[lug] combatting hard drive heat

Ed Hill ed at eh3.com
Sun Feb 23 14:13:45 MST 2003


On Sun, 2003-02-23 at 11:04, Nate Duehr wrote:
> They get cold on one side and hot on the other.  They conduct heat "one-way"
> when a current is applied to them.
> 
> There are peltier-based CPU coolers on the market now, but I'd not use them
> on any CPU/motherboard combo that doesn't shut the machine down if the CPU
> temp goes high -- how many times have I been inside a machine and knocked a
> cable loose?


When using them in conjunction with electronics, always be careful with
Peltier (thermoelectric effect) coolers and condensation.  I've seen
more than one chip fried by a Peltier cooler that got cold enough along
its edges (where it wasn't directly in contact with the chip) to produce
condensation that corroded and eventually shorted out the board.

While its generally much drier here in CO than back in NC where I
witnessed these failures, it only takes a few humid days to do the
damage.

Ed


-- 
Edward H. Hill III, PhD 
Post-Doctoral Researcher   |  Email:  ed at eh3.com,  ehill at mines.edu
Division of ESE            |  URLs:   http://www.eh3.com
Colorado School of Mines   |    http://cesep.mines.edu/people/hill.htm
Golden, CO  80401          |  Phones:  303-384-2094, 303-273-3483
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