Electric Cooler for Viv

[postal]

Has anyone considered trying this?

Several years ago someone invented a solid state electric cooling element which runs of DC current. There are now portable electric coolers that dont use ice like a normal cooler or ice chest.

I did a quick search and found portable coolers and electric cooled wine racks for $50-80.

I'm considering buying one, tearing it apart to get the cooling elements and controls out of it, and mounting it on the outside backwall or under the the bottom glass in a false bottom.

The idea is to keep the tank cool in summer without wreacking havoc on my electric bill running the air conditioner all the time.... This "thermo electric" solid state device (I dont know the actual material name) uses DC voltage to heat *OR* cool. Reverse the polarity of the current, and it will heat instead of cool. Instead of using an electric heat pad under a viv, tearing apart a cooler or wine chiller can give you heat AND COOL!!!!! The portable coolers have a switch to make them heat instead of cool- Supposed to use very little electricity as well.

I'm waiting to start a new viv build due to lack of funds, but I'm SERIOUSLY thinking about incorporating this into the design.

-------from an online store------ electric wine cooler

List price: $79.99

• Keep your whites chilled at the temperature you prefer in this 8-bottle cellar that fits beautifully in a bar, dining or kitchen setting
• An LED displays temperature and adjustable control; an interior light illuminates the bottles inside
• Features an advanced heat dissipation system and thermoelectric cooling system; compressor-free design operates silently without vibrating
• Tempered glass door; sleek stainless steel exterior in red finish; adjustable level legs; flush back design; UL listed
• 10.7Hx19.6Wx16.2D" See Features and Additional Info for more details. •
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Anybody tried this? Do you think it's a good idea? GREAT IDEA?!??!?!
regards,
Postal

[LaserGecko]

Those things are Peltier junctions with big heatsinks on both sides. It could work. Heck, there are full solid state air conditioners that are used in electronics enclosures.

Check the instructions for that cooler before you blow $80 on it. It may require "prechilling" with a bowl of ice. I have one of the Coleman portable chiller/heaters and it works very well. However, it does take a bowl of ice a few hours to get it cold enough. The affordable Peltier junctions are great at maintaining a temperature by moving a small amount heat around, but they're not powerful enough to actually "chill". They're a heat pump.

Something that small may work in a small vivarium. You'll need a fan blowing across the internal heatsink, a pretty big hole to the outside for the external heatsink (the heat has to go somewhere), and a controller. You might be able to find something on eBay that would work. There a couple of huge assemblies on there now, but those would probably be too big.

[pl259]

Sometime ago I was thinking through a DIY cooling system built around a 5000W $100 window air conditioner. For the price there's definately some possibilities there. I opted to just put all the tanks in one room and use the window unit...as a window unit. With a little added ducting it wouldn't take much to localize the cooling for the tank(s). The 5000W is plenty but it's harder to find anything smaller.