TIP120 switching 12v 5a

[PerryBebbington]

@the_ingenious_engineer

Your two topics on the same or similar subject have been merged.

Please do not duplicate your questions as doing so wastes the time and effort of the volunteers trying to help you as they are then answering the same thing in different places.

Please create one topic only for your question and choose the forum category carefully. If you have multiple questions about the same project then please ask your questions in the one topic as the answers to one question provide useful context for the others, and also you won’t have to keep explaining your project repeatedly.

Repeated duplicate posting could result in a temporary or permanent ban from the forum.

Could you take a few moments to Learn How To Use The Forum

How to get the best out of this forum

See also FAQ - Arduino Forum for general rules on forum behaviour and etiquette. Hello, Welcome to the Arduino Forum. This guide explains how to get the best out of this forum. Please read and follow the instructions below. Being new here you might think this is having rules for the sake of rules, but that is not the case. If you don’t follow the guidelines all that happens is there is a long exchange of posts while we try to get you to tell us what we need in order to help you, which is fru…

It will help you get the best out of the forum in the future.

Thank you.

[runaway_pancake]

@the_ingenious_engineer

Anyone with common sense would know that multiple opinions on a subject are better than one.

Wrong forum.

[runaway_pancake]

@Wawa

People correct each other here if they talk nonsense.

That's not permitted, broadly, either.

[build_1971]

These are not opinions. This is not politics. There is good design practices and proper calculations...

I did not add my suggestion to use a mosfet yet, because other members already did that suggestion. So that makes 5.

[6v6gt]

@the_ingenious_engineer

It will be used to turn on and off a 12v 5a peltier TEC for longer periods of time.

A relay module could also suit here as yet another alternative.

[build_1971]

Just another option:
30 parallel BC547B's!

[Smajdalf]

@build_1971

These are not opinions. This is not politics. There is good design practices and proper calculations...

In reality there are no "good design practices," just opinions which design practices are good. Surely there is a different set of "good practices" for a cheap gadget and for some automotive/medical/space application.

You can calculate (some) effects of a design change but it is a "political" decision if you accept the tradeoffs.

[6v6gt]

@build_1971

Just another option:
30 parallel BC547B's!

OK. But the advantage of the relay module is that it requires very little analysis of a data sheet to determine its suitability and was, hence, not an entirely ridiculous suggestion.

[build_1971]

@6v6gt
I did not suggest your suggestion is ridiculous.

But OP asked for more options, so I gave another option. It is up to him to decide...

Your suggestion is certainly viable. If you have a relais in your drawer, fine. If you need to go shopping, I think the mosfet is the better option.

But again: let OP decide...

[build_1971]

I agree we can have more than one option and discuss on that. But given the fact that 5A is the max for TIP120, I hope we can also agree that TIP120 is not a good solution here.