The unit comes in an easily-opened plastic box, which doubles as the instruction leaflet (not that much is needed). Inside the box is the unit itself, which looks just like a shiny white plastic enclosure with a 2½ inch blue-anodized aluminum circle on top (about the same diameter of a 12 ouce soda can). A five-foot USB cord is permanently attached to the rear, which supplies the unit’s power.
The bulk of the unit is comprised of a hidden aluminum heatsink, which serves to collect and dissipate the heat generated from the Peltier junction.
Upon closer inspection you can see a small exhast fan on the rear, and a front vent for air intake. A finned aluminum heatsink can be seen through the vent opening. The CoolIT Beverage Chiller is actually a pretty simple device applied in a very creative way. This unit is actually a USB-powered Peltier cooler.
So how does a Peltier work to protect me against gaming-related disasters?
A Peltier Junction is a solid-state thermoelectric cooler (TEC), similar to a transistor. It has the amazing effect of getting rather hot on one side and cold on the other, transferring heat energy from one side of the junction to the other. Because they are no moving parts, they are amazingly rugged and stable (much more reliable than compressors used in air conditioners or refrigerators). A large heatsink is required on the hot side to dissipate the thermal energy generated, thus keeping the cold side frosty.
When using a TEC inside a computer, the power must me monitored and throttled to prevent condensation from occuring (as in CoolIT’s Freezone CPU Cooler). Since this unit is outside your case, it runs at full blast. The resulting condensation actually serves to make the unit more effective, by providing a liquid heat-transfer medium between the can and the cold-plate. The cold plate is sealed with a rubber gasket to prevent water from getting inside the unit.
