Single or Dual PSU's to run Peltiers!

[bdf24]

One thing I notice is a lot of people think you have to have a second PSU to run a peltier. Well from my own experiences and beliefs. You only really need a second PSU to run a peltier if your psu is around 235w to 300w's. Anything bigger and there should be no reason for a second PSU to run the pelt reliably in my opinion. Of course this all depends on how much other hardware you have as well how big the peltier is.

But for the most part if you dish out the money and buy a big PSU that will push a lot of amps you do not need a second PSU to run a pelt. My 431w Enermax with all my hardware below, slot1 Alpha and 3 80mm case fans runs the exact same voltages with or without the peltier! The number are pretty well the same.

I know as far as stability and less chance of shorting your system of power at bootup (which is one of the biggest problems of running a peltier on a small PSU) it is a good idea to run a second PSU. But I think it is a misconception that it is needed to run a pelt or else you will have problems! Well this is not really true.

I just wanted to express my opinion on this. As I used to believe it was needed as well till I ran my 250w PSU alone with a pelt and all my hardware for around 6 months before I had any problems.And the problems that did arise were due to a power surge(which wrecked my modem as well). I know I will never have to worry about my Enermax giving me any troubles!

 

[Thelemac]

It's not so much for the power, but for TECs that are big enough for AMD, you need to have more voltage per amp to get it working properly. Which means not a second PC PSU, but a second PSU that has a higher voltage rating.

 

[bdf24]

Well yes, that I can understand. But if you read a lot of the posts about peltiers. Eveyone is telling everyone you have to have a second powersupply.

As far as AMD goes, I know it takes a lot more to cool those chips down. Your average 80w tec wont do it. Most of the higher end tecs are around 17v's or more. Which in that case a high voltage PSU is understandable.

But for say me. With my PIII an 80w tec can do wonders and is only a 15v tec. So the use of a second High voltage PSU is not needed. And I realize that running a 15v tec at 12v only gives you 64w's! So you are not getting the full potential of the tec. That is why I bought the 86w tec instead of the 72w tec. I figured out what my wattage would be after taking 20% of the voltage off. Which is just under 69w's, Which is right around what I was looking for.