Quote:
Originally Posted by Camelopardalis
A slight aside, if constructing an aluminium box, should the TEC go on the outside (with cold side attached to the box), or should a hole be made to fit it into? I'm assuming that the TEC shouldn't go inside, as that would leave the hot side contacting the aluminium.
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Valid question.
The expensive TEC I bought from the states was well designed for just this purpose. It was possible to screw it into the metal box but have no contact (other than those 2 screws) between the hot side heatsink and the box. Equally, there was no physical connection between the cold side and the box either.
The cheap Chinese unit was less well designed and I had to make a couple of adjustment plates out of plastic material in order to achieve the same level of thermal isolation from the metal box.
My reading of the Gary Honis' description of his metal box and other designs suggested he had the cold side in direct contact with the box because he was using air-to-plate TECs rather than air-to-air. I think that's a flaw in his design.
Peter