USB Heater (or How to Upgrade Your Coffee Cup)

Step 4 Grand finale

Ta-daaaaaaa!!!!

It is done, takes a few minutes to warm up, and can also be used to warm your hands on cold days.

But at this you should be asking yourself: Why does it keep saying yellow goes to red? Well, I wanted to add extra cabling in case I needed the USB cable for something else, and I ran out of red wires from my old power supplies...

Thou shall be ready to make it (in case you've read everything). As I told before, I am already developing ideas for an upgrade, so I would appreciate any ideas, comments, suggestions, coffee recipes, etc. This was done under the concept of doing the most with the least, but I think it can be improved.

Comments

[pbawesome]

I realize this is an old post, but what kind of temperatures did you get with this setup?

I have a project where I'm trying to generate about 350F (I don't plan to do this with a USB port, but I'm just wondering how much heat this particular setup got you...

[golpen]

Easy reading - very helpful, bravo man!

[codongolev]

somebody with an overclocked cpu put their motherboard in oil and played some game (I think it was WOW) for like, 2 hours. they used it to fry potatoes.

[primetime2628]

The "AMD" chips are known for their excessive heat. Wondering if we could just use the CPU to generate the heat. Not sure which pins you'd have to connect the USB to to turn on the CPU but it would be a much more elegant application.

[gb78]

I agree, to the point that a working processor could be used to heat something. You know, it is winter now where I live, and that sounds really cool (no double meaning joke here), but I still couldn't figure out how, without running the risk to damage the processor. I ever thought of some kind of a small oven through a 5 1/4" bay, but again, you know... how to spread heat properly, without overheating my AMD working class hero processor?

[primetime2628]

I was assuming that the CPU had already been fried. It would still have the ability to heat up with the right connections. I did find a diagram of the pin outs of the older K6 processor www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/21016.pdf - It should be possible to hook it up Have not had time yet.

[Jouda Mann]

Just out of curiosity, why are you using a processor? is it just for the good thermal conductivity? Or could anything else ceramic-like work?

[gb78]

Yes, I used it for the good thermal conductivity, and (probably) yes for anything else ceramic-like doing the job. I thought of using some old dead EPROMS I have (you know, from Atari 2600 cartridges) instead of the processor, for a smaller application. I don't know if that would work with other types of ceramic stuff.

[clippership]

I have recommended you to StumbleUpon. I get cold in the Winter here in Wisconsin and this will keep my tea "just right."

[gb78]

Thanks, I appreciate that, and I'm glad it will be usefull :)