REPURPOSING OLD DESKTOP PC PARTS

Hey guys one could point out that my instructables seem to be towing a particular part,........lol needless to say its all about life improvements for me, everyday i get to fix something in the home to solve one challenge or the other. At home the epileptic power supply means access to COLD DRINKS was unavailable even water. A walk down to the store proved successful but there was need to store the extra fluids bought be it bottled water, bottled drinks or canned drinks .Even though we have a bigger generator but the cost of fueling compared to running the small tiger 950W generator at home was quite big. With the exception of the refrigerator the tiger 950 was and is still doing a perfect job taking on 12 led bulbs, 1 ceiling fan, 1 standing fan, 2 cathode ray 22inch TV and 1 wall fan 5pm to 1am, monday to friday and during the weekends alot more.

Having a broken peltier cooler was quite annoying because (being what i needed) it was no use just a piece of junk box lying around and occuping space. But having junks and clutter can sometime jolt your imagination and bring out your creativity. if you like it pls vote for me .................thanks in advance

picking up the parts i needed its time to get to work.

For your tools you will need

• A soldering iron and some lead
• philips screw driver
• Glue gun

The materials you will need are

• insulation tape
• manicure/pedicure filling block
• 1 processor cooling fan
• 1 psu
• one radio power cable
• cutting tools (blade)

I opened up the cooler and stripped away all the unwanted parts which include a 12v 8a psu and a switch circuit board for the mode selection.

MODIFICATION...... when the cooler was working it was producing a lot of heat and it seemed the fan wasnt able to handle the heat so i used a glue gun to adhere the processor fan in position beside the heat sink. The cooler has also been wired to permanently cool no heating mode. This meant that the cooling fans only came on when the power is supplied in the right direction.

DESIGN FLAW: If the power cable was reversed the operation will be reversed but the fans wont come on and the peltier can over heat and get burnt. hence the need for a one way diode to ensure current flow in one direction.

SOLUTION: I put a switch in line with the peltier module to achieve the following

• The peltier can be switched of when the cooler is cool the way you want and the fan can keep extracting the heat preventing a reflux of heat backward into the cooler.
• To prevent accidental burning of the the peltier when the power is conected wrongly by negligence.
• To help initiate a soft start this is necessary when the current is low to prevent the psu from shorting off automatically the peltier and fan are quite a drag on the gasoline generator on startup.

After the minor adjustment, i assembled the unit back. Take care to keep all wires out of the fan when closing the back i didnt have a wire tie so i used tape.

lmao......... if your making this instructable, this is the point you pause and ask your self do i want to do this? Honestly speaking i want to and i needed to. Not that it matters at this point because the entire system is toast so i bet the warranty is gone when the system got burnt by the way warranties dont work here(in my country i meant just joking actually some companies are trying).

WAIVE YOUR RIGHTS FOR A WARRANTY AND BUILD YOUR SELF A GUARANTEE

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With the main task settled it was time to assemble the unit back up. There was just one problem which was the 2 pin power supply cable repurposed for this project was dangling freely. And stood a risk of being sheared off, so using a worn out nail filling block as a wire stopper. Using a biro to mark out the approximate circumference (no need for much accuracy, this is because the excess will be squeezed in to hold the wire firm).and cut it out. make a cut from the edge of the circle to the center. Insert the wire and squeeze it into the wire clip holder. Push the wire clip holder into the wire hole on the power back and screw the psu back together.

voila your done

Powering the cooler up............., its cooling was quite encouraging for the effort put in as you can see its starting to condense gradually, time to clean up and head out to the store for some cold drinks...................

HASTA LA VISTA

Hey guys, so given the success of the first prototype at home i had to make one for work to which i could carry around, and have my cold drinks. i incooporated a few more gadgets this time around. I added a thermometer, a thermostart to help my bike battery, a bulk converter and a voltmeter to check the drain on my battery. happy making to you all pls if you like my instructable pls vote for me...............sorry this update is coming late peace!