Cool suits using Peltiers

Looking at solutions for hot weather racing that don't require coolers full of ice.

Would there be any downside, beyond power consumption, of using an aluminum water block with peltiers on each side cooling things? Seems like it would take less space and weigh less with no need to refill ice.

Thoughts?

Peltier http://www.amazon.com/TEC1-12706-Thermoelectric-Peltier-Cooler-Volt/dp/B002UQQ3Q2

Cooling plate http://www.amazon.com/Multifunction-Aluminum-Cooling-Cooler-Liquid/dp/B00L286D2S/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1412170187&sr=8-7&keywords=peltier+liquid+cooler

Pump http://www.amazon.com/Magicfly-DC30A-1230-Brushless-Waterproof-Submersible/dp/B009X6ADCM/ref=pd_cp_pc_1

Technically it would work, but a ton of electricity would go in and very little cooling power would come out.

GameboyRMH wrote: Technically it would work, but a ton of electricity would go in and very little cooling power would come out.

Yup, and they are so inefficient the ice is probably lighter.

Why not use an electric A/C compressor and plumb the cold part to an aluminum seat?

Where does the heat go that is being extracted from the water? If it is just going into the car, then this seems like a losing battle.

How many of those would you need to get the cooling capacity of a cooler full of ice?

T.J. wrote: Where does the heat go that is being extracted from the water? If it is just going into the car, then this seems like a losing battle.

It would go into the cabin but the vest would feel cold.

The best thing to do might be to use water cooling on the hot side of the peltiers to carry the heat to a coolant reservoir...OH WAIT

Alternator load on engine for enough peltiers > static weight of 5lb of ice + cooler.

This is a pretty nifty idea:

http://coolshirt.com/product/procool-co2-system-complete/

People are using these things to cool overclocked CPUs and you're all saying they don't cool well? That doesn't jive.

The problem with an AC compressor onto aluminum seat is that it's not cooling the driver, it's cooling the seat. A cool seat isn't going to do much through a 3-layer fire suit and an electric AC compressor is going to take a lot of electricity too, as well as additional work to include a condenser IE weight.

The heat from a peltier is dissipated through a heat sink. Running plumbing back away from the driver would make it a non-issue for in-car heating and if placed in air flow makes the system more efficient.

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

Awesome idea. Awesome price too.

DaveEstey wrote: People are using these things to cool overclocked CPUs and you're all saying they don't cool well? That doesn't jive.

People aren't using these to cool overclocked CPUs. They're using them to boost the cooling of overclocked CPUs - they go between the CPU and some other cooling device. Think of it as a supercharger - they don't really produce any power themselves.

If using peltiers its probably more efficient to pick a big artery near the skin and try to cool the blood directly.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: If using peltiers its probably more efficient to pick a big artery near the skin and try to cool the blood directly.

I once saw a concept for a necklace-cooler that worked just like this. I have to think some little computer fans would be more energy-efficient though.

DaveEstey wrote: The problem with an AC compressor onto aluminum seat is that it's not cooling the driver, it's cooling the seat. A cool seat isn't going to do much through a 3-layer fire suit.

I can't speak to the technical set up of anything other than a cooler and ice, but don't discount the idea of cooling the seat. Check with the guys from Sorry For Party who run LeMons. Matt from their team ran with us a few weeks ago. He said they cool the seat of their car, and that it worked great.

Our team does the traditional ice in a cooler method. Making sure it's kept full of ice can be a pain, and sometimes the tubing in our home made ghetto cool shirts can get kinked. But when it's working great, it's the bees knees, baby! I'm one of those guys who sweats when ambient temperature goes above 80, but I actually shut my cooler off for about 20 minutes during one of my runs because it was so cold. I just wish there were a way to put a line into my helmet so it fit just like an '80's sweatband....

The cool seat is a good setup for a car with multiple drivers, but it's not as efficient as the cool shirt and I wonder what condensation could do to the seat in the long term.

I'm going to build myself a ghetto cool shirt running from a small cooler or thermos that fits behind the passenger seat.

DaveEstey wrote: People are using these things to cool overclocked CPUs and you're all saying they don't cool well? That doesn't jive. The problem with an AC compressor onto aluminum seat is that it's not cooling the driver, it's cooling the seat. A cool seat isn't going to do much through a 3-layer fire suit and an electric AC compressor is going to take a lot of electricity too, as well as additional work to include a condenser IE weight. The heat from a peltier is dissipated through a heat sink. Running plumbing back away from the driver would make it a non-issue for in-car heating and if placed in air flow makes the system more efficient.

I thought you were trying to eliminate the water. If you arent, drop the evaporator from the A/C system into the cooler.

Ice is still easier.

The peltier's problem is efficiency - it consumes more power than a traditional phase change a/c system to move the same amount of heat. You would be better off using a compressor setup to do it.

A cool seat works better than you would think, but obviously a cool shirt works even better. Mine is a home made cool shirt but I borrowed a factory made cool shirt and HOLY COW did that thing cool well. There was a night and day difference. I was shivering and had to turn the shirt off.

If you have an aluminum seat why not build a reservoir in the seat back for your ice and some water?

We had a gizmo at one of the plants where I worked that you stuck your hand in and it would cool it enough to drop your core temp. I'd bet a water cooled insole would work as well based on how many blood vessels there are close to the skin.

I think I'm going to try it with peltiers, and if they don't work well, most of the stuff can still work for a conventional setup. Peltiers themselves are pretty cheap too.

Just try running one peltier pad by itself before you build the shirt, I think you'll change your mind if you do that.

I'll have to build the shirt regardless of how I cool the water running through it.

Cool seats work pretty well.

That is what we did in our Crapcan. It does NOT work as well as a cool shirt, but it gets the job done for sure!

I have a friend who developed a peltier coolshirt system. He is a really sciency PHd guy, and he built a couple of iterations to get the bugs worked out.

He did mention that Nascar teams use similar systems.

I forget exactly, but I think the current draw was equal to a couple of horsepower or more load from the alternator. He sold the car it was originally installed in, and though he kept the system, he has been using a cooler and ice for the past couple of years. I do think someday he plans on v3.0.

FWIW, you can run it in reverse and heat your shirt if you get chilly.