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PeltierBeer

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."

46 of 451 comments (clear)

  1. Imagine... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    a beowolf cluster of these!

    1. Re:Imagine... by l810c · · Score: 4, Funny

      a beowolf cluster of these...
      ...would give you a 6 pack cooler

  2. Two words dude...Beer Cozy by gricholson75 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Jebus, all the time spent building that thing could have been spent drinking...MORE BEER!

  3. Related items by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    See also the jet-powered beer cooler.

    Why do I remember that? <sigh>

    1. Re:Related items by PaybackCS · · Score: 3, Funny

      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?

  4. The only problem is by fw3 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    that their research seems to have missed:

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

    <doh>

    --
    Linux is Linux, if One need clarify their dist: <Dist>/GNU Linux
    bsds are of course just BSD
    1. Re:The only problem is by RollingThunder · · Score: 5, Funny

      Your research should include the side of the can, where it says "Serve extra cold".

    2. Re:The only problem is by code+shady · · Score: 5, Funny

      bah!

      drinking warm guiness is like having sex with the lights off, you miss all the best bits.

      --
      Look out honey cause I'm usin' technology
      Ain't got time to make no apologies
    3. Re:The only problem is by RollingThunder · · Score: 5, Informative
      You can check their website then.

      Note, IE. Ireland. The real stuff.

      Enjoy in the pub or at home in cans or bottles. Chilled, of course. We recommend 6C for GUINNESS® Draught and a cooler 3.5C for GUINNESS® Draught Extra Cold. Your GUINNESS® Draught in cans should be chilled for a minimum of three hours before serving, and chilling for even longer will simply add to the ultimate experience.


      The URL is a complex one and behind an age check, so you may need to go there yourself. Products, Guinness Draft and in Cans.
    4. Re:The only problem is by cruppel · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No, this is what Guinness should always come out of. =)

      that was a long week...

    5. Re:The only problem is by kotj.mf · · Score: 3, Informative
      It's also "Irish" Guiness. As in, when you go into a real Irish pub, in the actual country of Ireland, they serve it to you (and the actual Irish people) ice cold, straight from the tap.

      The room-temperature thing is a just a piss-take on the pedantic Yanks.

      Just think, you've been doing it wrong all this time.

      --kotj.mf, who has been in an actual Irish pub.

      --
      hang brain.
    6. Re:The only problem is by batkiwi · · Score: 5, Funny

      Guinness is supposed to be drunk however the fuck you enjoy it most.

      If you like it boiling, while you're juggling knives, and with three shots of ammonia added, then that's the proper way for YOU to drink guiness.

      (mostly in response to all the responses to you)

    7. Re:The only problem is by skinfitz · · Score: 4, Funny

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

      ...but in the UK where Guiness is made, room temperature is 8-10 Deg C ! Well - on a warm day anyway.

  5. Works both ways by lowtekneq · · Score: 5, Funny

    Remember, a peltier works both ways. Meaning i can keep my beer nice and hot for those cold winter nights!

    --
    Carpe meam simiam!
  6. problem solved by Savatte · · Score: 5, Funny

    but what about those really hot days?

    Solution: drink faster.
    Brilliant!

    1. Re:problem solved by MyHair · · Score: 4, Funny
      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.
    2. Re:problem solved by Audin · · Score: 4, Insightful
  7. Guinness for IT strength! by joeszilagyi · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think a setup like this should be mandatory at any professional workstation of all IT staff everywhere. Think of how productivity will increase!

    --
    Dude, where's my packet?
    1. Re:Guinness for IT strength! by rjamestaylor · · Score: 3, Interesting

      When Ricochet was alive in areas that mattered (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.

      --
      -- @rjamestaylor on Ello
  8. No Wonder... by tnak · · Score: 4, Funny

    his beer gets cold. He spends way too much time thinking instead of drinking.

  9. Why? by TheFlyingGoat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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. :)

    --
    You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. --Winston Churchill
    1. Re:Why? by malfunct · · Score: 4, Funny

      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 :)

      --

      "You can now flame me, I am full of love,"

  10. Right on! by Limburgher · · Score: 3, Funny
    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?!?!?!?

    --

    You are not the customer.

    1. Re:Right on! by Limburgher · · Score: 3, Funny
      Great site! But, my wife being a chef, if she found out I'd spent 50 zloty on a French press and absconded with the outers to hack an electronic beer stein, she'd have my gonads in, um, bad places not attached to me, possibly in a light sauce.

      Perhaps, if I bought two. . .

      --

      You are not the customer.

  11. 12v Power Over CAT5? by Myriad · · Score: 5, Funny
    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: go play.

