Peltier Devices Wanted!!

jpt

Hi, Im a mechanical engineering student using Peltier units in my dissertation work. Im looking for any burned out Peliters' there might be lying around in labs or workshops.

The idea behind this is to 'open it up' by machining away part of one ceramic surface to demonstrate the semiconductor arrangement for a presentation I have to give in a few weeks..

I have a working Peltier Im using for my uni work but I cannot afford to purchase another given my current budget..

Any help would be appreciated, any condition accepted!!

Cheers,
John

ctherm

John,

I have a picture of a TEC (peltier) with the top ceramic missing. You can see all the pellets and the interconnecting tabs on the top of each pair of pellets. If you PM me your email address, I will send it to you. We also have dead devices if you still need one.


Andy
<< e-mail address deleted by berkeman >>

UR_Correct

We're using TEC's for our senior design project! I would give them to you, but we need them until the middle of december!

You can get a good size one for like 20$ though, I think.

DrAlloway

I just got a peltier (12v 60w TEC1-12706) and tried to check it out.

I have never had a peltier before and don't really know how they work.

Mine has a red and black lead so I connected them accordingly to a 12v DC trickle charger.

BOTH SIDES got hot (very hot right away).

I thought a peltier was supposed to make cold not hot - what did I do wrong ??

dlgoff

Without a heat sink to remove the heat or not current limiting (too much current from the charger perhaps), the diodes probably failed.

OmCheeto

I did the exact same experiment a few weeks ago when I purchased the exact same device. Ouch!

I just did a slightly more controlled experiment with some heat sinks and insulation.

After applying ~60 joules over 10 seconds to the device, I measured the following values:

T_cold dropped 2 °C
T_hot jumped 14 °C

The temperatures then of course over time equalized

But it is obvious that a massive heat sink is required on the T_hot side to make the device operate as advertised.

Peltier devices should not be operated naked, as they will quickly exceed their rated temperatures ( 138 °C for the TEC1-12706 ).

dlgoff

This brings back memories. I put a little current through one with my thumb and index finger as the heat sinks. I did learn how fast it worked.

OmCheeto

I do believe that you, I, and DrAlloway, have all done the same experiment. Trial by ouch.

Eek!

Without the heat sinks, the temperature jumped 52 °C!

dlgoff

I feel better now. Thanks

DrAlloway

So all you guys are telling me that my design won't work.

I was going to get a bunch of these Peltiers and wire them into my motorcycle vest and be cool riding down the road in the summer.

OmCheeto

Sounds a lot like cronxeh's invention.

I'm sure it will work. The question is, is it worth the trouble?

And just be glad we did the homework for you, before you sewed all those TEC's into your vest, and it started smoking. (My closed cell foam insulation started to melt on that last run.)