peltier power supply

[dmignone]

Have aquired some peltier/water cooling items...not sure how much wattage. I planned on setting up the peltiers just as water chillers (dont want to deal with condensation with peltier directly on the cpu). Should I definitely use a second power supply to run the peltiers or would a huge 550 watt power supply that supplies like 38 amps on the 12 volt side work? I plan on making my own portable "koolance like" box with the radiator, eheim pump...and would prefer to keep the power supply small or use the one in my case. If I should buy a separate psu, can anyone suggest a good adjustable psu meant for peltiers?
asus a7n8x deluxe, athlon xp2600+ 333fsb, radeon 9800 pro, sound blaster audigy 2 platinum, logitech z680 speakers, thermaltake xaser 2 case, enermax eg465p-ve psu, 2 western digital 80 gig 8mb cache in raid 0 (waiting for good sata drives)

thanks in advance

[Trent Steel]

You may still have the condensation problem, as long as the temp of the water is below ambient temperature you can have condensation. Sounds like an interesting project with the peltier cooling the water before it gets to the processor.

[dmignone]

yes, I was going to try to get the water to about 55 - 60 degrees or as low as I could get it to avoid condensation. I may consider using the peltier on the processor (I have one already attached to the water block) depending on the feedback I get here. Have you had any experience with them?

[mattg2k4]

If you're using a TEC to chill water, you will probably have condensation. Unless you've got a huge energy bill, I doubt you're air conditioning your room to the 55-60 degrees you want your water at, and if your water is below ambient there will be condesation on everything in contact with water (ie hoses, waterblock, radiator, etc).

That said, it is best to run a TEC on a dedicated 12v psu. Your 550 watt that supplies 38 amps on the 12v rail should though, it all depends what load you're putting on that rail already. I've rarely seen a TEC draw over 10 amps. I suggest you hook up the TEC to your power supply (disconnected from the computer at this time) and use a multimeter to measure the current draw of the TEC, because it's just not good not to know the ratings of the equipment you're using.

When you say you already have a peltier already attached to the waterblock, and you are considering putting one on the processor.. isn't this the same thing?? Unless you have the wb on the processor and the peltier on top of the waterblock, which would be a BAD thing.

[dmignone]

I have 3 tecs...two are on an old slot A water block and heatsink set up backwards to chill the waterblock, the other is set up the normal way and was on the processor...it is all swiftech stuff, probably several years old (my friend owed me some money and gave me this stuff instead). I'm just not sure if its worth the extra trouble/complication to run the tec's....what do you think?...BTW thanks for your response

[mattg2k4]

I'm just not sure if its worth the extra trouble/complication to run the tec's....what do you think?

Unless you're overclocking or showing off (both good reasons btw), there isn't much reason to do it. TEC's are a bit pricey, risky, and consume a lot of power (and power costs money). Another consideration is although they cool your processor, they put out a lot of heat themselves. A 50 watt TEC will pump 50 watts of heat into your system, which is in the neighborhood of what P4's put out. I personally don't need any more sources of heat in my room.

They can also make your processor run at great temperatures and give you bragging rights above those who use air cooling or even water cooling. If you've already got the materials, know-how, willingness to damage your computer, and the time, I say go for it.

Ultimately though, it's your decision.

[dmignone]

have any ideas on the power supply situation?

[mattg2k4]

have any ideas on the power supply situation?

In general, it's better to run a TEC off a dedicated supply. But if you have your beefy 550 watt ATX supply supply it may work. Measure the current usage of your TEC with a multimeter. To do this, strip or somehow expose 2 points on the same wire, ie on only the black or only the red lead to the TEC, place the multimeter leads on the wire one after the other, not sure which goes first, probably the black multimeter lead, set the mode to dc amperage with a range of at least 20 amps.

If it's a small enough draw, you'd be all right running it off your ATX supply. Otherwise you can build or buy (I recomend build) a dedicated 12v supply. I believe Honeywell makes such supplies, but I'm not sure.

[dmignone]

OK...thanks for your input