    --
    "They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
    1. Re:12v Power Over CAT5? by Caltheos · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, amperage determines the heat that will be generated with power flowing through the wire, thus bigger wires for higher amperage, but high voltage has this nasty tendency to penetrate weak insulation...the higher the voltage the greater it can penetrate through insulation...ever seen those van degraf generators that make your hair stand on end =) or those cool orb thingies like in that movie the Wizard or something.....ahhh, i digress

      --
      We've secretely replaced the Enterprise's dilithium crystals with Folgers crystals. Lets see if they notice.
    2. Re:12v Power Over CAT5? by thynk · · Score: 3, Informative

      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.

      --

      Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
    3. Re:12v Power Over CAT5? by pVoid · · Score: 4, Funny
      It reminds me of this...

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

  12. Re:I have that foam thing by paradesign · · Score: 4, Funny
    i believe theyre called 'bras'.

    yes women wear them too, but really whats more important, cool beer, or brests? hmm... on further consideration, that is a hard one.

    --
    I want 2D games back.
  13. Suggestion for version 2.0 by artemis67 · · Score: 4, Funny

    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!

  14. he's talking about Real Guinness by Trepidity · · Score: 4, Informative

    The sort that you get in a pub, not the sort that you get in a can or bottle. Most pubs in Ireland serve Guinness either at room temperature or slightly chilled (around 12 C / 53 F).

  15. It's time to drink. by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 3, Funny
    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.

  16. Re:I only drink root beer by djward · · Score: 4, Funny

    If that Cat5 carried data, you maybe could get Root on someone's beer...

  17. Re:Well by Bradee-oh! · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...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 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.

    --
    "This is Zombo Com, and welcome to you who have come to Zombo Com" - www.zombo.com
  18. Some problems that I see by Stonent1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The thickness of the base of the glass could affect the ability to cool it. Also charging batteries generate heat.

    1. Re:Some problems that I see by Mattwolf7 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      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?)

  19. Re:Wouldn't this heat the beer? by rco3 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hi, MacDork. Yes, your understanding of thermodynamics is probably ok. It's your ability to read the article and grok it that's coming up short.

    He used a Peltier junction. Look it up. It's an active, solid-state, heat transfer device. It can move heat against the thermal gradient, when supplied with power.

    IOW, run current through a Peltier and one side gets colder than ambient, and the other side gets warmer. Reverse the current, reverse the effect. Add a fan to the hot side to get rid of the heat, because they are limited to a max temp differential between the sides.

    --

    Ce n'est pas un vrai mouvement de robot!
  20. As a beer geek... by Hayzeus · · Score: 5, Informative
    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.

  21. For severe cleverness.... by Handpaper · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Run the outfit from photoelectric cells - more sunlight, more cooling!

  22. Beer in sun bad by gizmo_mathboy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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 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.

  23. Re:Well by GigsVT · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Lets try this again, this time in a browser that supports cookies. :)

    I read the article. He doesn't post any concrete numbers comparing it when the device is not powered.

    Also, with the sensor on the peltier itself, it indicates little about the temperature of the liquid. That's like putting a thermometer on your heater and saying room temperature is 120 degrees.

    I've done the research and the math regarding building a similar device, and I believe the conclusion I came to was that it would require something like ten 70 watt peltiers to move the temperature of 12 ounces of fluid a few degrees per minute. That's 700 watts before you even count the power needed for all the fans to cool the hot side of the peltiers.

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  24. /. is being had by blair1q · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

  25. stubbie holders by wadiwood · · Score: 3, Interesting

    We always use stubbie holders. Stubbies are single serve glass bottles, somewhat larger than your can-sized serve usually.
    RM Williams Oilskin stubbie holder

    Axeman's stubbie holder Note unlike the photo, the whole can fits snuggly inside the neoprene (think wetsuit rubber).

    In the tropics they take keeping your beer cold seriously:
    stubbie holders, sixpack holders, You can even stick whole wine bottles into some of these.

    The hard plastic and polystyrene sort. Buy a boat to hold your beer?

    By the way, if there's foam in that bra, you're probably getting less than you bargained on. Real women don't need or want padding. Although occasionally I'd bet they'd like hard shielding from octopi disguised as men.

    --

    -- it must be true, it's on the internet.
  26. And a network connection too? by dacarr · · Score: 4, Funny

    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 sig no verb.
  27. This isn't the first... by X86Daddy · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Afrotech Ghetto Hardware Fun site has early, failed experiments in peltier beverage cooling, with dangerous results! He almost had it right in his second experiment though...

  28. Leave it to a geek by The+Tyro · · Score: 3, Funny

    To not even know how to spell "breast"

    --
    Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.