Now this Pelt is driving me nuts.

[NorthernYankee]

Ok guys I got everything insulated. And all is running but my Temps are higher now than they were before the pelt so I know I must be doing something wrong.

As a refresher here is my setup.

Maze 3-1
Aqua Coil
Mag 250gph
13.8v 25 amp PSU
226w pelt

temps at load will hit over 46c before that is about 4c higher than before. and if I implement the Halt command to idle the CPU in Wpcredit, temps only go to about 2c below ambient case temp.

I am not sure if this will make a difference but I did not use AS between the tec and the coldplte or the tec and the waterblock.

I need help please

--NY

[NorthernYankee]

Problem solved thanks to CardinalFang over at Icrontic. It was the thermal paste I threw some on there and my load temps are hovering at 26c.

WooHoo

--NY

[Player0]

NY, some things to consider:

Use as LITTLE thermal paste as possible on the CPU. Thermal paste reacts very badly to cold, so you want to use much less AS as you normally would.

Use a thin layer of AS between the peltier, waterblock and coldplate. You really want some there as well. Just be very sparing, especially on the cold side.

Make sure the peltier is sandwhiched between the waterblock and the coldplate. The more pressure the better.

What are you using to mount the maze3 down to the CPU? The stock parts? Use metal bolts and use stronger springs. When I used stronger springs, I got a huge improvement in Delta T.

What are your hot water temperautres? What is the temperature of the Maze3 waterblock? It might not be powerful enough to cope with the 226w pelt. Does it feel hot to the touch? You dont want it to be more than a little warm.

[NorthernYankee]

I used the AS very sparingly all around, and it seems to have worked.

I have switched over to Metal bolts but I am still using the stock springs.

I have not ran a temp probe from the digidoc to measure water temps yet, so I am not sure what they are yet. The Maze is only slightly warm to the touch. Should I run a probe and mont it the the Maze 3? if so where is the best spot?

--NY

[NorthernYankee]

Ok Here are some results after running at load for 1 hour @ 1977mhz

CPU Temps 32-33c

Water Temps 32.5-32.7c

It seems Rock solid here it may not be the 2ghz that I was hoping for but 65mhz is noting to sneeze at.

--NY

[Player0]

Use thermal tape and mount a probe under the maze3 waterblock, right next to the hot side of the peltier. This will give you peltier hot side temperatures, which you need more than water temperatures.

Your temperatures seem high still. I think you can do much better. You need more pressure. How many volts are you sending to the peltier?

[NorthernYankee]

I am sending 12.4 volts to the pelt. Is that enough?

As for the pressure do you think stronger springs will make a difference? If so what kind should i get?

I will get back to you with hot side temps.

--NY

[Player0]

NY,

Well hmm. Sending 12.4v gives your peltier a QMax of about 170watts. So its like running a 170w peltier instead of a 226w unit. So no your not taking full advantage of what you have. Can you hack the powersupply to give more volts? Maybe bring it to 13.5 or 14v.

Yeah, the hotside temperature is important. You shouldnt have more than a 10 degree difference between hot side temperatures and water temperatures. If its more than 10c degrees difference, you need more clamping power, better lapping, or a larger waterblock.

The springs make a huge difference, but I know little about them. I ordered a bunch from SwiftTech. The kind they use are 2x as strong as the ones from dangerden. I also use two springs per post now.

If you can, attatch a probe to the cold-plate as well, right next to the peltier. This way you can determine delta T between the cold plate and CPU, and determine if you need more spring pressure.

Another good idea is to run a bead of silicone around the peltier as it is sandwiched between the waterblock and cold plate. This will help with condensation, but also will help thermal bleed from the waterblock to the cold plate, and should improve efficiency by a little bit.

I just noticed your pump is a bit slow. You may get better results with a 400GPH unit, such as the Eheim 1250. Your hot water temperatures aren't bad really. But perhaps your waterblock is not working as efficiently to cool the peltier because of this.

Hehe...the fun thing with peltiers is that there are SOOO many things to tweak.

[NorthernYankee]

Thanks for all the info, it looks like i have a lot of tweaking to do over the next few days.

--NY

[gamefan]

if im not mistaken 226watt pelts were designed for 24 volt operation, your cpu is creating more heat then the pelt can pull, at a full 226 volts the pelt should keep u closer to the zero mark

btw, in general running a chiller setup with pelts is better then direct cpu cooling, it is safer and more "stable" aswell as gives u the ability to add more pelts easily

[NorthernYankee]

Actually the 226 w pelt is

Imax = 24 Amps

Qmax = 226.1 Watts

Vmax = 15.2 Volts

Delta Tmax = >67 (C)

--NY

[Player0]

Yes, the 226w units ive seen are 15v units. There may be 24v units floating around as well.

Im certainly biased towards waterchilling, for the only reason that its easier to use multiple peltiers like that. However, its not the easiest of solutions, and direct mounting a peltier with a Maze3-1 is quite simple, in comparison. Yet can still yeild good results.

Just alot of tweaking left for NY, like I said. He should be under 30c easy with a little extra effort :)

[gamefan]

i like ater chilling because of the safety element, if yer pelts fail u have around 20 minuted b4 self destruction with a chiler

[Player0]

Ive never ever had a peltier fail on me. They are extremely reliable.

[gamefan]

i had one fail on me back in the day cost me a duron 800....

[DexterHolland91]

Hold on, NY are you insulating your pelt?

[NorthernYankee]

Yeah I made a neoprene gasket for it.

--NY

[Player0]

How did your pelt fail exactly?