Quote:
Originally Posted by bloodhound31
I am adding three 51w 6A Peltiers.
Does anyone know how to power them?
Here are some photos and the power supply I am using. The problem is, I don't know which leads hanging out the back to use. I have a multimeter, but no idea how to use it.... willing to learn....
P.S. Yes, I do have internal fans.....
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Hi barry, good to see you've taken the plunge.
Powering the peltiers and fans is very easy - buy yourself a decent quality computer power supply, rated for 25A on the 12v rail or more to be on the safe side, and connect the +12v rail to the peltiers all in parallel. No need for anything more, the peltiers will draw about 6A each so make sure you use a reasonably heavy guage wire.
If you feel the wire getting warm as it runs then this is the sign that it's too lightweight. I personally use the heavy duty speaker wire from dse/jaycar.
Put the fans in parallel on the same 12v rail, they draw next to no power and that means you can't accidentally switch on the peltiers without the fans and melt everything.
To make the computer psu fire up you have to find the green wire (there will be only one) and connect it to any of the black wires (ie ground it). This is the soft power connection that normally goes to the motherboard in the computer. Ground it via a switch or something.
Do you have temp sensors to read the temperature? That's also very important.
Getting the most heat pumped out of the system means having at least one fan inside the case, blowing air *onto* the peltiers or as close as you can get. This is important, don't have the internal fan blowing onto the mirror or you'll end up stirring up the air without pumping out much heat.
cheers, and have fun!
Bird