Has anybody else played with them?
I had a go. Initially I got one side to get really cool while the other became ludicrously hot. Then both sides heated up. Not quite what I was expecting. I measured the hot side to be in excess of 200F and the cool side after initially being 7 degrees cooler than ambient then rose to 129F or 40F over ambient.
I'm pretty sure that's not how they're supposed to work but to be honest I find most of these tech toys are trash.
I blogged about it here...
http://www.schoolbushome.blogspot.com
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It sounds like yours is kaput. When I used to go dry-camping far up sandy washes and canyons in the Anza-Borrego Desert some years ago I used a Peltier-type camping cooler running directly off a small Arco solar panel, and it kept food very cool for as long as we were out there, sometimes for almost a week or so. With no moving parts and minimal power draw it was probably the most reliable thing we had with us! Does any company still make these coolers now? With a cooler like that and a sun shower I had all the comforts of home a long way from home.
John
Quote from: Iceni John on August 13, 2017, 07:42:38 PM
It sounds like yours is kaput. When I used to go dry-camping far up sandy washes and canyons in the Anza-Borrego Desert some years ago I used a Peltier-type camping cooler running directly off a small Arco solar panel, and it kept food very cool for as long as we were out there, sometimes for almost a week or so. With no moving parts and minimal power draw it was probably the most reliable thing we had with us! Does any company still make these coolers now? With a cooler like that and a sun shower I had all the comforts of home a long way from home.
John
Yup. Pretty well new too. Like I said... most of these tech things are utter trash. I shocked somebody the other day with my miserable experience of the led lighting scam. They thought led lighting was fantastic until I listed all the led trash that's failed on me.
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Yes, these coolers are still being made. The biggest issue with the coolers is they generally can only drop the temperature about 40 F lower than the temperature outside the cooler.
Quote from: Zephod on August 13, 2017, 07:59:21 PM
Yup. Pretty well new too. Like I said... most of these tech things are utter trash. I shocked somebody the other day with my miserable experience of the led lighting scam. They thought led lighting was fantastic until I listed all the led trash that's failed on me.
My entire house is lit with LED bulbs since 2014. Not a single LED bulb has failed on me yet. I tend to buy bulbs that are well rated and not necessarily the cheapest ones.
Quote from: belfert on August 13, 2017, 08:10:36 PM
My entire house is lit with LED bulbs since 2014. Not a single LED bulb has failed on me yet. I tend to buy bulbs that are well rated and not necessarily the cheapest ones.
I've had 6 led household bulbs of which 4 failed quickly. They either went out totally or turned into disco strobes. Led flashlights/lanterns either fall apart or last about as long as the first set of batteries.
I won't ever throw more money away on led household bulb trash. As far as motorhome lighting is concerned, I'm a bit screwed. I can't find any lanterns with krypton bulbs any more. I'm stuck with paying $10 for an led lantern then tossing it fairly soon into the second set of batteries.
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The LED should have an intrinsically low failure rate due to the physics of the thing. I experienced some failures as an early adopter, but no more. They are rock solid!
If one wants to open a discussion/can-of-worms it would be about the light spectrum output of LEDs.
Quote from: Brassman on August 13, 2017, 10:22:16 PM
The LED should have an intrinsically low failure rate due to the physics of the thing. I experienced some failures as an early adopter, but no more. They are rock solid!
If one wants to open a discussion/can-of-worms it would be about the light spectrum output of LEDs.
Umm... and the pathetic output of most led lanterns....
Would you believe they actually call things with an output of less than 1000 lumens a lantern? They're horribly designed too. Most are designed to blind rather than illuminate because manufacturers know the public thinks blinding is brightness. All blinding is, is a low power unshielded led. They're not bright enough to see anything with any clarity.
I have one expensive GE lantern. It's badly made and produces three light levels... dim, barely visible and I know there's a lantern somewhere. The first thing to break was the handle! That has a diffused output and a comforting incandescent warm color. My others are blue jokes.
Yes, leds should have low failure rates as an actual component. They're probably way over driven to get extra brightness out of the cheapest of the cheap and I think the circuitry fails first. Hence my household bulbs that mainly turn into disco strobes before I chuck them out.
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Zephod,
On the peltier, did you have a heatsink and fan on the hot side to dissipate the heat that it was moving?
Quote from: j.m.jackson on August 14, 2017, 06:47:20 AM
Zephod,
On the peltier, did you have a heatsink and fan on the hot side to dissipate the heat that it was moving?
I have heatsinks both sides. I suspect I should have put a much bigger heatsink on the hot side. No fan... it's just a little plaything I built to amuse myself with.
