I’m sensing some consternation in the comments, so I want to explain the scope of this video a little more explicitly: There are _absolutely_ applications for which Peltier elements make sense! But they’re mostly not stuff you or I are going to come across. Lots of people down below are highlighting the various pieces of scientific and medical equipment which use Peltier elements and the specific reasons they do… but that’s scientific and medical equipment! Not day-to-day life stuff. While those applications are all very interesting and highlight that there is value in the technology, they’re just way outside my scope here. I intended to keep this entirely in the scope of general-purpose cooling (and refrigeration), and in that context? Consumer products with Peltier elements in them are almost always terrible and a waste of money.
@uss_liberty_incidentАй бұрын
Agreed. I'm a PC cooling enthusiast, and it has never been a good cooling solution outside of extremely niche overclocking applications. And even in those applications, LN2 is usually a better solution. Thanks for making such an extensive video on this.
@kayakMike1000Ай бұрын
I am soooo going to invent a tiny clockwork heat pump that competes with peltier junctions. You guys want to hold part the patent? It might be a fun collaboration
@ericeaton2386Ай бұрын
I didn't feel like those comments were expressing consternation. I took them more as "fun facts." Both points ("crap in consumer electronics" & "useful in various technical items") came across fine, especially since you mentioned repeatedly that there were other use cases for them. I didn't think car cupholder gimmicks was an exhaustive list, lol
@capn_shawnАй бұрын
My company uses them to maintain temperature chambers to +/- 0.05 degrees F Way better than the more efficient refrigerant-based units and a million times easier to export.
@davidrox4591Ай бұрын
Saw the title, upvoting on principle.
@florihaeАй бұрын
Friend had one of those. Kept complaining about it, so I went over to improve it. Changed the Peltier from a 5A to a 10A Model (120W), changed the thermal paste to actual good one, added a bigger hot side heat sink and ofc upgraded the power supply. It worked much better afterwards! For the low price of doubling the electrical consuption, and almost trippling the original purchasing price 😂😂😂😂
@HeffalumpenАй бұрын
.. and you spent more money on the upgrade than what the fridge was worth :)
@jimmurphy6095Ай бұрын
Treat it like a gaming machine's CPU and you're all set. Maybe go to liquid cooled.
@Ham24brandАй бұрын
@@jimmurphy6095adding liquid cool with a radiator is basically the same as an actual fridge at that point 😂
@eziitis8Ай бұрын
@@jimmurphy6095 You wouldn't even peltier a CPU. Linus tried and it works just well, up until the peltier gets too hot and you cannot move the heat quickly enough anymore
@KuramaKitsune1Ай бұрын
What you want to do is use a peltier on top of a peltier You can get stacking temperature differentials up to a point Doesn't necessarily stop at 30° below ambient Adequate heat sinking the hot side is of course required.
@s1lencebladeАй бұрын
The only man on the internet who can talk about refrigerators for over 30mns and keep me interested.
@guttsuАй бұрын
And more than once!
@Starry_Night_Sky7455Ай бұрын
Yeah, it was interesting, and entertaining.
@astraquilastraАй бұрын
Or about any appliances for that matter 😅
@themonsterunderyourbed9408Ай бұрын
Sad
@kopazwashereАй бұрын
too bad he misinformed everyone about efficiency side of peltiers.
@TheDaygardАй бұрын
as a hard of hearing fan, thank you for uploading your scripts as captions (and for the in-jokes in them) nearly everybody relies on the auto transcriber. It works sometimes but misses a lot of technical words. Really appreciate you making your videos much more accessible to folks like me, Thanks! P.S. I had a peltier cooler on my Celeron 300A processor back in the late 90s, what a time. 50%+ overclocks.
@mittensfastpawАй бұрын
I also appreciate it as someone with deaf friends. I can share it without worry. Truly a shame more KZbinrs don't do this. KZbin taking away the fan subs as well was so dumb.
@aliengeoАй бұрын
Yeah, I watched a science video recently where the KZbinr had trusted their transcription service a little too much and "ribosome" was butchered in several creative ways. One of the KZbin channels I follow (Evan and Katelyn) has said that the reason they captioned every video even at the start of their channel was that they wanted to treat their work as professional, and professional videos have captions as a rule. I think we should enforce that societally more. "Oh, you don't caption your videos? So you don't actually care if your videos are watchable or not? How unprofessional."
@crispyjelly2485Ай бұрын
Ive slowly come to realise that captions are a very simple and easy way to determine if a creator really cares about their product.
@dolphin64575Ай бұрын
@aliengeo hey fellow Subject of Joob!
@Liam3072Ай бұрын
Yep, also useful for us foreigners who have English as a second language. Reading is often easier than listening so good quality captions really add to the viewing experience. And there's a clear difference in quality between real captions and auto transcriber, even if the latter has made enough progress to be reasonably useable (most of the time).
@readyforclarity25 күн бұрын
"even more quicklier" was for some reason what I needed to get out of a depressive funk this morning. Thank you. Cheers
@ce7.0Ай бұрын
We need to bring the rest of skirt terminology in here. The black one is a mini fridge, the red one is a midi fridge, the silver one is a maxi fridge, and the blue one is a micro-mini.
@matytoonistАй бұрын
cant wait for a type-c fridge, and a propietary lightning fridge banned by the european union
@Nightfire613Ай бұрын
Blue one could also be called a "tiny-mini," "itty-bitty," and a "you are not leaving the house dressed like THAT!"
@quint3ssent1aАй бұрын
Ultramini
@5AndysaliveАй бұрын
@@quint3ssent1a we are now at a level where youtube (or the browser) offers to translate that to english :)
@HarmonikdiskordeАй бұрын
Nanofridge?
@unicorn12345Ай бұрын
You saved me from creating $30 of e-waste. I’d always been tempted to pick one of those up. I had no idea how bad they were.
@jimmjamme3067Ай бұрын
It made me want one honestly, it sounds great for drinks on road trips in my car without having to deal with ice.
@KaitouKaijuАй бұрын
@@jimmjamme3067Problem is your car isn't running for 24 hours
@svr5423Ай бұрын
it's good for keeping beverages cool in your car. not for food.
@MarcABrown-tt1fpАй бұрын
@@svr5423 Well If your car alternator/battery can generate enough power for the peltier it can do the same for a mini fridge. :p
@svr5423Ай бұрын
@@MarcABrown-tt1fp yes it can. But fridges generally don't like being moved around. Often it says that the fridge should be stationary for 24h before being turned on in the manual. There are special fridges that don't mind. But they are way more expensive than a cooler with Peltier. So if you just use it couple of times a year to keep pre-cooled beverages cool while travelling in your car, i'd say it's a good option. If you use it constantly or you want food safe grade, buy a proper fridge.
@Renegade605Ай бұрын
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. You didn't test its performance while it's inside the mini fridge. It was crying out for it!
@IntegerOfDoomАй бұрын
Connextras!
@Peter_S_Ай бұрын
In the right configuration, multi-stage thermoelectric coolers can achieve liquid nitrogen temperatures. I am curious how cold the cooler in a fridge would get.
@IntegerOfDoomАй бұрын
@@Peter_S_ I like the way you think.
@FatTracksMusicАй бұрын
Reviewbrah!
@SilvaDreamsАй бұрын
@@Peter_S_Well they work on temperature differentials so you need a greater temperature difference between the inside cooling and outside temperatures... So you need really good cooling for the hot side otherwise the cooling side doesn't function very well. So if you use it in a hot enviroment the worse the cooler functions.... Though you can make it function better by putting a big fin cooler from a CPU cooler on it to make it work better.
@SaraSFernando27 күн бұрын
This video literally came at the perfect time for me, I feel so educated. It's important to note that some makeup/skincare products (not to mention medication!) need to be kept at specific temperatures so even for that the mini "fridges" are flawed.
@halifornia200113 күн бұрын
If you think larger refrigerators are consistent to within a degree, I have bad news for you...
@JivanPal5 күн бұрын
@@halifornia2001 Pourquoi? Does your fridge not have a digital thermostat?
@Gaming1DogeАй бұрын
Another thing that Peltier Modules are used for is easy electrical generation, get one side cold and one side hot and it induces a voltage. This is actually used in space probes which have RTGs.
@DesmaadАй бұрын
Hurrah for the Seebeck effect!
@5AndysaliveАй бұрын
so all you need is a little plutonium and you have a nice little power supply.
@borttorbbq2556Ай бұрын
Petier device are better power generators than heating or cooling.
@doomsdayrabbit4398Ай бұрын
@@5AndysaliveGood thing by now it's easily available in every corner drug store.
@PracticalDaddАй бұрын
I see them in use atop wood burning stoves, using the generated power to run a fan.
@ThomasWingetАй бұрын
A bit tangential to the topic at hand, but I *hate* those temperature control dials in refrigerators. 0-6 is completely meaningless, so it requires trial and error (and a thermometer) to even know what they mean! Like...if they're gonna do that at *least* make it go to 11 so I can make Spinal Tap jokes.
@FlintlockYTАй бұрын
Agreed! In Europe, I'm never sure if 0-6 refers to degrees Celsius, which means closer to 0 is colder, or cooling strength, which means further away from 0 is colder.
@wernerviehhauser94Ай бұрын
@@FlintlockYTThey usually aren't in degrees, it's mostly a measure of cooling power. Otoh, mine have a temperature setting since the early 2000s, and they aren't expensive ones.
@turtletom8383Ай бұрын
This is gold🥇,well done sir
@skelliousАй бұрын
@@FlintlockYT just as a spoiler alert, the numbers on toasters mean nothing either.
@roberthunter5059Ай бұрын
If they had degrees, then the dial would have to be calibrated.
@TaranTatsuuchiАй бұрын
RE: Heat pumps - "I could talk your ear off for hours on end..." Me, who's watched this channel for a while - You already have...
@ecosignalsАй бұрын
and HOW ! ❤ swoon Also Tunable Lasers Not an oxymoron Which, I have no doubt are somewhat more common and everyday than we realize, However, are wholly under utilized to their potential. Well, and MEMS Thx for the geek out!
