$35.00 Heated Jacket Liner (DIY)

[gixxersteph]

anyone think a wireless version would be up to the job?

like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wireless-Rem...item4160dfa791

[GS Addict]

Originally Posted by gixxersteph

anyone think a wireless version would be up to the job?

like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wireless-Rem...item4160dfa791

Sure you can go wireless with the control but you still need to power the jacket with wires....
Unless of course, you happen to be Nicola Tesla

[KEN PHENIX]

I suppose at that price you could carry a spare. I am focused on field serviceability. I can easily fix breaks in the wire out on the road. I also carry spare glove liners. After a dimmer failure 500 miles from home on a winter trip, I decided to go the reliability route with the controllers. This is my 4th trouble free winter with the Warm 'n Safe HeatTrollers.

[theWolfTamer]

Originally Posted by gixxersteph

anyone think a wireless version would be up to the job?

like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wireless-Rem...item4160dfa791

I've thought about it for my jacket. I haven't had any problems out of the wired 8a led dimmers.

[MikeUSNRet]

Just had to join this forum to say thanks to all of you for showing all the progress in making your own heated gear and sharing how relatively simple is to do.


Mike

[MikeUSNRet]

Would this wire:


http://http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-Wi...ht_1219wt_1159

be the same as this 30 AWG:

http://http://www.bulkwire.com/wire-...nded-wire.html

[Mambo Dave]

I like this thread, too - but my cold season is over. Had to buy a new set of mesh gear.

[outsidein]

I applaud your inventiveness but here his my concern. My Gerbings jacket liner, like almost all commercial heated gear, produces even heat because it has comparability large mesh panels that heat up. These panels warm a large area of the body and do not get too hot. With the home made kit the heat comes directly from the wires, not panels which have a much, much, much larger surface area than wires to disperse the heat. As a result the wires must get much, much, much hotter to give off a similar level of energy as panels. They can also only apply that heat to a relatively small surface area. Basically I'm wondering how practical this would be in colder conditions.

[KEN PHENIX]

Gerbings built their good reputation with years of wired garments. Totally even heat throughout is not necessary. You know where you feel the cold most and you can direct the heat to those areas. Most importantly, sooner or later all heated gear fails. Lifetime warranties are fine but since heated gear use commonly involves travel, "if you build it you can fix it" on the spot and stay warm for the duration of your trip.

[PaigeIGGY]

I only glanced at page 1 and this page so I dont know if others have made heated gear this same way that my buddy has but I will try to describe.

A buddy of mine made his own heated gear (vest and boot liners) out of the wire found in an old broken 'electric blanket' The vest was made on the sewing machine out of a simple pattern. Then slender tubes (sleeves, but not sleeves that cover your arms LOL) were used to house the wire. He figured out through trial and error how much wire it took to provide the proper resistance at 12 volts or so (no controller used) in order for his upper body to be warm. Then wired it up to a socket at the rear of his tank bag.

The boot liner were the real ingenious part as there is the pre-determined length of wire (found through trial and error) that heats just right for his feet. The wire is sandwiched in between a layer or regular ole clear silicone caulk. The sandwich went like this wax paper/cotton linen (ie: old bed sheet)/ silicone caulk nad electric blanket wires uniformally routed to your foot pattern/another layer of cotton linen/wax paper. The whole purpose of the linen sheet is to give the surface of the cured silicone caulk some strength and wear capability. The whole cured sandwich is about 1/16" thick, the shape of his foot, and nearly see-through. Again no controller as the power supply cord travels up the inner side of his boot then 'Y'd together to one plug which is plugged into an additional socket on his tank bag.

From the looks of his setup, the whole cost was FREE, as he had the material for the vest, caulk, broken electric blanket, brown lamp cord (for the wiring pigtails from the EB nichrome wire to plugs), and power connectors.

The real key was finding out the proper length of EB wire to use for the proper heat range that he desired. I suppose a rheostat(sp) could be added to vary the heat range, dont know?

