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DIY Heated jacket etc

twinsig

New member
About to begin First attempt at self-made heated gear.
Started a thread adding to the database here. Will update asap..
 
If you look at the iron butt association web page, in their store they have WIDDER heated vests at very reasonable prices, don't think I could make one for the price their charging
Just saying
 
Made some for the wife and I way back in 1999, from the front seat heater grids out of a Junked Saab auto.

Spent about $10 for both, and used a couple of extra jacket liners. Work great!
 
I bought mine from these folks. Very inexpensive and the vest worked great for me. The thermostat has a cigarette type plug with a great feature - you unscrew a red plastic cap and what remains fits the RT's accessory socket. Happens the head office is near my daughters house, owner sold me the unit, and revealed the plug feature - after telling him I was off to buy an adapter...

Can't imagine having a vest without an adjustable thermostat...

So, build your own if you wish, but you can get good and economical stuff if you shop a bit.

http://www.gearscanada.com/
 
I made two heated liners last year. Total cost for BOTH liners was 40 bucks. They work fantastic! About 70 watts of heat.

Used new army surplus field jacket liners that I bought on Ebay for 3 bucks each. Bought my 'wrap' wire from Belden Supply for about 20 bucks for way more footage than I needed, and then a few odd bits to connect it.

Search EBAY for 30 ga awg wire wrapping wire and you find it cheap!

Used a 6 inch quilting needle that I bought at Hobby Lobby to thread the wire through the jacket.

When using 30 ga braided copper wire with high heat resistant insulation, (polyurethane or PVC I think) you need 30 feet of wire for 70 watts (approx wattage) of heat which is about a 5 amp draw.

Might be more info than you need, but be careful as to the amount of wire you use. Small changes from the 30 foot length on 30 ga. can drastically change the wattage! 30ga wire has a resistance of 1 ohm per 10 feet. (1.00xxxxohms actually)

Example, 35 feet of wire will drop your wattage to about 56 watts. And using only 20 feet of wire will up your wattage to 90 watts! Ouch!

All of my figures are approximates! Based on 14 volt operating system.


This amount of heat (70 watts) works well for me!

TIP!! Don't thread the wire to high on the collar area of the liner that you use. I did this and the jacket will burn my neck if I dont have a turtle neck on! Keep the wires well below the collar bone area!!
 
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Hmm...

I wonder if it would work in the house? Maybe use the 240v dryer outlet.
Well, if I try that I'll certainly take video for analysis and reviews.

Seriously, it's an interesting subject and a bit cheaper, sort of.
The wire PTFE/Teflon 30 awg is now $38/100'. Just like everything else the price is going up mainly because we keep PRINTING $100 bills! And BORROWING (3) BILLION DOLLARS A DAY!!!

Sorry for the downer folks,,,,,as you were.....
 
What you want to use is Nickel-Chromium Wire rope. This is different then Nickel-Chromium wire. The rope is coiled. More specifically, you want 60% Nickel grade. 60% is suppose to works the best with thermostats. The rope is what they use in electric blankets. The wire is quite fragile, and breaks easily.

You don't want the wire to cross over each other. Otherwise, it will burn out.

You can try this link as a place to buy it, and the formulas for diameter and length: http://www.nichromewire.biz/

This pdf has a lot of information the NiCh wire rope: http://www.omega.com/Temperature/pdf/NIC60_NIC80.pdf
 
I'm with you on DIY all-the-way! BUT! Ebay is going to be more productive than DIY for an electric jacket @ savings.
 
update coming soon

Continuing R & D issues, detailed update coming soon.

Maybe before spring gets here!
 
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