Heated jacket for $zero

[SlashWylde]

The wire resistance needs to be about 2.5-3 ohms for 30-40watts.Steve

Depends what losses there are in the cables supplying the heating wire and hence the voltage applied to the heating wire.

2.5-3.0 ohms of heater resistance will give you 57.6-48.0W respectively at 12.0v, Since P = V*V/R in a DC system.

When the bike is running, the nominal battery voltage will be 14.4v (possibly more), so 2.5-3 ohms will dissipate a maximum of 82.9-69.1W respectively of power.

The thicker the cable leading up to the heating wire is, the higher the voltage applied to the heater will be and hence more power will be dissipated as heat in the wire.

[mowgli]

... and made this.

Tested well attached to a benchtop supply. Surprisingly comfortable inside my glove.

[CookMySock]

haha! awesome! What is the wire from?

Steve

[mowgli]

haha! awesome! What is the wire from?

Cheapie electric blanket from the red shed. 48cm loops deliver just under 100mW per cm at 13v. Mmmmm toastie.

[CookMySock]

100mW per cm at 13v, uhhh, that is one megawatt per kilometer, uhh divided by thirteen squared, duhhh, how many thirteen squareds in a kilometer?

Steve

[mowgli]

100mW per cm at 13v, uhhh, that is one megawatt per kilometer, uhh divided by thirteen squared, duhhh, how many thirteen squareds in a kilometer?

Steve

Haha. Yuppy, Northerners always talking things up Your Hyosung couldn´t carry a km of wire let alone generate a megawatt or 10KW even

The wire appears to be nichrome. An inner and an outer core wound axially. In parallel they measure about 0.8 ohms per cm. Heat is concentrated at the wire so comfort (pain) is related to power per length. Overall warmth is related to power per area (wire spacing). By experimentation I found that more than 100mW per cm was pretty hot close to the skin so this determined my ideal loop length of around 48cm. 3x loops = 1 amp = 13W + toasty fingers.

What´s that dear? My spirulina is ready? Just wait while I find my pocket protector and glasses

[Irontusk]

It's the gloves that I would really really want, but my winter gloves are irritating enough to get on with my jacket as it is..
Before seeing this thread I saw an ad for 'Venture' products in a RoadGuide book I was given at Cycletreads, the website is http://www.roadguide.co.nz/searchres...venture+heated and fuck is it expensive! Nearly $1400 for the lot.

[CookMySock]

It's like buying expensive speakers - they completely renew your experience and they are not something you will sell in the foreseeable future.

Steve

[mossy1200]

I found some thin (0.25mm dia) insulated wire and threaded 6 meters of it through my DriRider jacket liner. Hook it up to 12V and it draws about 4 amps, or 48 watts. The wire doesn't get so hot it will damage the jacket. Dropping the soldering iron on it will though..

Zip it back into jacket and do a ten minute open road test 4pm this afternoon - its not a large quantity of heat so it can be left running. Maybe it can be a bit more powerful. Longer road test required.

It won't last very long coz the wire is solid 0.25mm dia so it will snap real easy (already broke it once). I need 12m of stranded wire about 0.4mm dia.

But it works, and it was fun!

DB

If your vr breaks down you should be able to feel the heat difference before it does any damage to yout cdi unit.Bonus

[cheesemethod]

DangerousBastard - you really are a dangerous bastard - points for ingenity tho.

[CookMySock]

DangerousBastard - you really are a dangerous bastard - points for ingenity tho.

Thanks.

Naw, plugging it into the mains will be dangerous.

Steve

[Gixxer peter]

Have made my own heated vest and have been using it now for about 4 years , same build as yours but i managed to find some fine stranded wire to sew in, it was not as fine as i would like, so more wire had to be sewn in than i wanted, i built mine using a leather vest and then sewed in a quilted liner with the wiring sewn in, it works great.
I tried to make heated glove liners but they became uncomfotable, and made some heated innersoles but these were using nichrome wire and they broke down after a few rides, i have since bought a couple of pairs of heated socks and a pair of heated gloves from http://www.gerbing.com/ and they work super. of course i also use headed grips on the front with "rain offs" on extra cold days.

Call us wimps but come see us at the brass monkey and say it to our faces

[CookMySock]

Yeah we went to stranded wire in the end. A fooken LOT of it.. 40 ish meters from memory. The jacket is quite a lot heavier now. We just chose enough length to get 5-6 amps.

I think a vest such as yours will be far more effective. I wanted to do that with my last jacket build, but I decided against it, mainly because I wanted to always have my heated gear with me - ie its part of the jacket itself and can't be left at home unless I remove the liner. In the summer, I'll remove the liner anyway.

I'm thinking about a microcontroller with glove sensor to thermostatically control the jacket, but I wonder if that is even necessary. I have hotgrips also, and they run on full the whole time (powered directly from the headlamp relay) and being able to control the temperature of them is just a gimmick.

Steve

[tigertim20]

anyone done this with socks? I get cold toes. really fuckin cold toes. I would love heated socks in me boots. how would I go about that?

[Brownstoo]

I'm thinking about a microcontroller with glove sensor to thermostatically control the jacket, but I wonder if that is even necessary. I have hotgrips also, and they run on full the whole time (powered directly from the headlamp relay) and being able to control the temperature of them is just a gimmick.

Ehh turn on when it gets cold, turn off when you start cooking...

I'm thinking of making an attempt at temperature control for my heated gloves (which I haven't really finished yet), but other than the satisfaction of working it out I kinda don't see the point of it...