@codiserville593Ай бұрын
Oh yes
@MissRora28 күн бұрын
"... the latent heat of vaporization." Me: HE SAID THE THING! 🥳
@maurvir319719 күн бұрын
I know they are crap, but I was to use one of these to chill water for our garage aquarium. We raise our own tropical fish, but this last summer, the temperatures got too hot for even tropical fish and I seriously considered getting one of these, cutting holes in it, and stuffing it with tubing. The idea being that even a crap "refrigerator" would likely get the water back into the low 80's. Now that I know they also take forever to chill, you have saved me from indulging in that plan!
@GarryBoyer19 күн бұрын
It would be kind of neat to drill a couple of holes in a non-critical part of a mini-fridge and run a cooling loop of water in that mini fridge. Cool drinks and cool fish!
@em84c13 күн бұрын
could you put ice cubes in the tank?
@maurvir319712 күн бұрын
@@em84c Not directly in the tank, as the odds of regulating the temperature are too low and it would only cool the water at the surface. However, running tank water through tubing in an ice bath might work if it you had a thermostat for the pump. The real issue there is it would create a whole new job of constantly checking the ice. It gets pretty hot, so the ice would be gone fast.
@Scotch206 күн бұрын
funnily enough a evaporative cooler might be your best option
@RenaxTM91Ай бұрын
Watching all theese fridge videos makes me realize that the old fridge I bought used for $20 a few years ago to keep my beer cold in the basement is a absolutely brilliant fridge! It fits perfectly in the space its in, uses next to no electricity, and has no issues with me loading in 3 cases of beer at once, automatically defrosts and well, just works! That's my hot tip of the day: if you just need a small cheap fridge for your beer (or whatever you like to drink) then just buy an old used one.
@volvo09Ай бұрын
The extra freezer space is nice too!
@MonkeyJedi99Ай бұрын
@@volvo09 Right? I like to buy frozen turkeys right after Thanksgiving and Christmas when the prices come down so the stores can clear their inventory. Frozen, they keep long enough I can have turkey and turkey sandwiches and turkey soup sometimes into February.
@jon1758Ай бұрын
as long as it's not too old, modern fridges use much less electricity and that cheap used one can end up costing you more over a year or two
@RobertJBareIIIАй бұрын
It almost works as a built in durability test, if a fridge has lasted long enough to be older and still work well enough to be worth selling. It probably has a pretty decent design/construction
@volvo09Ай бұрын
@@MonkeyJedi99 yes! Discount turkeys and chickens are awesome! Same with pot roasts, and any cheap meat you can freeze.
@SchmCyclesАй бұрын
9:10 "Internationally recognized metric of cans of LaCroix per dollar." 9:50 "I've consulted with some math scholars who confirmed 45 is less than 55." What other KZbin channel has in depth reporting like this?
@TempoLOOKINGАй бұрын
Techmoan😂
@TheBlopNCАй бұрын
SuperfastMatt
@kidwolf0015Ай бұрын
LGR Okay, actually I'm noticing a trend here.
@juliangingivereАй бұрын
All bangers.
@NathanKotcherАй бұрын
Why does my phone get cold when I play that one thing on KZbin that goes brrrrrrrr
@steelcrusher2922Ай бұрын
Ngl I watched this guys 40 minute video on dishwashers and I always thought he was just a dishwashing nerd not a full appliance nerd now I'm def gonna check out his other stuff. Great videos
@chinemapicturesАй бұрын
That’s how I found his channel too!
@gregbailey45Ай бұрын
Smart move! He's excellent!
@SeanFlesch28 күн бұрын
Wait till you find out he goes WAY beyond just appliances...😊❤
@boxcarz28 күн бұрын
It's not just appliances either, he's done videos on everything from typewriters to Klaxon™ car horns.
@cyvan175027 күн бұрын
He's an Everything-Nerd , thats why we love him
@basiliohernandez511126 күн бұрын
On the plus side, I have an Igloo ice-less cooler with this type of system. I hooked up a 12v receptacle to the trailer light connection in the bed of my truck. This enabled me to keep certain beverages cold that were not available while driving through Canada. I also used it powered off a car battery to keep my eggs, milk, and cheese after we lost power during a hurricane. True, it will not fully replace a regular refrigerator, but it does have it's niche uses.
@QuintusAntoniousАй бұрын
My mother bought me one of these for my room in the late 90s/early 2000s. They were more expensive then, but not unaffordable for a middle class gift. This early model had it's heat sink just open to the air on the back with no fan. At some point, it got pushed back directly against the wall. I noticed it, probably a few days later, and when I pulled it away from the wall, it had burned a hole right through the drywall. Thankfully, there wasn't anything particularly flammable there so it just left a big scorch mark in the shape of the heat sink.
@bigguy7353Ай бұрын
A scorch mark isn't a hole. Which one was it?
@somekid8014Ай бұрын
@@bigguy7353bro literally who cares
@Zack-xu2zwАй бұрын
@@somekid8014 I care :c
@QuintusAntoniousАй бұрын
@@bigguy7353 Granted this is almost 30 years ago now, but from what I remember it had one of those square heat sinks with raised fins in a grate-like pattern. The high parts burned the holes, and the edges were scorched in the shape of the voids where no fins were. It's like burning a piece of paper with the hot tip of a lighter. A hole forms at the hottest part at the tip and around the edges you have scorch marks.
@C._BradfordАй бұрын
Man I remember when the middle class existed, what a nostalgia trip.
@PaperWillАй бұрын
32 minutes about thermoelectric cooling? We eatin' good tonight.
@norgerАй бұрын
just don't get food poisoning
@iMoooDeyАй бұрын
hopefully whatever you are eating is not being cooled by thermoelectric "cooler"
@mikea5745Ай бұрын
Half hour on thermoelectric cooling is great and all, but it's got nothing on 6 and a half hours on North Korea
@DTS__29 күн бұрын
how'd you get out the cage! get back to making 10 hour videos on the media produced by parisian arthouse movements or something
@nathanmulder894728 күн бұрын
Loved the NK media vid! Happy to see we enjoy the same content lol
@dmkoslickiАй бұрын
Important caveat: Astrophotography is one of the rare use cases for Peltier coolers (TECs): you need a tiny little device to cool a CMOS/CCD with a form factor that can fit in a camera. And counter to what you suggested, frequent and long term use. Tiny surface to cool (35mm diagonal), lot of power to provide, and lots of environment (cold night) to dump excess heat into. My TEC coolers get my CMOS down to about -30C regularly! Wonderful for reducing (thermal) noise in astrophotos. They do make liquid cooled astrocameras, but those are very, very finicky to make work with all the movement of the telescope (but can use heat pumps). I love your videos, by the way! The deep dives and nerdy details (plus puns and jokes) are much appreciated!
@ToastyMozartАй бұрын
Any kind of sub-ambient component cooling where a compressor setup isn't functional or practical, really.
@RecessioАй бұрын
Not just portable astrophotography, even semi-professional and small professional telescopes may use them if liquid nitrogen isn't practical - for example at teaching observatories at universities. Or telescopes located in poor-weather areas where the amount of nights lost to bad weather mean it's not worth maintaining a cryogenic system.
@comicbstudiosАй бұрын
We use these quite often in professional astronomy as well, not just astrophotography. Of course many instruments are cryogenically cooled, but a lot of mid sized observatories are just using peltier cooled sensors. A lot of those liquid cooled ones are also just liquid cooling the hot side of a peltier module.
@jeffpkampАй бұрын
The mini fridge heat sink was waaaay too small considering it probably has a tdp of 75 watts. I'm curious how well it could do if designed even half way intelligently
@SeekingBeautifulDesignАй бұрын
Also, when absolute silence is required. And as a solar/wind dump load where rapid/systainable on/off and low capital cost are key.
@CuivTheLazyGeek28 күн бұрын
One type of consumer product that is a GREAT use of Peltier coolers: cooled astrophotography cameras! It makes long exposures so much less noisy, we only have to contend with the leftover read noise and shot noise!
@sneedchuck547720 күн бұрын
If by "consumer product" you simply mean freely available for purchase then yeah, but by that logic even electron microscopes can be considered a consumer product
@owenllewellyn569219 күн бұрын
@@sneedchuck5477 There are lot (literally dozens of models) of good quality but definitely consumer grade astro-cameras out there nowadays and the vast majority have TEC temp control as standard, with -30(K or C, not F) below ambient being a common functional limit. Fluid based cooling is available on some models but is generally seen as a pain in the butt and adds even more cables or tubes to trip over in the dark.
@frostilver8 күн бұрын
@@sneedchuck5477 What about Peltier cooled wireless charger?
@MichaelSteevesАй бұрын
We used a dew-point indicator using a Peltier cooler 35 years ago. The peltier cooled a mirror until it fogged up. It would cycle temperature up and down giving a very accurate reading of dewpoint. Much more accurate than a humidity sensor -- and having a price to match.
@AdrianOkayАй бұрын
If there's an universal rule I've ever learned: A tool or product is only cost effective when you use them for something they're not meant for
@wazoheatАй бұрын
That's actually how dew point is measured in most official weather observations as well, especially for aviation weather because of its high accuracy compared to other humidity measurements. One very useful (but again, very niche) use for the Peltier cooler.
@misterkiteАй бұрын
According to the weather report for where I live, the dew point is 31F and the current temperature is 86F... your dew point indicator would never work here.
@yourbrojohnoАй бұрын
@misterkite bro lives in the desert. I have always lived in humid places so I just assumed dew point could ever be subzero.
@wazoheatАй бұрын
@@misterkite Alec's "refrigerator" is rated to 30˚F below ambient temperature, but Peltier elements can be designed to reach arbitrarily low temperatures for these kinds of applications. The rated limit for accuracy in ASOS instruments (the kind used by the Air Force and National Weather Service in the US) are guaranteed accurate to dew point depressions (difference between temperature and dew point) of 63˚F (35˚C), but they will usually work far past that point.
