Thermoelectric Cooler Peltier, 12V 240W Semiconductor Refrigeration Cooling System Cold Plate Cooler with Fan

Looking at this from just the pictures does not do this device enough justice.AT first glance even in the listing, it just looks like a hunk of aluminum slapped together with a couple of CPU fans, and some wires hanging out the sides. At first, glance, unless you know anything about system cooling technology you're going to pass this off as a pile of random parts thrown together by some crazy mad scientist looking for a quick buck.But this; this is where you would be completely wrong. I know I was.You see... the technology in this surprising device is actually fairly new in this application, and surprisingly more advanced than people realize. This technology needs VERY LITTLE energy to run and operates on a level that might as well seem like complete magic.Thermoelectric coolers (also called "Peltier coolers"). Use a special material that is temperature sensitive. It takes in a set electric current value (usually as low as 5 Volts, depending on size, and then runs it through a series of special semiconductors. When a voltage is applied across joined conductors, it creates an electric current that displaces heat from one side of the plate and causes a temperature polarity shift. In short, as more electricity is applied, When the current flows through the junctions of the two conductors, heat is removed on one side, causing intense cooling. The Heat is then deposited at the other junction (plate). Creating a thin double-sided "AC unit". One side will be very hot, the other side will be very cold. An approximately maximum temperature difference of about 70* C (158* F), (Based on ambient temperatures and voltage applied). So in short, one side will be roughly at the maximum temperature of +75* F above ambient temperature in the room, while the other side will be roughly -75* F below room temperature.How this works - (Technobable):Thermoelectric coolers act as a solid-state heat pump.Each features an array of alternating n- and p- type semiconductors. The semiconductors of different types have complementary Peltier coefficients. The array of elements is soldered between two ceramic plates, electrically in series and thermally in parallel. The "Aluminum plates" attached to each side function as a heat/ cold displacement.From there, Solid solutions of bismuth telluride, antimony telluride, and bismuth selenide are the preferred materials for causing the Peltier effect, in devices like this, because they provide the best performance from 180 to 400 K and can be made both n-type and p-type. The cooling effect of any unit using thermoelectric coolers is proportional to the number of coolers used, and the total amount of voltage applied. Typically multiple thermoelectric coolers are connected side by side and then placed between two metal Aluminum or temperature-sensitive plates.Because of this; Cooling occurs when a current passes through one or more pairs of elements from n- to p-type; there is a decrease in temperature at the junction (“cold side”), resulting in the absorption of heat from the environment. The heat is carried along the elements by electron transport and released on the opposite (“hot”) side as the electrons move from a high- to a low-energy state.The Peltier heat absorption is given by Q = P (Peltier Coefficient) I (current) t (time). A single-stage thermoelectric cooler can produce a maximum temperature difference of about 70* C (158* F).Uses:Because of this, this device has a WIDE range of applications. Benchmark testing, laptop cooling, Server cooling, or even for those avid DIYers - low-cost, high-powered AC units. When you really think about you could even make your own Refrigerator with one of these.The applications are endless.The cost for this is truly inexpensive when you consider the applications and use. This is a marvelous piece of technology, for a very surprising cost.

Wasn't even frosting. I had to disassemble and found very very little paste, I then order a large Arctic Silver.I added copper spacers and additional aluminum and applied a liberal amount of paste then added open foam in the central area of air gaps.I also added folded aluminum into the original heat sink gaps.After those modifications I manage to get a 20 degree difference from hot and cold sides.There are a few more things I need to do yet, still testing and modifying.Poorly machined aluminum to allow head room for contact between Peltier and cold plate bases on the thickness of the insulation. Air gaps in the insulation also effect performance.But modifications I've made now get the cold plate down to 20F.I may have to examine hot and cold contact points to determine if full contact is made.If this is the case then I'll modify the insulation barrier.I only have a programming background and light knowledge of Peltiers and electronics so take my info with a grain of salt.Was it worth $80?To me, yes kinda because I enjoy monkeying around with things it helps with learning and problem solving by dealing with problems.I believe an expert pulling it straight out of the box to get to work would probably be let down by its operation and construction

I have yet to run it for any lenght of time....

While I don't know what I might do with Semiconductor Refrigeration Cooling System Cold Plate, it's pretty cool. It works just as expected. I had to buy a 12v 240w power supply to make it work. Looking at the second picture you can easily see the cold spot at the upper left quadrant of the cooling plate. I didn't wire up all 4 quadrants yet. What serendipitous encounter can have with this high technology? This would be a great STEM learning tool.

First thing is info that was not listed:1. Uses 4x of TEC1-12705 peltier modules 2.Hot side fans are MB Ambeyond brand model number AV-F9025MS(12v dc brushless and I THINK 1200rpm/38.4cfm)While this product works somewhat well and is mostly assembled as I would expect there are definitely some quirks. First thing is the hot side heat sink is largely inadequate if you want to achieve a decent temperature difference anywhere near what you should be able to. Second is thermal paste is applied rather sloppy to the point I had several spots that bridged the hot and cold heat sink beside the modules. And while done more often than not by any manufacturer.....my least favorite is all metal screws bridging between both heat sinks ....8 relatively large pieces of metal between heat sinks performing opposite functions. All in all I think it's a good bargain but I have started to take it apart and will be replacing all the thermal paste, lapping all the heat sinks, and replacing all the clamping screws with nylon ones to minimize thermal bridging....may do some more yet just to see how good I can get it, but may need to ditch the supplies hot side sinks to gain much or at least give them some higher cfm fans.Update: couldn't get much better performance out of this setup so decided to order 4 closed loop liquid coolers for it and replace the 4 12705 modules with 12706 ones....should build up a good amount of ice on the plate with that setup

great review by tokeimi... very technical, never understood this prior...the unit does what it advertised, it is a great cooler, like a cool plateit really is quite the cocntraption, but if your goal is to keep electronics cooll, this product does the job for me. I put my lap top on it, when its driving dual displays, which really makes the graphics board HOT.... this is better than fans only.... so for my needs, its impressive....but I have no experience with competitive products....