rfranzk
Member
Hello All,
I salvaged a large peltier cooler from an instrument that I want to re-purpose. I work in a consulting field where we monitor ambient temperatures and regular sensor checks and calibrations are performed. Many of the sites are off grid and battery-solar power is used. The temp sensors are checked at 0 degrees C, Ambient, and 50 degrees C.
What I am thinking of (Just researching at this point) is to use a 12 volt 12 ah battery to power this device. It has an insulated well about 1" diameter x 5" long. I would like to have fairly precise control of the cooler and would also like to reverse polarity the device to generate the 50 degrees C needed. It will cool to -5 degrees C in a few minutes and I haven't tried reverse polarity yet. I was thinking PWM with a H bridge controller. The cooler draws 3 amps when connected directly to 12 volts and cooling so I think a controller capable of 6 amps or so is robust enough for the job. Please advise. I would also like to use a thermistor or thermocouple for live readings with a display of some sort, probably back-lit lcd.
I have some experience with both PIC and Arduino and thought that would be the best foundation or platform to achieve my goals.
Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
rfranzk.
I salvaged a large peltier cooler from an instrument that I want to re-purpose. I work in a consulting field where we monitor ambient temperatures and regular sensor checks and calibrations are performed. Many of the sites are off grid and battery-solar power is used. The temp sensors are checked at 0 degrees C, Ambient, and 50 degrees C.
What I am thinking of (Just researching at this point) is to use a 12 volt 12 ah battery to power this device. It has an insulated well about 1" diameter x 5" long. I would like to have fairly precise control of the cooler and would also like to reverse polarity the device to generate the 50 degrees C needed. It will cool to -5 degrees C in a few minutes and I haven't tried reverse polarity yet. I was thinking PWM with a H bridge controller. The cooler draws 3 amps when connected directly to 12 volts and cooling so I think a controller capable of 6 amps or so is robust enough for the job. Please advise. I would also like to use a thermistor or thermocouple for live readings with a display of some sort, probably back-lit lcd.
I have some experience with both PIC and Arduino and thought that would be the best foundation or platform to achieve my goals.
Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
rfranzk.