@mausmaloneАй бұрын
If anybody's wondering about the size of the red fridge - it's typically called "apartment size" and you can find them readily. Most apartments in the US these days take house-sized fridges but a lot of old apartments only have space for one of those smaller ones in their very small kitchens.
@sqike001tonАй бұрын
It's really hard to find a decent apartment fridge and an apartment stove is almost unobtainable my grandmother's house is tiny and uses both 6-8 years ago she had me replace them and you just couldn't go buy them back then (I'm guessing with tiny homes that might have changed)
@angus4202Ай бұрын
i call em compact fridges but dorm fridge or appartment fridge is also popular
@LatitudeSkyАй бұрын
The main issue with the red fridge is the brand Galanz. They are decidedly low-end and fridges are not their specialty. They are a major microwave oven OEM. Another brand of fridge would probably work better.
@TuistoАй бұрын
@@sqike001ton The brand "Summit Appliance" out of New York never stopped making apartment size stoves and refrigerators.
@MrSheckstrАй бұрын
Instead of this little blue box of stupidity at EVERY cubicle in the office. You would be better off with a cooler just a bit larger than the smallest soft side six can cooler and use one block ice pack and one (between six can) ice pack at each desk and have a fridge with a dedicated freezer to hold overnight and freeze an entire office staff’s icepacks … In my car i have two soft sided coolers and i will use 2 of the B6C icepacks in one to hold dive cans (three standing upright in the center, two on thier side above the B6C, and in the second cooler six cans around a single B6C … for food item i pack them into plastic jars of the same size as a soda can. In that manner I can keep easily keep an entires workdays worth of food and beverages at a safe and tasty temp using just three icepacks that take up less space in the freezer than a single tub of ice cream
@Tacospaceman28 күн бұрын
0:49 I thought your *one true love* was incandescent Christmas lights. Huh. -…you think you know a guy…-
@ashleycarmichael497Ай бұрын
The speed and reversibility advantages of peltier are pretty helpful in lab settings. When you need small amounts heated and cooled quickly and precisely, Peltier is your friend.
@MattBrownbillАй бұрын
I was wondering what 'real' uses there are. Thanks. 😊
@user-vo3st8kx7sАй бұрын
I guess Peltier can be a heat element with more than 100% efficiency.
@thenotreallyfunnyguyАй бұрын
qPCR is one use. Repeated heat cycles to specific temperatures and cool cycles to halt reactions.
@averyalexander2303Ай бұрын
@@user-vo3st8kx7s Depending on the application, not really more than 100% efficient because the heat still has to come from somewhere. You wouldn't be able to, for example, heat a room with peltiers with over 100% efficiency unless you were sourcing the heat from outside like an actual heat pump, which wouldn't even be worth doing with peltiers because they are so inefficient that the ROI on such a system would be terrible.
@dianapennepacker6854Ай бұрын
Buy cheap. Get cheap. False marketing aside I would like to see a comparably priced. Not going to beat physics. But come on. Don't attack the tech which is useful.
@340wbymagАй бұрын
I was an ammonia refrigeration engineer for more than twenty years, and in that time, I froze millions of pounds of farm produce like corn, peas, beans, and other things. I really enjoyed working with ammonia and multi-stage refrigeration systems. Perhaps it is just the nerd inside me, but I find the whole process of evaporation and condensation to be fascinating!
@C4MG1RL17 күн бұрын
All you had to tell me was, "it uses 55 watts and only lowers the temperature by at most 30°"
@PsRohrbaughАй бұрын
One application where Peltiers are great is cooling mobile electronics, like the sensors in high performance digital cameras. When recording at 4k and higher resolutions they generate a TON of heat, and a Peltier can help move that out into the air. Not only does this prevent the camera from shutting down, but can actually increase image quality.
@hyperturbotechnomikeАй бұрын
GoPro should include this into their terrible cameras, which constantly overheat and shut down while filming. They are such a crap product as they currently are.
@KeithFitzpatrick311Ай бұрын
We use these to not only cool but to provide temperature stability to ShortWave InfraRed (SWIR) imaging sensors. Even if it has cooling limitations, you can have discrete temperature set points around which to set calibrations.
@VolodymyrTorkaloАй бұрын
@@hyperturbotechnomike it will discharge gopro battery in few minutes
@VolodymyrTorkaloАй бұрын
@@hyperturbotechnomike it has terrible efficiency, in gopro it will discharge battery in few minutes
@markedis5902Ай бұрын
We used to use them stacked to cool klystrons in radar systems back in the 80s. I believe things have moved on somewhat
@jajssblueАй бұрын
Peltiers make for an awesome demo in digital electronics classes as a thermo quantum effect device, but unfortunately have incredibly specific use cases in real life.
@IntegerOfDoomАй бұрын
I was about to ask. What are the real use cases? Research is required.
Ай бұрын
Instead of projecting our failure of execution onto inanimate objects, let's consider the fact that nuclear isn't bad, it's how we use it. Oh, this is about Peltier chips. Well, same thing.
@lasskinn474Ай бұрын
@@IntegerOfDoom well somewhat cooling in places where 12 volt is available and price is an issue for the device itself. cheap coolers, effectively, but the another problem comes that a power source will become too expensive for home use, but in car it's not a problem to have somewhat high current 12 volt. anyway you can use that kind of coolboxes inside too if you get a decent power supply for them, but it's not efficient. another is dehumidifiers. but if you have an aircon you don't need device for that anyway. then there's more specific use cases to keep sensors in specific temperature etc. ... i recently came across a crackpot channel trying to make an airconditioner with solar form a peltier unit, they thought it was viable because the cold side got cold.. back in the day there was a window when 226w peltiers were usable for overclocking with watercooling. but yes you'd need a kilowatt of peltier power to cool a modern processor.
@Miata822Ай бұрын
I once had a very senior engineer at a military equipment manufacturer ask me to design a Peltier based air conditioner for use in extreme climates. It was an awkward conversation.
@nicholascrowley2499Ай бұрын
@@IntegerOfDoom I've seen them in extremely sensitive voltage meters to keep the sensitive components at very specific temperatures since you can change between cooling and heating quickly.
@jacoblofquist2004Ай бұрын
I run a furniture store. We have some "gaming" desks that have Peltier coolers in them. The amount of energy to keep one drink cool, not cold, cool is insane. It would be cheaper over less than a year to put an actual fridge in the damn thing.
@termitreter6545Ай бұрын
Man I love gaming, but a lot of that gaming hardware is just cringeworthy xD
@OutworlderАй бұрын
@@termitreter6545almost everything marketed as "gaming" sucks. Including chairs.
@pizzaivlifeАй бұрын
@@termitreter6545 I buy almost nothing gaming related- office chair gamers unite!
@Δημήτρης-θ7θАй бұрын
To be fair, it doesn't need to move much energy, since the drink is straight out of the fridge when placed on the Peltier cooler, so the Peltier cooler only needs to keep it from becoming not cool for 5 hours or so. Also, not everyone wants a mini-fridge under their desk taking up a ton of space and being a future repair liability. Even if they design a micro-fridge slightly larger than the cupholder, the repair liability and the risk of pump oil spillage are still there. So, I'd gladly take that "gaming" desk off your hands.
@NovemberOrWhateverАй бұрын
@@termitreter6545 Yeah. There's some gaming hardware that makes sense (gaming mice, gaming GPUs, etc.), but there's also a lot of stuff that's just pure marketing
@y33t2324 күн бұрын
A great application of peltier modules is on off-grid stove fans. You put them on your wood stove or other heat source and the built in module will create enough energy to power the fan turning it at a moderate speed which helps spread heat from the stove around the room much more efficiently.
@IndiBronyАй бұрын
So I fell asleep last night and KZbin decided this video was going to auto play. I ended up dreaming I was in some fucked up grocery store in the fridge and freezer aisles as some mad - and slightly camp - man goes off on one about the state of the storage of the products. It was something else 😂
@GodwynDiАй бұрын
Do not mix KZbin and Pinkie's special cupcakes.
@jetstream454Ай бұрын
Did you work in a grocery store by any chance?
@michaelb7411Ай бұрын
I watched it while high. What a trip.
@michaelswanton2224Ай бұрын
Thank you for that. I won one twenty years ago as a door prize. I used it once and went back to putting a scoop of ice into an Igloo cooler. After watching this video, I found that old fridge in a corner of my shop and stripped the parts out of it and threw the plastic in the bin. Keep them coming!
@zoelawrence56819 күн бұрын
Exactly what I was thinking watching this, if I did have one I'd just strip out the component to play with. That fan was very much a basic laptop fan as well 😂
@rapscal2002Ай бұрын
The "I've got a giant american fridge" thing legitmately jump scared me
@kyx5631Ай бұрын
I would have expected Alec to keep his food cool by storing it in some underground cellar.
@tomimantyla8236Ай бұрын
That part was funniest thing I have ever saw on this channel!
@itptiresАй бұрын
@@kyx5631he tried but HOA wouldn't allow it
@jimmym3352Ай бұрын
Even worse when you are napping listening to this video (I didn't sleep well last night).
@rebelcat_1261Ай бұрын
14:28 For anyone that wants to watch this beauty again
@frostilver8 күн бұрын
After watching your video, I became interested in the blue fridge and wanted to buy one now.
@imaginoss24686 күн бұрын
You just missed the whole point of the video
@xenotiic83562 күн бұрын
@@imaginoss2468 thats the joke
@FinnMcRiangabraАй бұрын
There is a significant difference between thermoelectric cooling being good and a thermoelectrically cooled toy "refrigerator" being good. Thermoelectric cooling works to cool energy dispersive x-ray spectrometers (EDS) without transmitting vibrations (say, to the electron microscope to which the EDS is attached - electron microscopes do not like vibrations).
@adaroben1104Ай бұрын
I wish spectrometers were consumer electronics
@sirBrouwerАй бұрын
@@adaroben1104 if you have enough money it can be. It's not that you are not allowed to own one. Only you will need to be some very well of nerd to be willing to spent money on one.
