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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."

33 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>

  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>

    --
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    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 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)

    6. 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?
  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. 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 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)

  11. 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.
  12. 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!

  13. 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).

  14. 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...

  15. 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
  16. 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!
  17. 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.

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

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

  19. 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.

  20. /. 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.

  21. 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."

    --
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