looking to use 12v ps molex to power peltier

[angrysquirrel]

Hello,

I feel stupid asking you folks this but I'm confused and you guys know the answers so quickly.

Anyway, I want to buy a peltier unit to plug into one of my molex connectors for my power supply. My power supply is an Ultra X-connect 500 watt power supply. Here's the link to it:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=874746&CatId=1079

Now I want to buy the biggest peltier unit I can use to attach to the molex on the power supply (the thing that you plug into the hard drive). So I was looking on ebay and came across this wicked deal:

1pc 12706 Thermoelectric Cooler Peltier Plate 60W for $5.00!
TEC1-12706 60W TEC Thermoelectric Cooler Cooling Peltier Plate

http://cgi.ebay.com/1pc-12706-Thermoelectric-Cooler-Peltier-Plate-60W_W0QQitemZ250462992336QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a50c1f7d0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A15|66%3A2|39%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

So I was going to take that plate and attach the two wires to the molex (not sure which ones go where but there's only two so maybe I got a shot at it). Then I have a case fan that I can put underneath the peltier to cool the heat that will come off of it. So I will have a wicked powerful cooling unit to keep my drinks chilled!

So I was wondering can I go up in wattage? I did a search online for a volt to watt converter. 12 volts equals 12 watts. So maybe the most I can go is with a 12 watt peltier? Is there a way I can give this more juice? Would 12 watts be a pretty cool cooler? I have one running off my usb port right now (which I think is 5.0 volts / 5 watts). It's kinda cool but I want it cooler.

Oh, if I hooked the molex to a peltier that needs less watts will I kill anything? Do they have to be exact (i.e. 12 volt peltier and 12 volt rail?). This electronics stuff is cool but confusing....

 

[Bobnova]

You'll need a solid heatsink to cool it, not just a fan.
It'll be putting out over 60w of heat, more then a core2duo processor.

Volts times amps equals watts.
If you're serving up 100amps you can do 1200 watts on 12volts, and so on.
The peltier will only draw what it is rated to draw, assuming the input voltage is what it is rated for.

 

[4GHZ_or_bust]

I have a 50mmx50mm peltier that draws about 75 watts. When I used it to test a cheap PSU last year using that 12v connector, the wires were a bit warm so do mind the wire gauge if you're using PSU. You may need to build a custom Y adapter and tie both 12v line and both ground line to a single peltier.

 

[xtkxhom3r]

lol you try to do this and you will blow up your psu and there is no way you can keep a tec cool with a fan