@ImmoSciАй бұрын
Yeah - it's all in the application! I work for a company that makes electrical/optical measuring instruments and almost every one of them has TECs in them for keeping optical components, or the sample being measured at a stable cool temperature without introducing vibration.
@FerrariTeddyАй бұрын
@@adaroben1104 they are becoming more accessible! It might not be the exact type you want but I’ve seen more and more civilian gas chromatography spectrometers being made for the cannabis testing market (testing cannabis for active ingredient %s) I even saw someone is selling a mobile setup made to fit inside a pelican case and it has computing built into it, although the software is made specifically for cannabis testing market
@smalltime0Ай бұрын
@@adaroben1104 lol why would you want one?
@AsterDXZАй бұрын
Counterpoint: I don't pay the electricity at the office
@Bortnm13 күн бұрын
Depending on brand you can change the fan out for a quieter one from any pc store.
@N01hyp0cr1t37 күн бұрын
@@Bortnmyeah you’re right, i’m gonna go buy one of these.
@rolandguiscardАй бұрын
I bought one of those because I didn't want to have to use the shared fridge in the office in a place where I worked, it was not intended to do anything more than just keep the lunch that I'd already packed cool for a while. I think I would have done just as well by getting a portable cooler and chucking a couple ice bricks in each morning. That's what I've been doing now that I have delivery work and honestly it is the same if not cooler by lunch time.
@whatbroicanhave50character35Ай бұрын
Coolers have stood the test of time for a good reason. Ice takes a good bit of energy to change phases. 1 pound of ice will absorb ~150,000 joules from its surroundings by the time it's completely melted to water. Ice is cheap, and with good enough insulation, it can last for shockingly long amounts of time.
@KalvinjjАй бұрын
@@whatbroicanhave50character35 cheap, AND you can literally make it at home. Basically a thermal energy battery, negative polarity one at that.
@volvo09Ай бұрын
Yeah, a cooler and a re useable ice pack is far better. The only thing I liked about the peltier coolers was the "hot" feature, so if I felt like warming up a lunch I could turn it to hot a few hours before I planned to eat. Was kind of a treat in winter to reheat leftovers in a delivery van.
@chaos.cornerАй бұрын
The do have coolers with compressor cooling too.
@ultramegaxАй бұрын
@@chaos.cornerYes, I have one with a compressor and it's awesome!
@toonman36116 күн бұрын
I have the Frigidaire version of this product. Inside, I keep a two quart plastic container of Crystal Light. It does cool down the drink fine. There is a small square of ice buildup exactly in the same spot as the Peltier device inside the wall. I am fairly pleased with my arrangement given I cannot have a small fridge in my office. The price I paid for the unit gave me the idea I wasn't getting Arctic temps.
@VB-bk1lhАй бұрын
My aunt had one of those that came with her Subaru, it was basically large enough to hold a 30 pack of beer cans and a small bag of ice. She used it for shopping, since she lived an hour from the supermarket she would use it to put meat in for the ride home. She started having battery and charging issues early on with that car (an 05 Outback). After they replaced several alternators and torn the dash and engine harness apart several times she brought the car to me here. To make a long story short, that cooler was killing the battery, and alternator. The car had full time live cigar sockets, and thus that thing was on all the time it was plugged in. There was no switch on the cooler. You simply reversed the plug to keep things hot or cold depending on polarity. It never got cold enough for drinks, but was cool to the touch. I never checked the temp but it wasn't very cold. I removed it from the car, removed all the thermal cooling parts, filled the hole in the side with spray foam with plastic on both sides and told her to just use it as a cooler. When I tore it apart, I could see where the fan motor had been wet. They put the fan motor at nearly the lowest point of the box, meaning that any leakage, condensation, or melting would run right through the motor. It was made by Igloo, with the Subaru Outback decals on the outside. That car is long gone, it wasn't much better than the cooler that came with it but I still have the cooler that i converted and after filling the lid with foam, and the elimination of the electrical parts, it makes a great little cooler for my lunch or drinks on the boat. For the $199 the thing cost new as an option, it was a total load of crap. I've never seen one of those that worked worth a dam.
@betodavalАй бұрын
The way he becomes increasingly angrier with the mini fridge 😄
@ns219000Ай бұрын
I used a 12v Peltier cooler, for years, when I drove a truck in the 2000s. Had it in between the front seats, so I could keep snacks and drinks cold and within reach. Yeah, they weren't very good at keeping things cold and had to be constantly checked, to make sure the vent wasn't blocked. It did beat having to buy ice to keep in a smaller cooler, for this specific application.
@goclunker18 күн бұрын
12v car fridge with a compressor. Its a life changer
@MiraHopesКүн бұрын
Fascinating! I use a neck fan with cooling plates and for some reason I thought the plates were cooled by the air going past them on the inside. I completely skipped over the fact that turning the plates on is a separate setting, AND the fact that they can be used for heat if so desired. It's absolutely fantastic, but the battery life is pretty short if you're using the cooling plates. It takes a long time to recharge too. Makes sense now that I know about Peltier elements!
@m0lluxАй бұрын
15:04 I have never seen Alec so unhinged. And I love it. We need to make this into a sound bite.
@normallife4433Ай бұрын
I could feel the Tim Robinson creep through there for a bit.
@10NeonАй бұрын
I liked learning that cool volumes are measured in liters and very cold volumes are measured in litres.
@111111222223Ай бұрын
The delivery reminded me of Daniel Thrasher 😂
@Ms_Princess_ZeldaАй бұрын
Hahah 😂😂😂 100%
@dieseldragon6756Ай бұрын
Unhinged or not, I don't think there's any guy on this earth who's more adorable than Alec is... ❤🔥
@doyoulikejazz9516Ай бұрын
Got one as a present when I was a teenager, you know, for all those Call of Duty and FIFA game nights with the boys where an unreasonable amount of energy drinks was consumed. The thing with it was, the drinks were never cold, it made a lot of noise, and as a teenager (not sure if id still be able to hear it) I could hear a constant high pitched frequency, so i had to turn it off at night. good times
@WC3fanatic997Ай бұрын
The concept of having an object you weren't entirely certain was terrible even though it did nothing correctly and actually created completely new and separate problems but used it anyway regardless is such a strangely nostalgic feeling that I feel there has to be some heinously long, specific word for it in German or something
@piggypoooАй бұрын
Good times😂
@operationscomputer1478Ай бұрын
shitty high frequency harmonic in the power supply for sure
@nelu2371Ай бұрын
@@WC3fanatic997 The german word you're looking for is "Scheißteil"
@seigeengineАй бұрын
Honestly, they just kind of seem absurd to me. The most annoying part about fridges is having to stock them. At least with a proper mini-fridge, they can hold enough drinks you don't have to stock them too often.
@dennissdigitaldump8619Ай бұрын
The "how many cans of LaCroix it can hold" literally burned my old corporate heart. Oh the number of times I heard "we'll provide drinks", oh my god it was always LaCroix. For those that don't know the flavor is like it met a strawberry's cousin once in college.
@TheeGlocktopus29 күн бұрын
LaCroix is for people who value looking trendy more than taste. LaCroix is a fashion trend. Not a beverage.
@SirJefferyRoss29 күн бұрын
Yeah it's flavored sparkling water, what'd you expect? Pepsi??
@TheeGlocktopus29 күн бұрын
@@SirJefferyRoss Perrier is also. And it's delicious. It doesn't taste like they forgot to clean their equipment. I expect it to not taste like I licked an alka-seltzer tablet.
@aawillma26 күн бұрын
@@SirJefferyRossI dunno, maybe some FLAVOR?! 😂
@ausername747026 күн бұрын
I've always said they must just whisper the flavor names over the vats of sparkling water.
@EpicBenjoАй бұрын
6:35 - For my fellow Metric friends: 60°F = 15.6°C 48°F = 8.9°C 46°F = 7.8°C
@OctyabrAprelyaАй бұрын
Thank you! 🙏
@MrMoerliАй бұрын
30°F difference are ~16.7C° Wanted to add that as I was wondering how much it can cool.
@ganondorf66Ай бұрын
Ah, actual useful numbers
@juggernaut93Ай бұрын
@@MrMoerli in Italy were I live we can easily reach 30-35 °C for most of the day during the summer. So in that situation they would at best cool the drinks to around 15-20°C 😂
@anoniemw.222Ай бұрын
Thanks
@jonathonbennett38387 күн бұрын
Your dedication to refrigeration is astonishing, in the best way, brovo sir, this is one of the many reasons I love your videos!
@AttemptedburgerАй бұрын
the way I had heat pumps explained to me was that you're basically dipping a sponge in a bucket, pulling it out, squeezing it, and not letting it expand until it's back in the bucket. the sponge (refrigerant) moves the water (thermal energy) out of the bucket (fridge), and squeezing (compressing) dumps the water on the ground (in the air).
@MonkeyJedi99Ай бұрын
Nice explanation.
@paradiselost9946Ай бұрын
and if you can grasp that concept, then the next step to understanding why steam-power is a dead end, except in certain applications, is that you have to MAKE the sponge first... ie, by BOILING water to MAKE steam. a steam engine only gets to use the heat and pressure contained in the STEAM... not the energy required to simply boil the water. which amounts to about 4/5ths of the total energy input... completely unrecoverable. "so why do we use it in power stations"? because it can "transmit" a large amount of energy without requiring excessively high pressures or temperatures... its also non-toxic. when you get to the scale of multiple M-Watts, that means the machines can be relatively small and compact...
@annpeerkat2020Ай бұрын
@@paradiselost9946 except you omit to mention the role/potential role of steam in preheating the boiler water. Obviously that's going to depend on whether the steam device has a pre-heater.... but the concept is great, and reduces energy loss hugely. Suggesting that the energy required to make the steam is completely unrecoverable is completely bollocks....
@veneАй бұрын
That's a really cool analogy, thank you for sharing it!
