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Hardware

PeltierBeer 451

Posted by michael from the necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention dept.
Helstein writes "Finishing a beer in the sun before it gets warm is usually not a problem, but what about those really hot days? Having some hardware lying around there is only one solution to keep the beer cool, that's to make a PeltierBeer."
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PeltierBeer More

PeltierBeer

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  • Imagine... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:34PM (#6092486)
    a beowolf cluster of these!

  • Two words dude...Beer Cozy (Score:5, Funny)

    by gricholson75 ( 563000 ) * on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:35PM (#6092494) Homepage
    Jebus, all the time spent building that thing could have been spent drinking...MORE BEER!

  • Related items (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:35PM (#6092497)
    See also the jet-powered beer cooler [asciimation.co.nz].

    Why do I remember that? <sigh>
    • There is something so very wrong, but still so very right about that page.

      I think my neighbour has a turbo in his car... I wonder if he'd miss it?
    • See also the jet-powered beer cooler.
      There is a big error in the semantics of the title of that page. It is not a jet-powered beer-cooler, but a beer-cooler powered jet engine: the energy needed to expand the gas from the tank is taken by the water (and the beer cans in the water). Whatever you do with the gas afterwards is irrelevant.

  • The only problem is (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fw3 ( 523647 ) * on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:35PM (#6092498) Homepage Journal

    that their research seems to have missed:

    Guinness is supposed to be drunk at room temp not 8-10 Deg C.

    <doh>

  • Works both ways (Score:5, Funny)

    by lowtekneq ( 469145 ) <lowtekneq@@@hotmail...com> on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:36PM (#6092501) Homepage
    Remember, a peltier works both ways. Meaning i can keep my beer nice and hot for those cold winter nights!

  • problem solved (Score:5, Funny)

    by Savatte ( 111615 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:36PM (#6092503) Homepage Journal
    but what about those really hot days?

    Solution: drink faster.
    Brilliant!

    • Re:problem solved (Score:5, Funny)

      by MyHair ( 589485 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:31PM (#6092760) Journal
      but what about those really hot days?

      Solution: drink faster.
      Have you ever tried drinking Guiness quickly?

      My sister did it once: she gulped the last few ounces of her Guiness because we were ready to go. I stared at her in horror as she looked at me like it was no big deal. She was feeling sick a couple of minutes later. I wasn't insensitive enough to ask how much chest hair she'd grown because of it.

  • Well (Score:2, Insightful)

    by GigsVT ( 208848 ) *
    This is a nice excercize if you need some soldering practice, but there's a reason he doesn't post any real data regarding how much colder it kept the beer than without the cooler. It really isn't doing anything.

    I'd be surprised if there was even a one degree difference in actual liquid temperature with the thing on than when off.

    • Re:Well (Score:5, Informative)

      by Bradee-oh! ( 459922 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:11PM (#6092669)
      ...there's a reason he doesn't post any real data regarding how much colder it kept the beer than without the cooler.

      I quote from the last page [stud.ntnu.no] of his site, which was not at all difficult to miss if you rtfa - " The temperature in the glass was roughly 22C before I poured in the beer. The beer is from the fridge and has a temperature of 8C." and then "The temperature stabilized around 7C."

      These comments on the temperatures being interspersed with pictures of the thermostat showing it in action.

      Granted, he doesn't talk about the performance before hand, but since the first picture shows a baseline of 19 C outside and the temperature stabilzied colder than fridge temperature, I'm assuming it was quite effective.

      • Re:Well (Score:3, Insightful)

        by MyHair ( 589485 )
        I quote from the last page [stud.ntnu.no] of his site, which was not at all difficult to miss if you rtfa -

        Yes, but if you'd look at the pictures on the second-to-last page [stud.ntnu.no] it appears the thermometer's sensor is on the peltier cooler itself. Even if that's a misinterpretation on my part it's clear there is no probe in the Guiness itself but outside the glass at best.

        By the way, I haven't tried the Guinnes-in-a-can yet. I'm not a total snob, but other beers aren't as good in the can, so I assumed Guiness would have the
        • By the way, I haven't tried the Guinnes-in-a-can yet. I'm not a total snob, but other beers aren't as good in the can, so I assumed Guiness would have the same problem. How is it? And can you pour yourself a four-leaf clover in the head with the can? :-)

          It's the best beer in a can I've had....but that's not to be taken as a glowing review. It's fine, much better than other canned beer, and much better than no Guiness at all.

          The head seems to be about the same as one would get in most American bars....

  • Guinness for IT strength! (Score:5, Funny)

    by joeszilagyi ( 635484 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:37PM (#6092514)
    I think a setup like this should be mandatory at any professional workstation of all IT staff everywhere. Think of how productivity will increase!

