Joey: Some of the higher end Peltier coolers are actually reasonably efficient, mostly because they improve power management and insulation.
It's the classic argument of "haste makes waste" with respect to cooling. As I said, a Peltier can cool something down almost instantly (if it's a small space) because it creates such a sharp temperature difference, as opposed to say something more like an evaporative cooler (aka "Swamp cooler") or similar that produces a very small but quite constant thermal gradient. The best ones take advantage of the "quick cool" nature and the lack of an appreciable run up time, clicking them on and off with a thermostatic control. They then combine this with good insulation and some with built-in gel/ice packs so that the machine only has to run for a short time to keep a "cool" temperature. As I recall it's a little difficult to "throttle" a Peltier plate other than changing the voltage through it, and they work most efficiently at one specific voltage, so this scheme lets them run it at that voltage more often. -Kurt On Mon, Apr 18, 2011 at 11:11 AM, Joey Kelley <[email protected]> wrote: > Kurt, > Thanks for the explanation - that makes more sense - as I agree > the fan doesn't look like it could possibly pull that much current. > Guess it makes the price I paid for it worth just that much > more. Works great - but - as you said, draws a lot of juice. Perhaps > I'd be better with a traditional cooler. > Hmmmm... > Thanks! > -Joey > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en.