@paradiselost9946Ай бұрын
@@annpeerkat2020 you overlook the nature of heat flow. you cool the steam to 50C in the condenser... and a condenser it an absolute necessity on a steam turbine as the majority of work performed by the steam is at this "below atmospheric" stage... below 100C. you cannot preheat the feed water above 50C, either, on average, with a condenser. can heat it higher with the heat going up the chimney if its coal or gas fired, but not from the condenser. and as both approach that temperature, less and less heat is transferred. and the condenser still has to radiate a certain amount of heat to the atmosphere, otherwise... it stops condensing. the closer you can get to a hard vacuum, the more power you can extract. unfortunately reality gets in the way and prevents one from achieving such low pressures. 29 inches is considered the limit of practicality. and only so much feed water can be preheated. as the boiler only requires so much feed water. theres no point heating more than the boiler can consume. and then the water or condensate emerging from the condenser is already at that 50C region... and is the same amount of water the boiler requires, minus losses due to leakage... theres no gain in using the condenser to preheat feed water AT ALL. if you have the advantage of locating it in a subzero climate, all year round, sure, you can extract more, as you can achieve far lower temperatures in the condenser, with subsequently higher vacuums, but no matter what you do, the vast portion of thermal energy in the fuel goes to waste. regardless of what wikipedia leads you to believe when they claim "45% efficiency" or better. they choose to neglect various rather important factors to make things sound far better than they actually are. its called "cherry picking".
@randysterbentz5599Ай бұрын
I know this is a "bash Peltier cooling" moment, but I just want to say how absolutely crazy it is that those little things cool at all! In the lab I work at, we have a couple very-sensitive spectrometers, and the way they are so sensitive is by cooling the CCD cameras (less heat = less noise). For one system, there is a dewar that needs to be filled with liquid nitrogen in order to get it cold. The other, just a little Peltier cooler. And it is JUST AS EFFECTIVE! That little shit can get down to LN2 temps, it only takes a few minutes, AND there's no need for external coolant. It amazed me the first time I saw it work lol
@ConnorNessАй бұрын
This is the main use for peltier cooling I'm familiar with. Dedicated astrophotography cameras have them to combat read noise.
@tim3172Ай бұрын
I love how you consider valid criticism "bashing" because you have absolutely *ZERO* context whatsoever for what word means.
@noobkanon2Ай бұрын
I wonder what the power draw on that stack would be (edit: also that's really cool, I just think it'd a whole lotta watts)
@velcrofishsticks6002Ай бұрын
@@tim3172 it's only valid for the marketed mainstream use case, not the actual technology
@ravenovatechnologies6554Ай бұрын
We use them in an asphalt lab to cool air and thus draw moisture from a vacuum (pump saver) and I agree it works very very well.
@techhie130213 күн бұрын
One actual use for one of these. A car fridge. The proper rerigerator unit needs an inverter and a flat surface and enough space. A mini fridge will not fit through the door of most sedans. Hernia material. Then there is the matter of the inverter to run it. My MobiCool unit provides about a 40F differential which works just fine with a few freezer blocks. Keeps the milk and cheese from going bad over the three hour journey from the grocer to the house. Not much space but works pretty well until the interior of the car reaches more than 80F. Would never dream of using it in any other context. I put a thermostat control on the unit, like the temp readout in your video, so on a really cold day it will not freeze the lettuce! Love your videos. Keep up the great work.
@anna-fleurfarnsworth1047 күн бұрын
Genuine question, where do you live that the grocer is 3 hours away?
@techhie13025 күн бұрын
@@anna-fleurfarnsworth104 Ahhh! You got me! I live on an island with a ferry service. The schedule is really just a suggestion in the summer , with all the tourists trying to get on and off the Islands around here. So departure times go out the window. I buy milk, eggs, cream, eggs, meats and they are taken out to the car just before leaving the supermarket. Add in ten minutes to the terminal, with a half hour advance check in time, and then begins the wait. Sometimes up to an hour. Then the sailing back to the Island for another hour and a half, with another ten minutes to get the stuff in the fridge, and you get the picture. Could use a big chiller chest with lots of ice, but then you need the ice, yes? Simpler to use the MobiCool and plug it in. A couple of ice thingies and it is done. Creates about a 40 F differential.
@redblackhobbitАй бұрын
"fridge guy shits on small ""fridge"" for thirty minutes"
@timewave02012Ай бұрын
*metaphorically
@glockEquippedBoyfriendАй бұрын
more like heat pump guy actually
@tinygriffyАй бұрын
🤣👍
@waffles6477Ай бұрын
@@timewave02012 1 Man 1 Fridge
@davidjager23Ай бұрын
You must be new to this channel, I watch him all the time and that's basically what I said in my head when I saw the video pop up in my notifications, that's why I love this channel I'm nerdy and particularly fascinated by how things work and the science and engineering behind things, and nobody else understands. When I first discovered this channel I was binging later than I should and was tired the next day and ESPECIALLY by the time I got off work, my girlfriend was like "why are you so tired? Couldn't sleep?" I said I found a new channel I like. She was like oh about what? I said "you wouldn't like it but we're getting a sunbeam toaster." Of course she asked about it but when I informed her I watched his 6 part series about the sunbeam toaster, so like 6 hours about this particular toaster, she just didn't understand. Nobody does.
@AtomMan523Ай бұрын
Please don't ever stop including the "bloopers" at the end of your videos. The main content of the video is great, but then the bloopers at the end are the awesome cherry on top.
@re57kАй бұрын
And the subtitles at the very very end too... "skibidi heat pump"
This channel has become one of my favorites to pass the time while learning a thing or two about stuff I didn't think I needed to. I like the bloopers at the end, really shows how many takes a video can have.
@dielaughing73Ай бұрын
For anyone else confused by the big "C-PENTANE" label on the back of his black fridge: That's not the refrigerant, it's the blowing agent used to make the insulation foam (cyclopentane). The refrigerant is listed on another label as R600a (isobutane)
@greener8116Ай бұрын
Thanks for the info. My organic chemistry brain was having a fit over it.
@Muonium1Ай бұрын
Maybe they're doing this now after they were caught several years ago manuacturing shittons of CFC11 in Shandong province in flagrant violation of the Montreal protocol?
@dorianmorrell2725Ай бұрын
Thanks for this comment! I have a chest freezer that uses cyclopentane as the refrigerant, saw the C-Pentane label, but kept hearing isobutane. Later, I saw the R600a and began to think I was seeing two different units. But that would be uncharacteristic for Alec. I was left in confusion until i found your comment. Thanks again!
@420310519 күн бұрын
Btw. Is that another America/Europe difference? I've never heard of R600a as a refrigerant before. Fridges here use R290 (propane).
@Geezer1955Ай бұрын
As a retired HVAC & R technician I really enjoyed this video. I used a thermoelectric cooler/heater in my service van. The cost to me was zero because it ran on 12 volts. The company I worked for paid for the fuel so any extra draw on the alternator and drag on the engine needed to run that thing didn’t amount to much and didn’t cost me anything. The cooler/heater had a switch to make it a hot box so I could heat my lunch in it instead of cooling a drink. I found later that it was more efficient to wrap my lunch in aluminum foil and keep it on the manifold of the engine that worked much better. I had a service call once on a thermoelectric wine cooler sold by the company I worked for. The wine cooler was meant for a temp around 60 degrees. This new unit was unable to do that because the customer had it built into to his bar but he left a generous small vent hole in the back.
@kadmowАй бұрын
A metal toolbox under the hood can make a handy pie warmer... (A 12V element and thermostat, could make it perfectly food safe - for Alex's concerns..). One could go all fancy with a heater core...
@kylemacintoshlinux1449Ай бұрын
I've even seen people cook food on long road trips using that method.
@GMCLabsАй бұрын
Yup they are great for work, especially if you're a tech driving around. I work for Motorola, so I travel like 300 miles to my jobsite. My unit is AC or DC powered. So I can keep my drinks cold in the truck, then take the fridge out at the job site and plug it in. He doesn't understand what a nice luxury it is to have a cold drink and a sandwich when you're out in the middle of nowhere on a blistering hot day!
@thedavesofourlives1Ай бұрын
if you have a commercial alternator yes, but in a small car the 10-15amps can heat up the alternator quite a bit leading to premature failures.
@NiHaoMike64Ай бұрын
@@thedavesofourlives1 Tiny compared to what the A/C uses, plus a little portable cooler would be more like 4-5A. (As to the case where you're blasting the A/C on max and already using a lot of power, couldn't you run a bit of ducting from the vent to the open box and get faster cooling without any extra power draw?)
@WaffleStaffelАй бұрын
The best use case scenario for peltiers is in scientific or electronic equipment for cooling laser diodes, thermally stabilizing laser crystals, and reaching ultra low temps by stacking progressively smaller chips in a cascade arrangement.
@scorpionpizzaandcheeseextractАй бұрын
...like the way the pyramids are stacked?
@chevancАй бұрын
thermocyclers in molecular biology also use these things and they're very effective in that context. the thermal mass it needs to cool is pretty minimal (even the larger units might only have to cool 10-20 mLs total) and it's in an insulated space, so it can achieve pretty precise temperatures with controllable temperature profiles. that said, people abuse the heck out of them. they'll do things like leave a near-freezing hold at the end of their programs for tasks that REALLY don't need to be kept cold, and then let it sit on that for hours.
@RowanJacobsАй бұрын
They're pretty useful for isothermal calorimetry titration too, which is absolutely the slickest and most elegant method of determining enzyme kinetics.
@timK0WTBАй бұрын
Deep space astrophotography cameras also utilize peltier coolers to bring their CMOS sensors down between -10C and -20C.
@WaffleStaffelАй бұрын
@@timK0WTB Yes, another good example, cooling sensors to reduce noise. Basically, any application where you have to cool a very small mass, and the peltier has the versatility to achieve a wide range of temperatures.
@c.m.30325 күн бұрын
If you'd have bet me that I would watch a full video on refrigerants tonight...I would have laughed. Turns out I would have lost that bet... and I also laughed! Well done sir, you have quite a gift.