    • Re:Guinness for IT strength! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by rjamestaylor ( 117847 ) <rjamestaylor@gmail.com> on Sunday June 01, 2003 @10:19PM (#6092927) Journal
      When Ricochet was alive in areas that mattered [google.com] (Denver and San Diego don't matter, sorry) there was very strong reception in Seal Beach, CA on Main St and well onto the sand. I used to head over to the Hennessee's there, plug in at my favorite bar stool and manage dedicated servers in Wisconsin while enjoying a Guinness. At least once I switched critical operations from one server to another while requesting another round. Miss that Ricochet. Really do.

  • No Wonder... (Score:5, Funny)

    by tnak ( 163802 ) <[moc.gnitupmocskeeg4] [ta] [ybbilm]> on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:39PM (#6092521) Homepage
    his beer gets cold. He spends way too much time thinking instead of drinking.

  • Why? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by TheFlyingGoat ( 161967 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:40PM (#6092528) Homepage Journal
    My wife viewed this and asked why in the world someone would make that. I had to explain that we geeks get a kick out of doing stuff like this, just for the sake of doing it. This particular project would be even cooler (no pun intended) if that cat5 carried some information instead of just power. That way, maybe I could track which friends are drinking all my beer. :)

    • Re:Why? (Score:4, Funny)

      by malfunct ( 120790 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:26PM (#6092736) Homepage
      Or it could send the temp of the beer back to a recording device of some sort that could sound an alarm if it got too warm for too long :)
    • My wife viewed this and asked why in the world someone would make that. I had to explain that we geeks get a kick out of doing stuff like this, just for the sake of doing it.

      I'm afraid I agree with your wife. I don't see the point of doing this either.

      I mean, if you could figure out a way to send TCP/IP packets using this device, you could write up an RFC and do something really cool. (Like TCP/IP via pigeon [rfc-editor.org], which is very popular with the ladies.) But I don't see how you could possibly assemble and tran

    • Re:Why? (Score:3, Funny)

      by whereiswaldo ( 459052 )
      This particular project would be even cooler (no pun intended) if that cat5 carried some information instead of just power.

      The problem with using CAT5 for power is if you (or someone else) ever accidentally plugged it into a computer device... lots of fried equipment!

  • Right on! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Limburgher ( 523006 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:41PM (#6092534) Homepage Journal
    Finally, the killer app for the Cafeteri. . Caferet. .. uh, mug-handle deal thingy. Where can I buy one of those?

    Seriously though, great design. And probably no heavier than a decent beer stein.

    WHERE'S MY BEER STEIN?!?!?!?

  • 12v Power Over CAT5? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Myriad ( 89793 ) <(myriad) (at) (thebsod.com)> on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:41PM (#6092535) Homepage
    Power over CAT5 is quite handy, 20m of network cable should be enough to get me out in the sun with cold beer.

    Ok, let me get this straight, he's running 12v down a regular ol', totally otherwise normal, completely unmarked, grey piece of unassuming CAT5 cable...

    How long until something releases its magic blue smoke?

    Blockwars [blockwars.com]: go play.

    • Re:12v Power Over CAT5? (Score:2, Informative)

      by TCM ( 130219 )
      Ever heard about PoE [google.com] (Power over Ethernet)? While not really a standard yet (afaik) it seems to work.

    • Re:12v Power Over CAT5? (Score:4, Informative)

      by thynk ( 653762 ) <slashdot@th[ ].us ['ynk' in gap]> on Sunday June 01, 2003 @10:05PM (#6092892) Homepage Journal
      Ok, let me get this straight, he's running 12v down a regular ol', totally otherwise normal, completely unmarked, grey piece of unassuming CAT5 cable...

      How long until something releases its magic blue smoke?

      Probably not until he gets a short as the peltier probably doesn't draw much current at all, but a short in the cable would take advantage of all those rich chunky amps the computer PS can generate. Ever notice that shorting the +12 or +5 lines on a PS usually doesn't shut it down?

      I've seen 12vdc, 24vdc and 110vac run over Cat5 and they do fine, longest run was of the 24Vdc - ran about 200-300 feet with no problems. I've also seen 110Vac run over a scsi-1 cable with no problems. It's current more than voltage.

    • Re:12v Power Over CAT5? (Score:5, Funny)

      by pVoid ( 607584 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @10:29PM (#6092960)
      It reminds me of this [fiftythree.org]...

      (Gee, I hope that server doesn't go down in flames because I linked to it)

  • <US american>So this old guy at work who served in Germany in the 60's said that beer is supposed to be warm, and that us puny US american types are the only people who drink it icy cold. I must admit, the beer I've had has been icy cold, and it was pretty good. Am I missing out? Is it warm better? </ignorant>
    • Beer looses all its taste when it gets too cold, which should tell you a lot about the stuff they sell in the states as beer.

