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DIY Heated Gear

I've been doing a bit of studying recently on diy heated gear, particularly jacket liners.  Do any of you guys have any experience or advice on the subject?  Thanks.
 
I did up a shirt using Bell South flexible phone cord, 25 feet. It works out to 18 watts per wire. I have a switch to fire one, two, or three wires. Search Google for ideas, they're out there.
 
i watched someones home made gear smoke once, and after putting his flaming clothes out, asked him if it was worth it... (burned a 10" hole in the back of his Olympia jacket.. and melted it to his back.. he had a nice tatoo.)
unless you have the specific and correct silicone jacketed wire, rated for wire temps, and figure in the current flow at idle and at 4k sustained, and are prepared for any transgressions that may surface, a $250 Gerbing is worth the money, and warranty. just tossin that out there.

those companies make the stuff for a reason.. :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
no guess work... no burns... no fried circuits.. and full control.

be safe, ride warm :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
 
I think the gist of what man of blues is saying is don't. If you're not an electrical engineer and a materials science specialist, please save yourself serious injury and just buy properly manufactured gear.
 
Listen to the "man"
It's a lot less trouble that way and it works.
If it doesn't send it back.
 
I say go for it.
Nobody ever learned anything following
in someone else's footsteps.
Fear of failure stymies the developmental
process.
 
"just buy properly manufactured gear."

Oh, you mean the stuff I paid $150 for that shorted and burnt my finger?

Yea, "professionally" made doesn't mean squat. Don't let someone talk you out of making it for yourself, IF you're willing to do the research and spend the time sewing.

A Pulse-Width-Modulator is a good investment.
 
Shawn, I've built my own for years.  It'S not too hard.  THe electrics are the easy part.  But my wife did the hard part with sewing stuff together for me.  I also built a PWM controller for a few bucks that works like a champ as well.  Heated jacket, gloves, and pants.  Maybe $50 total with controller and some cheap clothes.

My jacket was a snug fitting pullover sweatshilrt with a smaller than I'd normally wear T-shirt sewn inside of it.  THen split up the frint and a zipper installed.  Stitching the two together was done in rows so the wire could be laced through it in a pattern that gave excellent coverage.  THe glove circuit also was the sleeve and collar circuit.  Each piece got a separate channel on the controller and was controlled independantly.  But if you size things right, you'll run it wide open most of the time.  Some folks have used a flasher to cut the power by 50%, but I found cutting the power about 20-25% gives a better "half heat" than 50% (which is almost not noticeably on).

Heattroller
Heattroller_zps6dfd5c5d.jpg


Jacket
electric%20jacket%20gear_zpszfotvo3m.jpg


Gloves:  My daughter bought me these thinsulate gloves for $20 on sale and I added some electric liners I made to them.  Actually, most of the time the liners are all that's necessary.  But if it's COLD, then the gloves will do the trick all day and night long.
electric%20gloves%206_zpsnjym7cgj.jpg

electric%20gloves%201_zpsbdygfkq5.jpg

electric%20gloves%202_zpsbkyjyjbz.jpg

 
Rev Ryder

" I also built a PWM controller for a few bucks that works like a champ as well. "

thanks for the circuit.  I have been wondering about doing the same for years.  but my concern has always been around Radio noise created by the sharp pulse action of some of these circuits.  so - do you have any thoughts on your circuit for radio noise created?

Cal
 
If you're concerned about ground loop noise, get a ground isolator for the radio, if you're worried about RF interference, proper shielding and insulation will reduce/eliminate that. I only took 2 electrical engineering classes in college years ago, so someone more knowledgeable correct me if I'm wrong. I shield custom high current electronics on my vehicles with something like https://www.amazon.com/MAGNETIC-SHIELDING-FILM-Saturation-Magnetic/dp/B00NLP5EGQ

Using some RCA cables with quality shielding is usually adequate for preventing interference outside the controller enclosure.

