"Bill Velek" > wrote in message
news:2d1e9$43fae079
>
> So long as the reduced thermal conductivity doesn't present a problem,
> stainless would be fine in place of copper.
>
> When Scott pointed out that, without a pump, the amount of pipe within
> the fermenter may not be adequate for the amount of heat to be moved, he
> may well have hit the nail on the head, but I'd like to see if I can
> locate some precise figures or a formula or something like that. That
> was one of the main questions that I'm researching -- how efficient is a
> heat pipe, and how can I build or acquire one if one should work? The
> question has never, in my mind, been about the peltier.
>

If you're interested in peltier cooling somebody pointed out this product a
while back and you could skip the need for a heat pipe. I even emailed the
company asking about price but it was a bit more than I was interested in
spending. If I read their info correctly it looks like one would chill a 5
gal batch about 10 degrees below ambient. I could hit 65 degrees easy with
that mounted into the side of my fermenter.
http://www.coolworksinc.com/coolworks_products.htm

Mark R