Molex connector on a 172 watt TEC or no?

[afireinside]

I've heard a 172 watt TEC at 12V draws less power than an 80 watt TEC at 12V. True? Is it safe to put a molex connector there and run it off my Enermax 460 watt PSU like I am with my 80 watt now or should I solder the TEC to the PSU wired?

[Karnivore]

Originally posted by afireinside
I've heard a 172 watt TEC at 12V draws less power than an 80 watt TEC at 12V. True?

That would depend upon what voltage they are rated at. It is possible. Do you Know the Voltage rating?


Originally posted by afireinside
Is it safe to put a molex connector there and run it off my Enermax 460 watt PSU like I am with my 80 watt now or should I solder the TEC to the PSU wired?


The individual Molex male/female pins used are rated 10 amps per pin. Lesser quality connectors could be substancially less. If your pelt were 12V (unlikely) it would draw somewhere around 15 amps, I would expect good quality Molex shouldn't have a problem with that load.

Keep an eye on it initially, if the wire/connector doesn't get hot you should be fine. Anytime your dealing with relatively high current the best possible connecting method is a great rule to follow.. In this case overkill isn't a bad thing..

[afireinside]

Imax = 11.3 Amps

Qmax = 172 Watts

Vmax = 24.6 Volts

I should be good than right?

[Karnivore]

Originally posted by afireinside
Imax = 11.3 Amps

Qmax = 172 Watts

Vmax = 24.6 Volts

I should be good than right?


Yes shouldn't be any problem.

[afireinside]

Yay! Now I just gota get unlazy and order one and set it up...

[thesaucier]

Originally posted by afireinside
Yay! Now I just gota get unlazy and order one and set it up...

I have one sitting on a shelf in my room now and am going to be doing the same thing! I have a koolance case and have been using it to cool the chipset and the 80 tec and it has not cooled much more than the water alone did. I hope the 172 will help and that the koolance water cooling will keep it cool enough. I did order a new pump a swiftec 650 and will be adding a new radeator soon.

[Berserk256]

Answer: Yes but be carefull. I redid my wiring yesterday due to a little problem with a 172w pelt @12v on a molex.

I have since soldered on two wires per line of the tec (two positives and two grounds) running to two molex connectors. It's temporary mind you untill I wire on a better single connector or just strait solder it to the line from the psu.

I was all happy with a molex on the 172 for a while but then this happened yesterday:


http://www.pclincs.com/phpBB2/files/yogi-molexburn6.jpg
http://www.pclincs.com/phpBB2/files/yogi-molexburn5.jpg
http://www.pclincs.com/phpBB2/files/yogi-molexburn4.jpg

That is reason enough for me to not run a single molex. You should be technically fine but if you want to be cautious it doesn't hurt to step it up a bit.


PS: The reason this happened is I soldered on the molex pins to the wires but the ground either:
A- Forgot to solder it (thing was so burned I couldn't tell)
B- The connectin between the female/male on the ground wasn't the best in the world (I'm leaning much more towards this one)

[thesaucier]

:eek: :eek: I think I will solder a strait line!

[Karnivore]

Originally posted by thesaucier
:eek: :eek: I think I will solder a strait line!


Best solution since you simply can't know the quality of your Molex connectors..