 
McnPenfold and his Tx Connie -

if the controller circuit is not - um - controlled - the heated vest/gloves/etc makes for a pretty big radiating surface for more than just heat (ie - radio noise)

that is why I was asking Rev Ryder his observations of his circuit.

Cal (electronic tech from way back - trained on tube style Tank Radios; just not done much for the last several decades)
 
turbo-max said:
when its cold enough to need heated gear, i'd rather be in my truck!

Some of us like to ride more than just July.
You know, the month when it's hot enough
you'd rather be in your truck.
 
Honestly, it's been several years since I used this stuff. My riding isn't anywhere near what it was when riding to commute.  But IIRC I didn't have a lot of noise. I was running a wired intercom/sound system at the time and used it constantly. I rode everyday barring ice.
 
PWM is an elegant way to control DC current, slot car controllers have done it for years as well as other countless applications.

A man just has to know his limitations...........555 is great little IC circuit.

I used one to build a radio voice scrambler (decades ago) along with  uA1496 four quadrant multiplier and some buffering OP AMPS and filters.
 
Cal said:
Rev Ryder

" I also built a PWM controller for a few bucks that works like a champ as well. "

thanks for the circuit.  I have been wondering about doing the same for years.  but my concern has always been around Radio noise created by the sharp pulse action of some of these circuits.  so - do you have any thoughts on your circuit for radio noise created?

Cal

Sharp rise/fall time can be counteracted by adding some capacitance to the current limiting resistance. This will form a RC tank and the rise time of the voltage will slew up more slowly. This limits harmonic radiation due to softer rise and fall times of the waveform.

A true square wave will have an infinite number of harmonics, all odd order and decreasing amplitude as a function of frequency.

Pulse waves will have varying harmonics dependent upon the duty cycle, slow down the ramping a little and the harmonic energy is greatly reduced.

Craig
 
Rev Ryder

"But IIRC I didn't have a lot of noise. I was running a wired intercom/sound system at the time and used it constantly."

thanks.  voice of experience was what I was looking for here - more specifically to the circuit you provided.

Actual radio induced noise may still occur from it.  Addition of capacitors or noise coils can improve bad situations.

as this circuit is managing the flow of current through the heated devices and the actual sharpness of the on/off cycle is not a requirement for operation - there is room to play with the output.

time to borrow a o-scope!

Cal
 
I just couldn't resist (is that a pun), I had to click....

I hate to admit it, but I have to partially agree with MOB, but there are options.  I guess it is the satisfaction of building something on your own, but I would defintily end up catching myself on fire, so I will stick with my gerbings.
 
MizzouMike said:
I just couldn't resist (is that a pun), I had to click....

I hate to admit it, but I have to partially agree with MOB on this there are options.  I guess it is the satisfaction of building something on your own, but I would defintily end up catching myself on fire, so I will stick with my gerbings.

Or you could become a giant electromagnet and stick to the side of a semi while passing.  :-\
:rotflmao:


I tried using lots of differnt wire, I used the silver 30 ga. hookup wire from eBay for my first tries and then I wanted to spin something up once and didn;t ahve any.  So I looked around at what I had and I had a million miles of 4-wire phone line.  I stripped it out and it was either 28 or 30 gauge.... I used it and it worked.  While the insulation is NOT the high temp stuff, the wire just doesn't get that hot unless you try to get too many watts out of it.  I wanted better coverage and added a few feet to teh circuit and VIOLA, it works, costs nothing, didn't burst into flames (for years now) and gets toasty warm.  THe most important thing is to make sure you use snug fitting garments.  You want them to press the wire close to your body to transfer the heat efficiently. If it's too loose, you get nothing out of it.  Keep it snug, use plenty of wire, have fun.
 
OH, BTW...
One garment that works really well is a snug fitting sweater.  Just weave the wire into the sweater and it will pull it to you and help hold the heat in too.  Layer over that.  I like my jacket desing really well, but I also have made several sweater type heated garments.
 
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