Salton solid state refrigerator

[Peter]

We have a benchtop size peltier refrigerator made by
Salton, which has stopped refrigerating after about two
years of operation.

The p.c.b. has two LEDs, green and red, visible here.
http://members.shaw.ca/peasthope/SaltonPCB.jpg
The external fan still spins but the chamber is about
15 degrees C.

A few months back the p.s. failed and the two big
capacitors were obviously leaking. With new caps
the p.s. worked again.

Two questions before I consider troubleshooting.
* Are peltier devices short lived?
* Any ideas about what the LEDs indicate?

Thanks, ... Peter E.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

What does Salton say about it?

 

[AZ Nomad]

On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:17:21 -0800, William Sommerwerck <grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

What does Salton say about it?

what is google?

 

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

* Are peltier devices short lived?

Not that I know of. They are very simple devices, and I've had a few
operating on and off over the past several years.

However, they do use a LOT of power and sometimes the switches, power
sockets and wiring used to hook them up are not up to the task. I've
seen a lot of peltier-type coolers and "refrigerators" with burned
switches or undersized wiring.

* Any ideas about what the LEDs indicate?

I'd have thought they might be used to indicate "heating" and
"cooling", but it appears not. Most of the devices I've seen have a
means by which to reverse the polarity of the DC power going into the
peltier, effectively swapping the "hot" and "cold" ends around.

If both lights are on and the unit is switchable between heating and
cooling, perhaps it is a fault indication? If there is a switch to
select between these modes, is it good? (If it had melted or failed
from the load, the unit might fail to operate altogether.)

I was more surprised to see a switchmode power supply in there. Every
peltier based device I have (new to old) has used a transformer-type
supply.

William

 

[Peter]

On Jan 22, 12:17 pm, "William Sommerwerck"
<grizzledgee...@comcast.net> wrote:

What does Salton say about it?

Nothing pertinent or helpful on their Web site, unless it is very
well hidden. I'm waiting for a reply to an emessage.

The Web site marked on the PCB, http://www.hanny.com.cn/ ,
also hasn't helped. Appears to be provided for marketing only.
No evidence of any numbers found on the PCB.

Thanks, ... Peter E.

 

[mike]

Peter wrote:

We have a benchtop size peltier refrigerator made by
Salton, which has stopped refrigerating after about two
years of operation.

The p.c.b. has two LEDs, green and red, visible here.
http://members.shaw.ca/peasthope/SaltonPCB.jpg
The external fan still spins but the chamber is about
15 degrees C.

A few months back the p.s. failed and the two big
capacitors were obviously leaking. With new caps
the p.s. worked again.

Two questions before I consider troubleshooting.
* Are peltier devices short lived?
* Any ideas about what the LEDs indicate?

Thanks, ... Peter E.

They don't like ripple on the DC.