@foodflare9870Ай бұрын
I've gotta say this, I appreciate that you put the blooper reel at the end of each of these. It has made it much easier for me to show to my younger relatives to prove to them that you don't have to get things perfect on the first try to become popular on KZbin. That they shouldn't feel bad about having to retry things to get it how they want it.
@TimJackson-q8wАй бұрын
Having built scientific instruments using Peltier coolers, I found that the manufacturer's 'power rating' was calculated as the power level at which the efficiency dropped to zero, i.e. where the self-heating was equal to the cooling effect. However to run at maximum efficiency (COP) they had to be run at under 5% of the rated power. So to do anything useful you need a lot of elements, and a huge fan-assisted heat-sink, which ends up expensive. The standard '100W' 50mm elements rated for 24V need to run on about 4V (depending on temperature difference) to get a COP more than 1. So to make a car fridge run on 12V you need a minimum of three '24V' elements in series.
@gregbailey45Ай бұрын
That's what I thought...
@sarcofaygo62182 күн бұрын
8:53 he sounds so proud of his baby refriferator 😂😂
@almandinefox5160Ай бұрын
Hey Alec. I started a career in HVAC engineering because of how much I enjoy your channel. Today I’m an energy engineer for a large company, getting to spend every day improving hvac systems. I must say thank you, for making these somewhat abstract concepts you cover clearer than any textbook has. Keep at it
@positronundervolt4799Ай бұрын
That's amazing! Good on you Mate. ❤
@pride5735Ай бұрын
Probably the best channel on KZbin. It fills the niche of learning how things work without doing the research myself, being entertained by this particular sense of humor, and vicariously experiencing the coziness of Midwest values. Excellent work!
@xbubbleheadАй бұрын
I really like this channel, too, but for me the best channel on KZbin is Project Farm for information I really need about the stuff I use.
@3nertiaАй бұрын
@@xbubblehead We nerds all seem to hang out in the same corners of KZbin xD
@puncte...13 күн бұрын
This guy always makes uninteresting topics interesting. So great stuff 👍🏻
@jnyarlyАй бұрын
Not only are Peltier elements reversible in that if you reverse the voltage you can heat opposite sides, it's fully reversible in that if you have a temperature differential you can get voltage out of it! I've seen it be used for a cast-iron fireplace fan made to blow the hot air out into the room once it's hot
@piquat1Ай бұрын
THAT'S how those fans I see sitting on the homesteaders stoves on youtube work. I knew it was the heat somehow, didn't know they had a peltier in them.
@PsawhnАй бұрын
@piquat1 Those little homestead stove fans are probably Stirling engines, actually. They have more moving parts, but use zero electronics.
@goosenotmaverick1156Ай бұрын
nah my boss has one, they're Peltier devices for sure. It's a two piece heatsink with one sandwiched between. The upper section dissipates sufficient heat for it to run a small DC motor
@johnettipioАй бұрын
I have those fans, and they do use a Peltier device
@_digitalcoffeeАй бұрын
Its a Seebeck generator. Seebeck precursed Peltier and technically the heat into power instead of the opposite is referred as Seebeck not Peltier. They are both thermoelectric generators, just one converts heat to electricity and the other uses electricity to move heat.
@IllegalIconsАй бұрын
This explains SO much omg. My parenta got me one of the little can fridges and it worked for a bit before just dying completely LOL now its storage for trinkets
@gregbailey45Ай бұрын
Power supply probably crapped out.
@SirgeshkoАй бұрын
In the US Army, they have these large medical fridges they deploy in field hospitals. The cooling chamber is incredibly well insulated, and holds a little more than the blue fridge. It has 4 peltier devices on each corner, which are each attached to their own *MASSIVE* heat sinks. Seriously, these boxes are 1/6 cool chamber, 1/6 insulation, and 4/6 heatsinks and frame! They worked pretty well, but they drew a ton of current. I can see how they would be more useful in a combat zone than a regular fridge.
@psirvent8Ай бұрын
Do they use fans ? Also are the heatsinks filled with anything to make them work like heatpipes or are they just metal ? I posted a long comment about a working peltier fridge that I got to fix a few years ago and it doesn't have any fan but its heatsink contains isobutane. And it works quite well without making any noise.
@SirgeshkoАй бұрын
@psirvent8 They did not have fans, and were not filled with anything. They radiated heat like crazy, the metal frame (which didn't touch the heat sinks) was always uncomfortably warm to the touch!
@psirvent8Ай бұрын
@@Sirgeshko Thank's ! No fan makes sense in a combat zone I suppose, as to not make any noise.
@noobulon4334Ай бұрын
I'd imagine they exist almost entirely because compressors and violent vibrations don't go well together
@DuckieMcduckАй бұрын
@@noobulon4334 I imagine they exist because military-spec actually stands for "cheapest manufacturing for the performance"
@Techtonikization14 күн бұрын
I have absolutely no idea why this got recommended to me but i am unable to stop watching now. Something about the voice, the cadence, the sass, and the information being so interesting I'm hooked.
@Martock1017Ай бұрын
You're right about the need to let a refrigerator with a compressor stand for a few hours after being moved. When I worked for a UK white goods dealer in the 1970s, the majority of our replacement fridge sales were to people who had just moved house and switched the unit on as soon as it was in its new position. Often this was because the electrical socket was positioned behind the unit and they didn't want it standing in the middle of their kitchen.
@Kris_MАй бұрын
They weren't smart enough to turn the thermostat to off ?
@kaseyboles30Ай бұрын
@@Kris_M Not all Fridges have that setting. I have a cheap one that doesn't and worked at place that sold fridge.
@RogerArbogastАй бұрын
So, it worked. They didn't had them standing in the middle of the kitchen, after all 🤣
@Jaker788Ай бұрын
You can move them, but they should stay upright as much as possible. Briefly tipping it over should be fine. Transporting sideways in a vehicle for 30 mins should get some time to let the oil settle back. If you start it up though, a lot of the oil will get pushed back to the compressor, but it will coat the lines on the way there and take a bit to get returned. This would be worse on the passive ones with the large backside coil compared to the fan cooled ones most are today.
@josef5319Ай бұрын
Anything using a compressor with oil should stand for a coupleo fhours after being moved/bounced.
@pinkshinyalanАй бұрын
"Inefficiently smooth jazz" is a beautiful touch in the captions.
@HepglonАй бұрын
agreed, I turn on the captions at the end of each of his video to see how he describes the jazz that time
@LittleJoePeepАй бұрын
Your absolute disdain and thorough destruction of the crappy little fridge's reputation is a sight to behold. Thank you for your service.
@Thuja81424 күн бұрын
Lol yes! It’s stronger than the disdain some of us Canadians feel when Americans pronounce French. (Or how Parisians regard French Canadian for that matter 🏴☠️) That room ain’t a foy-"yurr" but a foy-"yay!" La Croix has nothing to do with the Croydon Facelift, but more in common with the Italian way to say "the water" (though perhaps not Italian Americans!)
@mrwanderlive17 күн бұрын
I've been wondering about these for years!!
@adhillA97Ай бұрын
5:50 "Up to 30° below ambient" Me (in a Celsius country): Oh, that's _way_ better than I thought! Why would that be a problem at all? ...oh wait...
@Ole-vu9yjАй бұрын
Pretty much every country on the planet is in degrees Celsius. If you as a KZbinr want to reach more than just your own country's audience, you should at least specify metric units as well. With feet and inches, I now have an idea of how much that is in metric units. I will never understand Fahrenheit. In other words, the numbers are completely lost on me. So I just skipped through the video quickly. But I just don't understand it. I'm not going to use a calculator or diagram here to try to convert the numerous temperature values into something imaginable.
@bruhmoment_24Ай бұрын
@@Ole-vu9yjits a shame you didnt manage to skip to one of the numerous parts of the video where he shows celsius conversions on screen...
@JakeValorOfArmsАй бұрын
@@Ole-vu9yj You prob shouldn't fully skip his stuff. He's more on point informatively not trying to burn your time. And mind you. He does even parted info again he's explained before from prior videos he has done. To explains F to C. As an American. I agree C makes complete sense. BUT there is some draw backs. Notably the terms here are big number small number. F has a fairly big number ratio that rarely leaves our 1000+ mark for uses like bake, cooking, cooling. It's rare it'll ever leave that measurement. C is in set numbers. On scientific scale. 0 Is the "Sum" water generally goes to ice in the metric cube space. (Impurities etc. change this). This means some numbers like lets say... 460 F = 237.778. I'm well aware the human body is around 98F. And water kind of chills into ice about 32F. Water Boils at 212F. It's Arbitrary.... You're just going to turn it into 238C on your Oven? which makes the measure I just did 460.4F. If you want a good summary. Of how it works...well just divide it about half. Based on if the number is bigger or smaller. 500F then be your roughly 250C. (I looked it up it's 260C) If I do 250F then prob about 125C? (I looked it up again 121.111) It's rough but...honestly it's better than nothing. Also we have other measurements of heat like Kelvin. Yes I agree Metric is superior. But honestly... It's not a big deal to learn other measure terms. It's just ways to ruler in calcs the numeric quantifications. Honestly I just estimate....so If my Box of food says bake at 450F I sometimes tap it to 455 or 460. Cause well no oven is equal unless it's generally brand new. Just try not to skip too much sorry for the tangent and hope my "x2 your C" works or "/2 our F" It's rough but it's about proximation. Also think this...F is larger numbers so our numbers are smaller per heat represent while C is using decimal points more often meaning each 1C is 1000 other units to make it up. We don't really .5 our F it's just "Number" Good for rule of thumbs and gets us close to the point. If we did this for C broke it down 250C is 250,000 Micro Celsius (I know not real). But means your precision is potentially a little less off cause our rule of thumb of commoners. (This such a small variance prob make little difference) Have a nice day.
@squelchstuffАй бұрын
@@Ole-vu9yj Coming from a country (UK) that while supposedly metric, still uses degrees Frankenstein in some places. It does irk me when someone says it's 30 degrees outside, but omits the units. That's either shorts and T-shirt, or Parker and boots weather.