[OaklandStrom]

Originally Posted by outsidein

I applaud your inventiveness but here his my concern. My Gerbings jacket liner, like almost all commercial heated gear, produces even heat because it has comparability large mesh panels that heat up. These panels warm a large area of the body and do not get too hot. With the home made kit the heat comes directly from the wires, not panels which have a much, much, much larger surface area than wires to disperse the heat. As a result the wires must get much, much, much hotter to give off a similar level of energy as panels. They can also only apply that heat to a relatively small surface area. Basically I'm wondering how practical this would be in colder conditions.

Most electric gear, until recently, was just wires. I wear a long sleeve shirt under my heated jacket, and have never had a problem with burning. Once, I wore a short sleeve shirt, and had some red marks on my arm, but it was nothing to worry about.

I don't ride when it's near freezing, because I don't want to ride on ice. However, I've never been cold when wearing my electric (Warm n Safe) jacket.

I live in the Bay Area, on the warm side. It's not unusual to be 80 degrees in Oakland on a summer afternoon, and 40 degrees in SF at night. This is why I have electric gear - I can ride to work in a shirt and armored jacket, and ride home with a shirt, electric jacket and armor. I also ride from here to Southern Oregon a few times a year, and it can be really cold on the way there.

[Kestrel]

Given the colder weather, I figured I'd give this thread a bump.

I've ridden year round for quite a few years now, and have had my fair share of frigid winter days where heated gear would have been nice. Given my less than massive grad student budget, DIY has become a way of life, and this little project was no exception.

I selected the Starter windbreaker jacket from Walmart (~ $10) , one of the 12V LED PWM Dimmers (~$5), some 30ga silver plated teflon coated stranded wire (~$8), a couple larger needles from the local hobby store (~$3), and one of the 'battery tender' leads (~$4). I cut the ring terminal ends off the the tender lead, and wired one end into the dimmer, allowing for the SAE end to plug into the preexisting battery tender plug on the bike.

Total cost came to about 30 bucks. I decided on about 30 feet of wire, and simply threaded it through mesh liner of the jacket with one of the larger needles. This saves a significant amount of time in comparison to trying to sew the wires straight to the jacket, and allows for a little movement of the wires, providing some stress relief. Total time spent was probably about 2.5 hours from start to finish, soldering of the 30ga to some larger gauge wire included. I sewed a small loop of cloth into the edge of the jacket, and ran the larger wires through them for stress relief. The dimmer sits conveniently in the pocket of the jacket. It can handle 8 amps of current, and there is a nice inline fuse built into the battery tender lead, which includes a 7.5 amp fuse, ensuring everything is nice and protected.

Pictures!







Pretty straightforward project, and well worth the thirty bucks. . Draws about 60 watts, and provides plenty of power for most sane winter riding. I typically layer up in a heavyweight thermal top, the jacket, another fleece jacket, and then my linerless First Gear Rainier. The layers don't feel too heavy, and in combination with my jacket, provide good pressure against the heated jacket, allowing for good efficiency of the wires. I had one issue where I accidentally cut a wire a few weeks back, but thankfully it was only a few inches from the end. I simply snipped it off, resoldered the connection, and continued about my business as usual.

[KEN PHENIX]

Nice work.

[JensEskildsen]

Hey guys, thanks for all the guides.

Can somebody help me to get the right wire, would love to find it on ebay ect which is very easy to buy and par for small items like that.

Would something like this work: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=320998251394 if I can get it in a 30ft spool?

The dimmer switch and misc plugs is eays to find. Uh, I have a question regarding the dimmer... If I turn it halfway down, does it only use half the power? (I think it does)

Anther question, how do you "mount" the string on the jacket, I see not everyone sews it on. Are you just using tape, glue or whatever?

Cant wait to start adding heat. Want a jacket for starters, dont really know about pants yet, havent decided. Have anyone run their jackets on batteries? With about 5A af current, I can see the limitations, even on lithium batteries. But if you were able to turn down the dimmer to save current it should be manageable.

Aprreciate the help, which im sure will come. Thanks in advance.

[GlennR]

Have you guys seen these "universal heat pads" that are intended to be for heating car seats?

I wonder if they would be useful for adding heat to a vest, jacket, or pants.

Here's the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/170922165412...84.m1438.l2649