D'oh...TEC Conversion Kit

[BoomStick]

Ok, I have been looking around and cant find the answer I need and Swiftech has been less than helpful as they didnt bother sending instructions on how to install this kit they sent me, and after a call they informed me that they never created a guide for it.

So, trying to figure out the hot and cold sides of my 226w tec, I simply plugged it into my psu to check the sides...hoping one would be hot and the other cold.

To my scorched fingers surprise, both sides were super hot. Is that normal since no cooling was on either side?

I also tried just assembling it based on the MCW50-T I have as far as which way the red/black wires were pointing coming out from the cold plate.

When I plug my MCW50-T into the power supply it gets frosty in a minute or teo, whereas I ran my MCW462-UT for quite a while and not a bit bit of frost....worse, the cold plate wasnt even cool. Now, that being said, I didnt have the loop setup with a rad or anything, just the pump, res and the block. But, the water wasnt warm. Gonna check the tec and make sure it is working again.

Any help would be great, that way I can send it back to Swifty if its not working properly. I figured block or no block the TEC would get hot one side and cold the other.

[Slickthellama]

get a 1.5V battery and simply sandwich it in your hands. one side should immediatly get warm and the other should feel cooler. For even better results try and use a 9V battery and a HS

[BoomStick]

Well, after replugging it into my 13.8v psu, neither side gets hot or cold..? :confused:

Can tec modules blow and never work again or something?

I will try your idea Slick.

[Slickthellama]

yeah, DO NOT RUN THE TEC AT ANYTHING OVER 9V IF YOU ARENT COOLING IT ACTIVLEY YOU CAN KILL THE TEC IF YOU RUN IT TOO LONG W/O COOLING IT. use 1.5V it will show the effect and be safe to run w/o cooling.

[BoomStick]

Ok, thanks for the heads up.

But alas the noob bug has bitten me and I am thinking the TEC bit the dust.

Oh well, time to order a new one. From what I guess, if the red wire is on the right, the cold side is up.

[mdzcpa]

Originally posted by BoomStick
From what I guess, if the red wire is on the right, the cold side is up.

With the wires point up, and the red is on the right, the cold side is down.

Slick is right on the money with his pelt test suggestion. Never use anything more than a 9V battery when it's not being cooled. It only takes a few seconds to fry the pelt at 13v @ 25amps without cooling.

[sandman]

Exactly, in fact, I'd be kinda worried if it was my pelt.

[Slickthellama]

Originally posted by mdzcpa
With the wires point up, and the red is on the right, the cold side is down.

lol. I wish i knew that about a week ago. Took me an hour to figure out col and hot sides.

[BoomStick]

Originally posted by mdzcpa
With the wires point up, and the red is on the right, the cold side is down.

Slick is right on the money with his pelt test suggestion. Never use anything more than a 9V battery when it's not being cooled. It only takes a few seconds to fry the pelt at 13v @ 25amps without cooling.

Errr, not sure I follow that one bro. If I point the wires up, nothing is facing down. Unless you are saying lay the pelt flat on the ground and bend the wires upward, OR if you point the wires up sa you said, the cold side is facing away from you.

With my MCW50-T, if the wires are facing me, and the pelt is laying flat, the red is on the right and the cold side is facing upwards.

[mdzcpa]

I described it in 2 dimensional terms.

The wires "up" means pointing to the top of the 2 dimensional drawing. Put the pelt flat on a table with the wires sticking straight out and look at it. Rotate the pelt until the wires are pointing out from the top when looking down at it. When the red wire is on the right the cold side is down.

[BoomStick]

Originally posted by mdzcpa
I described it in 2 dimensional terms.

The wires "up" means pointing to the top of the 2 dimensional drawing. Put the pelt flat on a table with the wires sticking straight out and look at it. Rotate the pelt until the wires are pointing out from the top when looking down at it. When the red wire is on the right the cold side is down.

Gotcha. I wasnt thinking about it in good ole X & Y coords.

[Slickthellama]

Originally posted by mdzcpa
I described it in 2 dimensional terms.

The wires "up" means pointing to the top of the 2 dimensional drawing. Put the pelt flat on a table with the wires sticking straight out and look at it. Rotate the pelt until the wires are pointing out from the top when looking down at it. When the red wire is on the right the cold side is down.


hmm. So they make all pelts like this I assume? Good stuff.

[mdzcpa]

Originally posted by Slickthellama
hmm. So they make all pelts like this I assume? Good stuff.

I cannot say for 100% sure, but all the pelts I've ever used were wired this way. Then again, I've probably only played around with 15 or 16 of them (all ordered from either DD of Swiftech). Probably not a large enough sample to know for sure about all makes and models. It's always best to test with a 9v battery as you suggested anyway:)