@paradiselost9946Ай бұрын
@@Ole-vu9yj 9 fifths plus 32... or is it five 9ths? whatever. minus 40 is minus 40, 100 is 212, and body temperature is 37.4 or 99point something... not THAT hard. iunno, im in a metric country but still tend to flip units constantly...BTU, watts, PSI, KPA, kgfcm, celsius, kelvin, farhenheit, roemer (yes, there are SEVERAL temperature scales...) feet, centimetres... gills, pecks, grams, floz, CC, litres, yarda yarda. and every day, you possibly see THOUSANDS of a particular item that is almost universally measured in both units... tyres. imperial rim diameters, and metric widths. the only exceptions i know of is on a certain ferrari with metric rims... and near impossible to get new rubber for, to the point my friend keeps the OEM rims stacked in the corner for shows and runs regular steel rims for daily driving... try dealing with electrical units where capacitance is measured in JARS, and inductance measured in MICS.
@mrdrprof8402Ай бұрын
I was talking with my friends just today about how I save technology connections videos for when I'm having a particularly bad day. Lo and behold there was an upload and I'm having a particularly bad day. So thanks for cheering me up :)
@snakesonn3590Ай бұрын
please notice me
@lukerinderknecht2982Ай бұрын
Hope tomorrow's even better!
@L33tSkE3t16 күн бұрын
12:31 love the TESTED sticker
@DerekKnopАй бұрын
I used one of those small desk coolers when I worked in a call center. We could not have a mini fridge at our desk and we could not just get up and go to the kitchen whenever we wanted, so I got a Coke branded one for my desk. I would bring in pre-coold cans from home and put them in there. IT was much better at maintaining lower temps than getting things cold, but it would work well enough for four hours, then I would refill it from the big fridge at lunch.
@thumbwarriordxАй бұрын
If you've gotta keep something at a quite specific temperature, the solid state reversible peltier is perfection. It's uniquely suited to keeping things precisely tepid, not getting too big for its britches and trying to be a fridge. I'm sure some scientist out there is using these things in their proper application. (Bulky compressors with brute force bang-bang relay operation will swing temps, but you can PID tune these piddly little TECs)
@KainYusanagiАй бұрын
Thermo-electric Dehumidifiers!
@bjoerkengardАй бұрын
They are, in fact, being used to cool some spectrometer detectors, since they aren't generating a lot of watts of heat that need to be transported away, but do need to be kept very cold - and the cold side of a Peltier element can get very cold because you aren't limited by the refrigerant's boiling temperature.
@AtlasJotunАй бұрын
Bang-bang relay make arcy-sparky fun times. Magic square not fun times. Don't want.
@tenkowalАй бұрын
Yup, peltiers are the way to go to stabilise temperature of lab laser diodes. Small size, bidirectionality and ease of control circuit are unbeatable, especially in cases of low power dissipated in the diode itself and wanting to keep the temperature just a bit higher than ambient. Peltiers scale very well into region of low power temperature control.
@a_god826926 күн бұрын
@27:00 Growing up in South Africa we always got told upo getting a new fridge that we must "wait a day before using it " due to the gas. I initially thought this was due to refrigerant but i am now guessing its for the lubricating oil. Brilliant video🎉
@bartz0rt928Ай бұрын
My dad's old camper van has a different kind of fridge that I'd never heard of before: an absorption refrigerator! It has the benefit of having no moving parts, but (as my dad found out) they kick out a lot more heat than a vapor-compression refrigerator. He dramatically improved the performance of his one by mounting a PC fan so that it forces some airflow over the radiator at the back.
@174wolfАй бұрын
I'd love to see a video on those. There's some you can use on gas, 12V and 230V, all just heating the refrigerant in different ways.
@SmallSpoonBrigadeАй бұрын
I hadn't heard about that. I do know that if you want to cool a few cans, you can just set them on the propane cylinder and harvest some of the cooling when that phase change freezes the outside.
@thomaswilliams2273Ай бұрын
As I understand they are about as efficient as using the same amount of propane to run a generator to power a compressor fridge. I was looking at one that if run on electricity took 300 watts. However they seem to be able to withstand long periods of disuse, so they might be worth it at your standard house as an emergency spare.
@NiHaoMike64Ай бұрын
@@thomaswilliams2273 There were some attempts at gas powered air conditioning which ran into the same issue, plus the ammonia is a major safety concern if it leaked.
@johnqpublic9074Ай бұрын
Yup, super common, every old school RV has one. Also the plot of the movie mosquito coast with Harrison Ford.
@Alex-cw3rzАй бұрын
Seems to be a common problem with a lot of modern things, there is a small upfront fee to entice you but you'll be paying more in the long run. Especially with the proliferation of subscription, pay monthly and finance, even things like fast fashion.
@bobhotchkiss2438Ай бұрын
Welcome to the Shitthropocene.
@SteelkickerАй бұрын
It goes down to the very reason you could remove the battery from your phone 10+ years ago but can't now.. there is NO valid reason for it other than $$
@pyrioncelendilАй бұрын
I remember when Peltier coolers were a big deal back in the early oughts for ekeing out an extra 1-2C of cooling a CPU. You'd have to carve quite the divot into your heatsink to fit the thing between the CPU and the heatsink, the power draw was ridiculous, and again, it'd only drop your temps an extra celsius or two, but these were the days when if you wanted water cooling you had to kitbash together your own system using aquarium hardware so it was regarded as a "safer" mod to perform.
@pafnutiytheartistАй бұрын
They do exist now too but with how high modern CPU power draw is, they are essentially useless except for when you only care about single core performance. Which is almost never.
@omegahaxors9-11Ай бұрын
The only thing stupider than using a Peltier module to cool your PC is using *actual water.* What could POSSIBLY go wrong??? Yes I underclock, how could you tell?
@NiHaoMike64Ай бұрын
Anyone remember when Dell sold a high end PC with Peltier cooling, 2006 or so? I wouldn't be surprised if it used more power than a similar era dual CPU rack server, even though the rack servers of that era were particularly power hungry.
@pontiacg445Ай бұрын
@@omegahaxors9-11 My fully custom 4770k/R9 290x loop says not much in the last 10 years it's been running. As in it's totally silent on 100% of the original hardware, 100% of the time.
@Anders357Ай бұрын
@@pafnutiytheartist they are not useless because you can easily make 2 copper plates 4x4 inches and stick 4x400 watts TECs between, and then stick these sandwiched TECs on top of your i9-14900ks, along with a liter of vaseline and foam to prevent condensation. You will of course need a hefty PSU to run it, since each needs 25-30 amps, and probably a water loop with a car radiator to cool the hot side, plus you need to make the waterblock yourself. But it would certainly allow that CPU to run at its best. This design has been used before. Phase change cooling would allow for colder temps and will run much more energy efficient.
@17th_Colossus27 күн бұрын
I hate to say it, but you kinda sold me on the blue plastic “fridge.”
@MartinSh429Ай бұрын
To be honest, I believe your videos should be shown in schools. They are incredibly helpful, informative, and practical for our daily lives. Well done!
@KevinSmith-ys3mhАй бұрын
- its quite likely they are being used by some teachers, lord knows alec's videos are more interesting than tha crap videotapes I recall endureing! (maybe not an "official" part of the resources list) and home school is a thing now .
@mikemondano3624Ай бұрын
Unfortunately, that probably won't happen. The material is not on standardized tests and schools seem to overlook anything that will not improve scores, get teachers raises, and bring more status and money to the school system. Many schools have stopped requiring books to be read and instead focus on what questions about those books may be on the test.
@jellifygirlАй бұрын
@@mikemondano3624There are a good number of more specialised schools that may have an interest, and I can totally see my old science class putting one of these on on free days assuming they had a pre-lunch slot or a double class.
@markgado8782Ай бұрын
I was just thinking to myself, you know, before yt, this guy would have made an excellent physics teacher! 😊😂
@mikemondano3624Ай бұрын
@@markgado8782 His background is in science education.
@Mostlyharmless1985Ай бұрын
Are you telling me there’s more butane in a 6 pack of lighters than in my fridge and I’ve been living in mortal terror of my fridge exploding like a firebomb for no reason?
@expert8997Ай бұрын
Uhhhhh yes
@adriantallent8557Ай бұрын
You could probably still make your fridge explode, but you'd have to try really, really hard.
@mrwess1927Ай бұрын
So you’re telling me its possible to make a fridge heat exchanger using 6 lighters?
@paradoxcorporated2906Ай бұрын
it's still quite a lot actually, 56 g is about 22.6 liters in ambient pressure.
@Mostlyharmless1985Ай бұрын
@@paradoxcorporated2906 I was thinking there was gallons of the stuff in the fridge. A few liters of gas is going to be a fwoosh not a boom.
@Adam_Carter10 күн бұрын
THIS CHANNEL is a nice find while channel-surfing on a Saturday night; even for a European viewer; Thank-you.
@chuckrhodes3217Ай бұрын
Thanks to your video I now like my little toy. It’s always on in my office. But now I know it’s costing my employer more money than a mini-fridge! Glad to hear you saved big money at Menards.
@nooblangpooАй бұрын
Other mini fridges: Peltier Cooling! Makita: FUCK IT FULL ON COMPRESSOR.
@unclejoeoaklandАй бұрын
Dude. Makita. Battery powered coffee maker.
@nielsvanderwaa9539Ай бұрын
Well yeah, why would they sell something useless. They are a big name brand, selling a dumb peltier 'fridge' would not end well
@stenmin1234Ай бұрын
@@nielsvanderwaa9539Makita sells a lot of trash. They sell some amazing tools. But a lot of trash as well. This goes for all of the tool brands.
@unclejoeoaklandАй бұрын
@stenmin1234 I've had good luck all round with marital. What don't you like of theirs? I haven't seen it yet but I do assume every brand has one dog. For Bosch it's the colt router. For that matter, even Ryobi has one or two winners. But let's talk makita
@volvo09Ай бұрын
@@nielsvanderwaa9539 yeah it wouldn't run very long with a peltier, just a couple hours... Guys using tools are wanting more performance, especially on a job site where power is scarce.