      Now, try a nice pint of Old Speckled Hen [oldspeckledhen.co.uk], Kimberly ale or A pint of ale from my local, Britains Oldest Pub! [yeoldetrip...usalem.com] - which serves its own brew, made on site.

      And as for guiness, the stuff you get in cans is not proper guiness

      • Re:wait up (Score:3, Informative)

        by Skjellifetti ( 561341 )
        Beer looses all its taste when it gets too cold, which should tell you a lot about the stuff they sell in the states as beer.

        Some friends of mine used to have a beer tasting contest. Everyone brought their favorite brew, everyone tasted each and then were blindfolded and had to try and identify brands. One year, two guys managed to identify all 50+ brands. To break the tie, we went and got every bad light American beer we could find. We put them in a freezer to absolutely kill any taste. Result?

    • As a beer geek... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Hayzeus ( 596826 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:32PM (#6092766) Homepage
      The temperature beer should be served at depends on the beer. With the exeption of some barleywines, beer should never be served warm or even room temperature.

      Ales in the british tradition are typically served at "cellar" temps -- around 55F-60F. Continental lagers are best a little colder but generally not below 45F. A few belgian styles do better even colder, but never ice cold (38-45F).

      If served ice cold, beer tends to lose most of it's flavor and seems thinner. The same is also true to a lesser extent with increasing carbonation. In the case of an american pilsener like bud, you're not missing much if the beer is ice cold. In the case of a fine czech pilsener like Budvar, you'd be missing a lot.

    • ...beer is supposed to be warm, and that us puny US american types are the only people who drink it icy cold.

      Well, they say it's supposed to be served at room temperature. "Warm" is a relative term, and "room temperature" in Europe averages 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Those Europeans just don't realize how much warmer it is in the new world.
    • Australian lagers (which are marginally better than American mass-market brews, but not much) are also served cold.

      I have to agree that ales and whatnot are better chilled, but not ice-cold, but there is something to be said for a cold lager on a hot day...

  • Airports? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by nebular ( 76369 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:47PM (#6092564)
    He says he wouldn't want to take the cooler to the airport.

    Sure he might get hassled a bit, but then he'd have to explain himself.

    I mean come on, Sure everyone likes cold beer, but after enough of them, it just doesn't matter anymore.

    So the only reason to build this thing, extreme bragging rights, and hassled at the airport? just one more chance and I for one will believe that the customs agents will be quite impressed.

  • Suggestion for version 2.0 (Score:5, Funny)

    by artemis67 ( 93453 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:54PM (#6092595)
    Have it monitor the level of the liquid in the glass, and have it send a page or IM to your wife to bring you another before you finish the first one.

    Now THAT would be truly useful!

    • solar cells (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Naikrovek ( 667 )
      solar cells on the outside of the cooling "holster" thing-a-ma-bob dohicky he sets the glass in would probably be a better upgrade.

      forget the damn cables, just wire up a collection of solar panels. Presumeably he's just sitting in the sun, and if so, he can have a remote panel collection wired to his cooler. put some thermally transmissive foam on the top of the cooling unit, to touch the most of the bottom of the glass as possible, and he'd have something worth selling.

      If people buy those STUPID singin

  • Now I can finally enjoy (Score:3, Funny)

    by eap ( 91469 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:54PM (#6092602) Journal
    that cold beer on the next hot Christmas morning.

  • Of course... (Score:3, Funny)

    by artemis67 ( 93453 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @08:59PM (#6092623)
    He could have just gone to the Dollar Store and bought an insulating foam bottle sleeve.
    • He could have just gone to the Dollar Store and bought an insulating foam bottle sleeve.

      Most beer glasses wouldn't fit in one of those, and drinking beer straight from the bottle/can is uncivilized. :-P

  • It's time to drink. (Score:4, Funny)

    by rice_burners_suck ( 243660 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:06PM (#6092649)
    Mmmmmmm... Guinness. I am getting thirsty.

    Forget all kinds of contraptions. There is this thing called a bar. You go in there, get a Guinness, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, get another, drink it, and eventually run out of money and go back home. That's the way to live a happy life.

  • Some problems that I see (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Stonent1 ( 594886 ) <stonentNO@SPAMstonent.pointclark.net> on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:12PM (#6092672) Journal
    The thickness of the base of the glass could affect the ability to cool it. Also charging batteries generate heat.
    • Yeah thats what I was thinking. His design would have worked much better keeping the beer in the Aluminum can instead of pouring it into a glass since Al is much better than glass (You dont see very many glass heat sinks do you?)

