Possible heat short circuit in Peltier cooler

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z2010
 
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Possible heat short circuit in Peltier cooler

Post by z2010 »

I just purchased the Peltier Thermo-Electric Cooler Module+Heatsink Assembly - 12V 5A PRODUCT ID: 1335

I notice that the Peltier cooler is connected to the heatsink by two bolts. The bolts pass through the cooler from cold side to hot side and into the heatsink. It seems to me that these bolts will cause a significant heat short circuit, and therefore affect the efficiency of the module, perhaps significantly.

Any thoughts/comments?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Possible heat short circuit in Peltier cooler

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Yes, the bolts do provide a small thermal path between the two sides. It is a design tradeoff between that and providing a solid mechanical attachment to assure a high conductivity path between the peltier junction and the heat-sinks. An alternative would be to replace the thermal paste with a thermal epoxy and eliminate the bolts. But that would put all the mechanical stress on the junction itself.

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z2010
 
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Re: Possible heat short circuit in Peltier cooler

Post by z2010 »

Okay, thanks for the input.

In this application there will be very little stress on the junction itself, so I'll bear your suggestion in mind.

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