@techdude15414 күн бұрын
I got one of these for christmas a few years ago and kept it in my closet convincing myself that I would use it some day in my home office Thank you for convincing me to get rid of it and instead use the mini fridge in the basement so now I have some closet space back lol
@BrooksMosesАй бұрын
A small technical correction about heat pumps: You mention at 21:30 that they are better than running an electric heating element if the COP is greater than 1. It's actually better than that: Most of the energy going into running the heat pump is also rejected out the hot side, which means that they're better than running an electric heating element so long as the COP is greater than 0. Even a Peltier device, as bad as it is, will be more efficient than a heating element at heating things.
@nathanwaightАй бұрын
Fundamentally I would agree the statement. I couldn't help but that think practically that a Pelteir device would poorer at heating than a element because the distance between the cooling and heat side is so close with no insulation it would have significant losses. In addition I would think that the heat generated by the device isn't directional, further reduce its efficiency as it has to manage that additional heat as well. This is just conjecture so I wouldn't disagree with a explanation of why my reasoning could be wrong.
@NycturneАй бұрын
If we use the usual definition CoP of a heat pump in heating mode as energy output (Q) divided by work (W), then a heat pump that pushes all the energy used to do work into the output with 100% efficiency actually looks like this: CoP = Q/W = (X+W)/W. Where Q is the sum of the energy moved and the waste heat from doing the work, and X is the energy moved by itself. In fact heat pumps tend to have a higher heating CoP than cooling for the reason you state (the additive effect of using waste heat in addition to the heat moved boosts the CoP). An electric heater just emits whatever power is provided as heat, so CoP is W/W, or 1. As far as the Peltier, in principle the CoP can exceed 1, but that depends on how large your delta T is, and where you are operating compared to maximum current. It’s easy to undersize these elements, or overdrive them trying to deal with large temperature gradients and wind up with a CoP under 1.
@williamnixon3994Ай бұрын
I presume this is running with the idea that you're going to also use the Cold side for something to take advantage of the listed efficiency?
@HenryLoenwindАй бұрын
@@williamnixon3994 No, it is saying that at a COP of 0, you only get the waste heat and no heat is moved from the outside. But as you want to heat your home anyway, that waste heat is useful for you. And as that waste heat is the exact same amount you would get from a resistive heater... PS: This assumes that the waste heat goes into the house. If the heatpump has its motor outside, it may very well escape into the environment and be lost. For a heatpump that can operate as an AC, that's not too unlikely.
@NycturneАй бұрын
@@HenryLoenwind CoP is only zero if *no useful work* is done. CoP doesn’t care how the energy enters (heating) or leaves (cooling) the system, just how much energy enters or leaves. Scavenging waste heat is still bringing energy into the system, and it counts. Someone talking about a real world heating device having a CoP of zero is misunderstanding something.
@peteraugust5295Ай бұрын
I had this exact discussion with my colleague once and his response on "get an actual fridge, within a year or two it will be cheaper!" was "But I dont plan on using this for two years"🤯 Some Mindsets just make it impossible to argue.
@shadesoftime28 күн бұрын
Peak consumerism
@dumbleking517218 күн бұрын
Wait, you're telling me his whole style of "maintaining" refrigerators is to rotate every so often? And finds nothing wrong with that?
@Dudemullet9 күн бұрын
Aaahhh yes, the bane of a Technology Connections subscriber, friendly Christmas gift exchanges
@andytran93Ай бұрын
One cool use of Peltiers is in PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) machines we have in the lab. The PCR process involves amplifying DNA by repeatedly heating and cooling it to copy the genetic material. One of the key advantages of Peltiers in PCR machines is that they can precisely heat and cool the samples to the exact temperature required for each step (within something like 0.1°C or so) - it's not about efficiency here, since samples are tiny, but rather the precision and reliability they offer.
@andreahighsides7756Ай бұрын
Ahh yes pcr tests the super usable and accurate science we must trust
@maksrambe3812Ай бұрын
@@andreahighsides7756are you a COVID conspiracy theorist or something? PCR isn't a COVID thing it's a powerful method of quickly replicating tiny amounts of DNA to make a larger sample. PCR is very reliable, the problems with COVID RT-PCR tests must be either the reverse transcription process or the method they use to analyse the amplified sample after PCR. I'd imagine it's the reverse transcription because any traces or errors in the sample will also be amplified by PCR. But it's wild that you know about PCR but only in the context of COVID tests.
@mimi-fk6dpАй бұрын
@@andreahighsides7756 I mean, yes? It's a common lab technique used for many different things, including genetic analysis and forensics.
@palmberry5576Ай бұрын
@@andreahighsides7756ah yes, failing highschool biology / science (or you are just old enough that PCR wasn’t invented/well known when you were in highschool and you couldn’t bother looking into it beyond political headlines in 2020)
@andreahighsides7756Ай бұрын
@@palmberry5576 what does the inventor of the PCR test say about its recent usage
@matejlieskovsky9625Ай бұрын
We did try using a peltier to build a cooling box for vegetables to survive at an overheating dorm and now I know why it didn't work! The tech still works well as a generator in my portable wood stove...
@shakeandbaked1Ай бұрын
Yeah I run my stove fan with one.
@nopenope841827 күн бұрын
The only practical (and this word is carrying a lot of weight) use i've found so far for Peltier plates is as cooling for my Full-body future soldier armor LARP suit. It is water-cooled using a miniature immersion water pump in a camelback filled with water and some ice initially. The immersion pump feeds a 10m long 5mm inner diameter aquarium tube that goes on a wild ride up and down the inside of my chest piece to help cool me down and then the water comes back to the camelback (yes i technically drink my coolant; yes i clean it thoroughly after each use). After about two hours the water reaches more or less room temperature. I then have two manual switches, one to turn on the cooling fans on the backpack and the second to power up the Peltier plate. The fans are on aluminium heat-sinks that are on the aluminium casing in which i put my camelback. The two .25A fans are good enough if it's bellow 15C outside, otherwise the water will get warmer and warmer over time. That's when i turn the Peltier plate on, only then, maybe after 5 hours of continuously running around or physical activity. People that do LARP will tell you, you usually get some time to cool off between hectic running around periods so it's really a last resort or, if it's really warm outside, like 25C+. Mind you this feels hot because i'm wearing a full-body armor made from EVA foam sandwiched in thermoplastic, with a closed helmet, over an overall and hauling around this 10 kilos of gear, 3 kilos of water, 5 kilos of batteries and my 1m90 125 kilos self. And when i reach that point... it's not that great. Sure it makes a difference, a big one, but this is bumping my power consumption from about 3 A/h with the fans in the helmet and cooling running along the pump to a whopping 50 A/h with the Peltier on. Mind you i'm carrying a large 20 A/h 12v battery in my backpack, the single heaviest item in fact, and, while yes i can swap the battery and have two for the exact purpose of keeping one on charge, i'm going from about 8 hours of autonomy to about 20 minutes (this battery looses efficiency on high drain). So yeah, besides being basically a novelty that is kind of cool-if-a-bit-crappy, the only time i actually got some real use of it was when i almost got a serious heatstroke during a heat wave a few years back.
@JohnDoe-fk6idАй бұрын
Just FYI, Peltier coolers CAN get COP close to 3, if you carefully control the current *AND* the temperature drop. This would require a cascade of several peltier modules in series, depending on the total temperature drop you're trying to accomplish. I designed a system to use peltier modules for dehumidification (welcome to Florida), because I wanted to use something quieter than a typical dehumidifier. In order to keep the modules operating in their peak efficiency, and match the moisture extraction of a 30pt/day dehumidifier... was going to cost me over $1k in JUST the modules. Power consumption would have been comparable, as would cooling capacity. These modules aren't bad... they're just... not used correctly, and horrendously expensive *TO* use correctly.
@hammerth1421Ай бұрын
Yeah, you need the right kind of Peltier, you need stack them and you need to use the right thermal interface materials and good heat sinks on both sides. But at that point, you're talking like $200 just for the bill of materials plus like another $200 each for engineering cost and margin.
@JohnDoe-fk6idАй бұрын
@@hammerth1421 For the little minifridge? I could see that, easily.
@pontiacg445Ай бұрын
I've found peltier powered electrical cabinet dehumidifiers in industrial machine tools.
@NiHaoMike64Ай бұрын
I have modded an electric cooler by stacking a second Peltier on top of the existing one and running both at reduced power. Ended up using 20-25W which was comparable to a compressor fridge of the same size, even had to add a small heater and thermostat to stop it from freezing when the room was cold. The compressor still wins if you want the capability to go below freezing, however.
@HA05GERАй бұрын
Dehumidifiers are so quiet nowadays. Mine literally about the same as my laptop it's very quiet you can't hear the compressor at all.
@JustKev86Ай бұрын
I worked with those components . They are used as a cooler for cosmetic laser system (hair removal and stuff) . Two of them were able to cool to -25C in a small area , and used water loop for heat dispersal .
@katiekotok50517 күн бұрын
I graduated this spring with a bachelors degree in microbio and a minor in chemistry and you finally helped me understand how fridges work.
@Odragonkingo231Ай бұрын
The "skibidi Heatpump" at the end actually killed me inside with the CC. Thanks for that!
@jameswhitaker1324Ай бұрын
24:03 now that you have a hole in the door, fill it with spray foam and test that theory.
@Pushing_PixelsАй бұрын
Now I wanna know.
@somerandomusernamenobodyhasАй бұрын
I'd love to see this
@billatqАй бұрын
My admittedly unscientific observation is that if you put the fridge on its back and have a way for air to flow, it works better than if you have it sitting up like you should. The one issue is that it has a tendency to collect and condense water when you do it that way, but it does work better. I hadn't considered that the door doesn't have any insulation, that seems like it's the reason it works better that way.
@danielmichalski94Ай бұрын
Okay, challenge accepted. Now I want to make real, functional fridge of this size with the standard compressor system. I'm writing it down on "to-do" list. I love your passion about refrigeration, cheers!