I have wondered whether a roof hatch replaced by a big heatsink and a little chimney roof to promote natural airflow over the heatsink plus Peltier elements, all powered by roof mounted solar panels would work for cooling a bus. I don't have roof hatches so I can't experiment (and my wallet thanks me).
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Peltier junctions work, but if they're not cooled properly, they burn up like any other silicon in short order, and then just make heat on both sides.
LED technology is advancing rapidly and I believe a lot of the stuff sold at discount is old designed stuff just being dumped. I've experienced same as you, poor light distribution, poor durability, etc. If you buy the newest stuff, it is quite nice lighting, color temperature, and durability thus far. I even have one that has the look of the very old incandescent lights, really cool.
I put some 12v LED strip lights in my coach. We love them. Almost instant on & a nice, bright warm light. Almost 2 years & no problems.
The reason I'm sticking with lanterns is that it's easier than running cable. That and it gives the bus an old west feel.
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Quote from: Zephod on August 15, 2017, 02:44:58 AM
The reason I'm sticking with lanterns is that it's easier than running cable. That and it gives the bus an old west feel.
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Go kerosene lanterns and complete the feel. ;D
I build my own LED light fixtures using the CHEAPEST leds I can get from ebay. I built some of my shop light fixtures using LED strips and a computer power supply. My failure rate is extremely low.
I also got a good deal on led tubes to replace the 4 foot florescent tubes in my shop. I use the ones where you throw away the ballest and rewire it for 120v I'm very happy with those. I even made my own fixture to use just one of the tubes.
Quote from: somewhereinusa on August 15, 2017, 05:59:37 AM
I build my own LED light fixtures using the CHEAPEST leds I can get from ebay. I built some of my shop light fixtures using LED strips and a computer power supply. My failure rate is extremely low.
I also got a good deal on led tubes to replace the 4 foot florescent tubes in my shop. I use the ones where you throw away the ballest and rewire it for 120v I'm very happy with those. I even made my own fixture to use just one of the tubes.
Did you balance the leds with individual resistors?
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I have but, it's cheaper and easier to use stuff ready for 12V.
Here are the lights above kitchen counter. Total cost for all ten lights, less than $20.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4129/34935928684_31a66b323d.jpg)[/url]
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4123/35735939836_da10a76fde.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VeaLs1)
This is the same light only with diffuser I made for the bathroom.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4099/35388624330_47a13dbc47_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WrS2TJ)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4238/34935922034_2edcb599a6_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VVaX6m)
(https://flic.kr/p/VeaJtm)
nice job on the lights
dave
More on LED lighting. Years ago we used just 12vdc automotive incandescent. Then moved up to quartz halogen bulbs. The incandescent were fine. The EARLY quartz halogen had way too much ultra violet spectrum for long term eyeball safety.
Then the early LED bulbs came about. A revolution? But were/are they safe? How were they regarding the soft "yellow" light our eyeballs have evolved to enjoy ... and endure? Is the old LED stuff even safe to use on a long term basis? Does anybody know?
Enter the current LED lighting. Is THAT a soft "yellow" light easy and safe on our human eyeballs? Is the newer LED expensive lighting safe to use? I dunno which is why I am asking. Our home now has LED lighting. Yikes! Something we do not think about.
Reason I ask is that I am scheduled for another eye exam next week.
Just realized this was a cooler thread. I ranted about LED lighting. Off topic. I am sorry.
Used to have customers ask me for "GOOD" flashlight's .I would tell them to go get a Coleman gas lantern.As far as a good flashlight,I've never seen one!!!
Quote from: bigred on August 18, 2017, 05:08:57 PM
Used to have customers ask me for "GOOD" flashlight's .I would tell them to go get a Coleman gas lantern.As far as a good flashlight,I've never seen one!!!
I have one rule for lighting... if it doesn't produce 1200 lumens, it belongs in the trash.
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I converted my puck lights to LED. So it went like this-the puck lights originally had 20w halogen lights-bright but also hot. Then I converted them to 10w Xenon. Then converted to LED that are 3w. So with my 8 puck lights went from 160w to 80w to 24w total-and the LED's are warm, but won't burn you like halogen will.
Quote from: TomC on August 19, 2017, 07:55:52 AM
I converted my puck lights to LED. So it went like this-the puck lights originally had 20w halogen lights-bright but also hot. Then I converted them to 10w Xenon. Then converted to LED that are 3w. So with my 8 puck lights went from 160w to 80w to 24w total-and the LED's are warm, but won't burn you like halogen will.
Years ago, somebody was selling Tritium flashlights. It'd be cool if you could get that as lanterns.
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