  • beer? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    huh? what is this beer? does it support linux?

  • Solar Power? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by User1234 ( 464358 )
    Those 8 batteries only put out 12 volts couldn't those be replaced with a solar panel, then you would not have to worry about changing batteries for every beer.

  • An improvement: (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Ayanami Rei ( 621112 ) * <rayanami@@@gmail...com> on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:30PM (#6092752) Journal
    Some slashdotters noted that
    1. The money may have been better spent on an insulating foam sleeve.
    2. The peltier cooler could actually heat the beer up if the excess heat generated is not managed.

    Clearly, this calls for combining the features of both! First, obtain the "beer bra" and cut a peltier-sized hole in the bottom. Affix the cooler to the surrounding insulator with lots of glorious duct tape. Arrange the backup batteries on the outside of the insulating foam.
    And there you have it! The hot side of the cooler and the batteries won't raise the temperature of the beer, and the foam will also help it stay cool. Furthermore, this system could greatly speed the cooling of beer originally at room temperature.
    Now if someone would kindly build this device and mail it me, I would be most grateful.

    ::makes kissy face::

    Pleeeeese... you big strong hacker you.

  • For severe cleverness.... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Handpaper ( 566373 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:35PM (#6092780)
    Run the outfit from photoelectric cells - more sunlight, more cooling!

  • Beer in sun bad (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gizmo_mathboy ( 43426 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @09:38PM (#6092790)
    For us beer geeks we would just drink beer in the sun faster. UV rays is what skunks beer.

    UV interacts with the alpha acids from the hops and creates that "skunky" taste. This is why most beer bottle are brown, it blocks out most of the UV for a period of time.

    This page [compuserve.com] does a a decent job of explaining what happens.

    Nonetheless, this is a cool hack. Just drink it fast or leave it in the bottle/can.
  • Urine.

    If you don't believe me you could pee in a beer mug.

    Of course you would have to have the necessary nutrition, and the lack of water to make the perfect brew, just golden in color and also thick frothy foam...

    yummmm sluurrrp
  • When we wanted cold beer, we sent the newest staffer out to pick up several COLD 6-packs of "productivity enhancers". Works like a charm and I had less bugs when coding as well!

  • /. is being had (Score:5, Interesting)

    by blair1q ( 305137 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @10:21PM (#6092937) Journal
    This thing couldn't work in a million years.

    The thermometer isn't in the beer, it's hooked directly to the copper plate atop the peltier device.

    Without a crystal goblet and gobs of thermal goop, he's going to cool his thermometer probe and some air and not much else. Actually, he should just leave the beer in the can. Aluminum has a thermal conductivity of 205 W/m-K, and glass does 0.8 W/m-K. The thinner can* and 250X increase in k will make his project more successful, but still a candidate for /. troll of the year.

    I'd be willing to bet that the metal rails of that "caffetiere" are transmitting more heat to the sides of the glass than the copper plate is taking from the base.

    * - say the base of his glass is 4 mm thick, and the can is 0.2 mm thick (it could be less), then the glass will have a thermal conductance of 200 W/K and the can will have a thermal conductance of 1.03e6 W/K.
  • Immediately when I saw the headline, I did the Pelllllllllll-Tierrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-Beeeeeeeeeeeer in the style of the old Rainer Beer [rainierbrewing.com] commercial that just showed a mountain but the voice over was some guy saying Rainier Beer as if it were a motorcycle or sports car shifting into higher gear as it came around a mountain curve. I was just in grade school at the time but I still remember that commercial and the Hamm's Beer (Bear) Jingle of the late 1970's.

  • And a network connection too? (Score:5, Funny)

    by dacarr ( 562277 ) on Sunday June 01, 2003 @11:25PM (#6093188) Homepage Journal
    I saw that RJ45 connecting up with a CAT5, and before I read the caption, I thought, "wow, he even gave an IP address to his beer."

  • This isn't the first... (Score:4, Informative)

    by X86Daddy ( 446356 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @12:47AM (#6093489) Journal
    The Afrotech Ghetto Hardware Fun [afrotechmods.com] site has early, failed [afrotechmods.com] experiments [afrotechmods.com] in peltier beverage cooling, with dangerous results! He almost had it right in his second experiment though...

  • What the ? .. (Score:3, Funny)

    by SirFlakey ( 237855 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @12:58AM (#6093525) Homepage
    He is living in NORWAY .. from memory the tempertaures during the most parts of the year were cold enough to avoind needing a beer cooler. In fact in winter you might have some troubles getting your beer out of the can in the first place .. short of a small hammer.

    Then again no-one has ever accused a norwegian of being unable to get beer from a can =) .. (Note: I am norwegian..)

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