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I’m working on a project involving a thermoelectric cooler, and options for small aluminum or copper blocks have been few and far between. However, I found many cheap aluminum and copper blocks on Amazon designed for water cooling CPUs. I know that these aren’t solid blocks; they are hollow with fins to disperse heat to a stream of water which would run through it. Would such a block be effective at transferring heat between a heat source and a heatsink on the other side of the block? There will be no water running through it.

That Programmer Jack
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    do you need anything other than a simple block of aluminum or copper? Like from a metal shop? – Tiger Guy Mar 02 '22 at 20:53
  • Tradition is to put fins on the air side, not the water side, The air has lower heat capacity so more contact area is needed. – blacksmith37 Mar 02 '22 at 21:23
  • Well I won’t be watercooling any part of the project. I want to see if I can thermal paste a water block to a TEC and then thermal paste a heatsink to the water block in the hopes that it will conduct heat effectively. Ideally I would have a solid block, but this might be a cheaper solution. – That Programmer Jack Mar 02 '22 at 21:59
  • So you want to use it as a heat spreader? Not a heat exchanger? You would almost be better off just filling it up with water and plugging it up. – DKNguyen Mar 02 '22 at 22:07
  • Well I plan to put one on the cold side also and I can’t have the water freezing up. And yes, I want to use it as a heat spreader. The reason I don’t want to just throw a heatsink onto both sides is because I want to have some space between the hot and the cold side for insulating material like a thick styrofoam panel. I’ll have the TEC, a block on both sides, and heatsinks attached the the blocks. – That Programmer Jack Mar 02 '22 at 22:25
  • Why can't you just get a block of aluminum? Those are on Amazon too and don't look any more expensive and probably available locally at a metal shop. – DKNguyen Mar 02 '22 at 22:29
  • I’ll keep looking for one, then, just was curious if this would work because it would save me a little bit of money. – That Programmer Jack Mar 02 '22 at 22:31
  • google Aluminum block for milling if you must order it online – Tiger Guy Mar 03 '22 at 01:39
  • I agree with everyone else an aluminum block is the best option and it should be fairly cheap depending on where you get it. Try ebay and mcmaster carr. You may also have a metal supply shop local to you, that will likely be the cheapest. – Drew Mar 03 '22 at 04:39
  • So why not pump air through it? that would at least improve its performance compared to treating it like a basically hollow block. – Solar Mike Mar 03 '22 at 11:37
  • McMaster-Carr doesn’t seem to have just a small block, but it does have very good options for aluminum bars that I could cut down to size. Thank you so much. – That Programmer Jack Mar 03 '22 at 12:23
  • @ThatProgrammerJack Is a 6" square or round rod too expensive? Because aluminum cuts like butter real easy with a hacksaw. Then stone the faces flat. Aluminum is soft so likes to clog stones though so maybe you should start with a file to get rid of serrations and then stone to get rid of the scratches. When filing aluminum clean the file with a stuff brush frequently and when stoning use lots of oil (like mineral/baby oil) or water to keep the stone unclogged. I'd do it submerged in a bucket of water. – DKNguyen Mar 03 '22 at 18:07
  • @ThatProgrammerJack Mcmaster also sells "discs" which comes in much shorter lengths...like 1-2". – DKNguyen Mar 03 '22 at 18:11
  • These are great ideas, I’ll look into it! – That Programmer Jack Mar 04 '22 at 15:37
  • Disks are actually less expensive, and a 1 inch thick one should work perfectly, I won’t even need to cut it much. My TEC is 40mm, and I want full coverage, so used some simple geometry to see that the diagonal size of the TEC is ≈56mm, which is about 2 1/4 in, so that’s what the diameter of the disk will be. – That Programmer Jack Mar 04 '22 at 15:43

1 Answers1

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Will it work at all? Yes

Will it work as good as a solid chunk of aluminium? No

Expect the performance to be about one-fourth as effective as a solid chunk of aluminium.

Why? Because this thing has channels for water, that dont conduct heat, and that are not oriented favorably for your use.

fred_dot_u
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Surprised Seagull
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  • Thank you for the explanation. I probably won’t use a water block, then. Another comment suggested finding aluminum blocks on McMaster-Carr, so I think I can purchase a bar and cut it down to size. – That Programmer Jack Mar 03 '22 at 12:29