Meanwell 320 - Hot

[nkarnold]

My meanwell S320-12 PSU which is running my Swiftech 5000 tec on my 3.0ghz CPU is providing enough heat for a small baltic country.

Any ideas on how to get the temps down.

currently Ive got 2 80mm fans mounted on it.. it helped but not a lot... only way I can keep it cool, is to air-condition my room, which is not practical 100% of the time (noise pollution)

thanks

[Drake]

As long as it isn't adversely affecting anything I imagine that it wouldn't be much of a problem.

[Player0]

Yuor running that powersupply at near peak power output, which means its efficiency is way down the tubes. Apart from more fans on that one, the only recommendation I have is to upgrade to a better PSU for the peltier. Maybe one that can handle 15v 30a which would be ideal to run a 226w peltier. It will stay cooler because its meant to handle more than the 25a the 226w pelt will draw, and it will save on electricity bill as well.

[nkarnold]

not sure I understand

The meanwell S320 is ideal for running a 260W pelt

My problem is heat

[Farabomb]

It works well but it's not "ideal"

It's like running you car at close to redline All the time. Yea it will do it but you're asking it to do a lot. If you get a Power suply that can handle more than the TEC will ask for it will run cooler because it's not running at 100% 100% of the time.

[mdzcpa]

I have the same issue with my Meanwell S320 running pretty warm powering my 226w TEC. The real key for me (as the Meanwell was installed in a spare ATAPI drive bay) was to have the heat from the Meanwell exhausted outside of the case.

To do this I placed the meanwell in the upper most bay and cut a fanless blow holein the top of the case. The fan from the meanwell is more than adequate to get the heat right up and out of the PSU, and right out of the case. Here is a pic.

http://www.liquidninjas.com/mdzcpa/forumpics/s320case.jpg


This set up, plus general good case cooling has cured the issue. The PSU still makes a lot of heat, but it gets out of the case, and that is the key. The PSU only gets hotter when stuck in a hot case.

[Player0]

No, I wouldnt say the Meanwell S320 is ideal. It works well enough, its small, and its cheap, thats why Swifty started selling them.

The 226w peltier is a 15v peltier, and wont run at its full potential at the 12v the meanwell supplies. You want a PSU that can provide 15v at 25a at least.

However, its ALWAYS good to have more powersupply than you nead. Say 30-35a. That way, the PSU runs more efficiently, wastes less electricity, and will run cooler as well.

[dicki]

really? i thought switch mode psu's were more efficient at full load? i don't know much about electronics so i could well be wrong...

dicki

[Player0]

Anything thats running hotter than normal is running less efficiently. All that heat was electricity at some point afterall.

Switching powersupplies are more efficient than a linear supply but, still only 75%-85% efficient. And that drops alot when the thing runs hot because resistance increases, things unstablize, etc.

The Meanwell S320 actually is overrated for the 226w pelt at 12v, which only draws a real 20a or bout there. So there is a little buffer room but, a larger PSU won't run as hot at the same load simply because it will more easily handle the power requirements and you wont be stressing the components.

[Player0]

Good read, but way more technical.

http://www.smpstech.com/tutorial/t02top.htm#POWERLOSS

[weebroonie]

what kind of powersupply would you guys reccommend ? as i am thinkin ofpossibly getting a tec but not if theres as many issues with heat as i have seen!

what about bridgeing two supplys together is that possible so that say 2 supplys only have to output half the power mind u 2 supplys might create more heat lol

what are we to do ................

[Player0]

Bridging PSUs is usually more innefficient, but it can work good.

I've always liked the BullDog PSUs from rivergatedist.com. They supply up to 14.1v which gives an added power boost to most peltiers, and you can get them in 30a, 45a, 60a, etc flavors. They are large though, but this is because they use quality components and make sure that the PSU is very heat stable. These are HAM amps really and are mean to power car CB equipment from 120v house current, so they are designed for hours and hours of continuous use. I ran mine 24/7 non-stop, and even used a smaller fan in it and it ran great.

But, again, they are bulky. But some times, thats a necessity. Meanwell actually makes larger powersupplies, yuo just need to go to a distributer to find them. You can find a powersupply for any voltage, any amperage out there though. They just might be a bit difficult to locate.