low temperatures like that would be a chilled water setup with an air conditioner used as the cooling device instead of the TEC.

re

When i hooked it up in parellel something started smoking (the total voltage is 12 not 24). The heatsink is running water that's temperature is 57 farenheit. The weird thing is that there is no cpu I'm using it for a project. It is heating a metal plate (6 inches by 6 inches) that is open to ambient enviorment on the top. But the side with the peltier plates is insulated in a cooler and the air conditioner is not an option. Is there anyway to find out what the max differential is? and do think it could handle the volts and amps it claims even considering two peltier plates started smoking when hooked up to 12 volts and 18 amps in parrelel? (It claims that each plate can handle 16 volts and 32 amps and I have another 12v 18A battery that i can use). What would you recomend?