Can cooler mod

Christmas gift from the love of my life to her favortie geek.
USB Beverage Chiller
The CoolIT USB Beverage Chiller is the only way to keep your drink cold while you're at your computer and it looks cool on any desktop!
www.coolitsystems.com
Works great but I needed to mod it a little to bring it up to my specs. Bottom stayed cool but top of can warms up and we cant have that! :-)

[e-mail]

Step 1 First a mockup

I grabbed a old Nasa can cozy and cut about 1/3 off the bottom leaving two ears that I could wrap under the cooler to keep it up right and in position. A little duct tape never hurts any project :-)

After testing with a infrared hand temp scanner the top of the can was now within 3 degrees of the bottom. Not bad

Comments

[purpulhaze]

I like this setup but I think it could be better if aluminum was used. Maybe more fans as well. I'm looking to maybe purchase one to tinker with.

[purpulhaze]

I that could be done but it maybe a lil' more involved than this project. You could use a micro controller and temp sensor to help regulate the temp.

[albylovesscience]

would that go good inside a pc as a processer cooler or does it get ridiculously cold and create frost

[Bctcteacher]

yes the metal plate will condense vapor leaving a ring of water.

[falcotheimpaler]

You'd think, but i've installed a peltier in a fanless setup, and i've never had any problem with condensation. Granted i coated the damn thing in heat sink compound, but your processor will keep the poor thing above dew point.

[ShadowJesus]

Nice idea.

[Erik Lindemann]

I too have one of these, so far the only mod I've done is I added a switch to the side so I didn't have to keep unplugging it/plugging it back in. I'll probably give this a try as well. Have you tried foil on the inside of your sleeve? I'd imagine that the colder temperature would probably transfer to the top more quickly with a good amount of conductive material to bring it upward.

[Bctcteacher]

I had thought of milling a alum sleeve instead of the insulation but I haven't gotten around to it. Ken

[Rob K]

I have one of these coolers. They do work surprising well but only on a already cold can to keep it cold. For a room temp can it can take several hours to become cold.

[kelseymh]

Very nice! I especially like the rendered drawings along with the as-built photos. Why did you keep all your pic's attached to the introduction, though? Just because you uploaded them all at once? It make the display (and the PDF) a bit crowded and redundant.

[Bctcteacher]

Thanks. Oops I did upload them all at once :-( Rookie mistake :0 Ken

[kelseymh]

Killerjackalope is right, below. It's not a "piezoelectric" crystal. It's called a Seebeck crystal -- it can convert thermal energy into a voltage, and vice versa. Also Peltier (the two discovered the effect independently). And I wouldn't call it a "rookie mistake". It's a lot more convenient to upload everything in one show, and have the same tags applied throughout.

[killerjackalope]

Not really - uploading them all together isn't bad, plus if they tell the story well then it's sometimes nice to view the 'ible like a slidehow, whether you do it is personal preference. I'm reasonably, only reasonably sure that the cooler's thermoelectric and that piezo electric referred to the likes of certain crystals being used to convert electricity in to movement or vice versa - If I wrong ignore. Good job on the project, it looks really professional at the end, I prefer the finished product in a lot of ways to the original, added bonus of it being nigh on impossible to spill by knock the can off the top...