Anyone make DIY heated gear?

[green427]

Just curious if anyone here has done their own heated liner/jacket.

I bought all the raw materials and am currently making a heated jacket. Let me know if you want to see details.

[fishmeister]

Sounds interesting, be sure to post before and after pics. Just kidding again.

[DonD]

http://pnwriders.com/general-discussion/120467-home-made-heated-gear-write-up.html

[green427]

Ok, finished the jacket today.

Started out with a lightweight fleece zippered jacket.

I used 30AWG Teflon coated silver strand wire and cut up some patches and ironed the wire on the inside of the jacket. I tried sewing, but changed my mind and decided to iron.








Added a leftover battery tender inline fuse to the inside of the jacket. Cut the ends and soldered them to the 30AWG wire. Soldering thin wire is a bit trickier than I thought.







I decided to make my own controller using a kit. This is a 12V PWM DC motor controller.



Generic project box that will house the controller.






Drilled small holes for ventilation on both sides. Also drilled out three holes for the knob, power, and output wiring.



I used some leftover 12V accessory wiring. Battery tender connector will connect to the jacket, while the power comes from the 12V cig adapter.



Finished controller.




Here is the finished setup. Crude, but effective. The wires got hot, but since they are tiny, heat gets dissipated quickly. The jacket is a bit on the large side, which means all the heating elements will not come in contact with my clothes. Hopefully my textile jacket will be snug over this heated jacket.






Will pick a cold day to ride and report back.

Overall, this project was not too hard, but took me 3-4 hours to do it all. Having a background in electronics helps.

Costs:
Fleece jacket from Wally World: $12
Teflon wire (100ft) $22
PWM Controller $19
Box $2.99
Knob $1.99
Misc wiring accessories $20 (tender, fuse, etc)
Patches $4

Total spent: $81.98

For comparison, a heated jacket (not a heated liner) runs at $140 and up. Liners are $99 and up. Controllers are $65 and up. Only you can decide if it is worth the savings.

I have enough leftover wire to make another jacket. This time I am going to get a quilted liner that is smaller and put the rest of the wire on it.

Oh, and I used 33 feet, total resistance is 3.1 ohms, which means the jacket is drawing 3.87 amps at 12V, or 46.5 watts.

[green427]

http://pnwriders.com/general-discussion/120467-home-made-heated-gear-write-up.html

Thanks for the link. It is very similar to another thread I checked out. There were a couple good pointers.

[luckylindy]

 Looking forward to your report from a ride. I've done rides in the 30's and wished I had heated gear.     

[fishmeister]

That was a innovative and interesting project!  Thanks for posting it.   

[green427]

Have not had a chance to ride yet. Busy with home remodeling projects and we've had 40MPH winds all weekend.

However, I rode in my car, plugged the jacket in the cig lighter, and turned it on. The wires got hot immediately, but it took about 10 mins before I was warm enough to turn the setting down. So far it is looking good. Hopefully this week I can ride to work one morning.

[green427]

Finally had a chance to take the bike out for a short spin.

Before I rode off, I plugged the jacket in, put a voltmeter on the battery, and let the bike idle at 2000RPM. Voltage was 14.6V. Turned the jacket controller on at the highest setting. Still read 14.6V. Turned the Oxford grip heaters on to the maximum setting at the same time. Still read 14.6 volts. Let the bike idle at 1100RPM, voltage dropped to 13.1V.

This tells me that I am not overtaxing the alternator.

I also put some new Tusk mitts on. Took the bike out for a ride. It was about 45F, so not very cold. Turned the controller on, instant heat. Too much heat, so I turned it down, so far it is comfortable.

Definitely worth having.

Supposed to get a lot of rain tomorrow, should wash away most of the remaining salt on the roads, and Monday through Wednesday it is supposed to be sunny and 30 in the mornings, so will ride to work and report back.

[happycommuter]

http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/heatedclothing.html
Wow, I'm surprised that normal stranded wire, meant to conduct and not resist, works.  The link above specifies nichrome resistance wire.

[fishmeister]

This may lead to a new version of the BBQ Biker contest. What happens if you got soaked in a heavy down fall? Guess just unplug it quickly...

[green427]

This may lead to a new version of the BBQ Biker contest. What happens if you got soaked in a heavy down fall? Guess just unplug it quickly...

 

I have 2 fuses serving the controller, one at the cig outlet, and a fuse inside the jacket itself. All connections have been soldered and covered with heatshrink tubing.

Plain water does not conduct small amounts of electricity; if the rain was composed of saltwater, I might have a problem. All of my jackets are waterproof, and the heated jacket will be under them. First item that would short out is the controller.

Have you seen name-brand heated jackets up close? They all have plugged connections inside which have exposed connectors.

[DonD]

Rain water is distilled water. Distilled water is a very poor conductor, especially low volt DC.

Enjoy your new found warmth