Noob question on Peltier wattage

ZOLTAN · 04-01-2003, 09:38 PM

Greetings to all. New to the forum but I must say congradulations to all the denisens that make up this fine repository of wisdom and experience. I have benifited greatly thank you
OK I have three pelts that were given to me. Is there any way one can determine there characteristics/specs without any other information other than the units themselves? I have gone over them with my microscope and can find no identifiable markings.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration of my request
Kindest Regards
Z

RoboTech · 04-04-2003, 07:53 AM

Hey Zoltan,

Welcome to the forum...

I'm no expert but I can tell you what I have done

1. Size - are they 40 mm square or 50 mm? The larger the TEC, the larger the wattage rating usually.

2. Test each one with a variable output power supply to find out where they work best. (0 - 30 VDC up to 25 amps) Mount the pelt between a cold plate and water block. Hook up the waterblock to a water-cooling system (to keep the hot side cool during testing). Start out at about 10 VDC and mesure the temp of the cold plate. Every few minutes turn up the voltage 1 or 2 volts and check cold plate temp. Keep doing this until the cold side temp starts getting warmer as the voltage increases. The minimum voltage you get the most cooling is the TECs sweet spot and is usually a few volts below it's factory rated Vmax.

Good luck...

ZOLTAN · 04-04-2003, 08:20 AM

Hello RoboTech
Many Thanks for your practical advice. I appreciate your time in reply
Kindest Regards
Z

Butcher · 04-11-2003, 09:38 AM

Size has little relevance to cooling power. A 40mm TEC could be anything from 10W to 172W. The easiest way to get a rough estimate is to power one up and read how much current it draws, then multiply by voltage*0.7 to get a rough estimate of the cooling power of the TEC. You should test at around 12-15V to get a reasonable reading.
So for instance if you power up at 12V and get 20A current draw. You can do 12*20*0.7 = 168W. And that's roughly the cooling power of your TEC.

KnightElite · 04-11-2003, 12:06 PM

Keep in mind though, if it's cooling 168W at 12V, then it's probably a 220W TEC, since they are rated for 220W at 15.2V.

04-01-2003, 09:38 PM	#1
ZOLTAN Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 2	Noob question on Peltier wattage Greetings to all. New to the forum but I must say congradulations to all the denisens that make up this fine repository of wisdom and experience. I have benifited greatly thank you OK I have three pelts that were given to me. Is there any way one can determine there characteristics/specs without any other information other than the units themselves? I have gone over them with my microscope and can find no identifiable markings. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration of my request Kindest Regards Z

04-11-2003, 09:38 AM	#4
Butcher Thermophile Join Date: May 2001 Location: UK Posts: 1,064	Size has little relevance to cooling power. A 40mm TEC could be anything from 10W to 172W. The easiest way to get a rough estimate is to power one up and read how much current it draws, then multiply by voltage0.7 to get a rough estimate of the cooling power of the TEC. You should test at around 12-15V to get a reasonable reading. So for instance if you power up at 12V and get 20A current draw. You can do 1220*0.7 = 168W. And that's roughly the cooling power of your TEC. __________________ Once upon a time, in a land far far away...

04-11-2003, 12:06 PM	#5
KnightElite Cooling Savant Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Posts: 294	Keep in mind though, if it's cooling 168W at 12V, then it's probably a 220W TEC, since they are rated for 220W at 15.2V. __________________ Can anyone else here say that they have a watercooled monster that's 45" tall?

04-04-2003, 07:53 AM	#2
RoboTech Cooling Savant Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 229	Hey Zoltan, Welcome to the forum... I'm no expert but I can tell you what I have done 1. Size - are they 40 mm square or 50 mm? The larger the TEC, the larger the wattage rating usually. 2. Test each one with a variable output power supply to find out where they work best. (0 - 30 VDC up to 25 amps) Mount the pelt between a cold plate and water block. Hook up the waterblock to a water-cooling system (to keep the hot side cool during testing). Start out at about 10 VDC and mesure the temp of the cold plate. Every few minutes turn up the voltage 1 or 2 volts and check cold plate temp. Keep doing this until the cold side temp starts getting warmer as the voltage increases. The minimum voltage you get the most cooling is the TECs sweet spot and is usually a few volts below it's factory rated Vmax. Good luck...

04-04-2003, 08:20 AM	#3
ZOLTAN Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 2	Hello RoboTech Many Thanks for your practical advice. I appreciate your time in reply Kindest Regards Z

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