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Make your own heated gear

13K views 54 replies 14 participants last post by  marylandmike 
#1 ·

Hello, my name is Ken Phenix and I'm addicted to JACKING ON! :hello:
If you've never tried heated gear, it's like cheating. I literally don't care how cold it gets. I have ridden cross country in sustained temps as low as 17f and I actually prefer winter riding to summer.

At highway speed, windchill starts out at whatever the static temperature is minus 26 degrees and and gets steadily worse the longer you ride. Regardless of how good your insulation is, in time the outer layer will assume the outside temp minus the windchill factor. An internal constant source of heat is the answer.

Being in southeast Texas, not knowing I'd get addicted, not thinking I'd use electrics more than a few days a year, I couldn't justify the expense of buying retail heated gear so I started doing some homework. A few google searches later, I had a plan.

Electrics are not hard to make if you're handy and patient. Homemade gear has advantages too. The stuff is way cheap to make. You can put the heat where you feel the cold most. If you make it you can fix it. All heated gear will fail eventually but rather than having to make it home on a dead glove or jacket and then wait for warranty repair or replacement, I have made field repairs and never missed a beat. I also just don the electrics in winter instead of trying to figure out how many layers to wear - even if I don't turn them on. I don't even have to check the weather before I ride.

Anyway, I've done all the math and have years of trial & error as well as good experience. If anyone is interested in giving it a try, I'll be glad to help. Homemade Heated Glove, Jacket & Boot Liners - kphenix's Photos

( I re-posted this here in case anybody missed it in the other thread )
 
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#2 ·
Hey Ken,

Thanks for posting up about the DIY heated gear. I'm not sure if I found your website from a post here, or elsewhere but I've seen the different revisions you have been through. If I ever find a job that'll keep my ass at home I intend to build my own heated gear for those few days of the year I would need it here ;)
 
#6 ·
Cool. :clap:

Here's a list of tools needed to get started:

* multi meter
* crimp tool
* soldering gun
* wire stripper
* lighter or heat gun
* large sewing needle

Get some thin glove liners or SpeedFit work gloves.

Find some 26ga nichrome wire. Here'e where I get mine:
Electrical Supplies | ETA hand2mind

The wire will be bare so get some 1/8" shrink tube to cover it.

Get a box of unshielded crimp connectors.

You can start with a DPDT toggle for the gloves if you want to

but I recommend springing for the HeatTrollers from Warm 'n Safe. They also make a double that would regulate both jacket and gloves.
Heat-trollers - Warm & Safe Heated Gear, LLC
 
#7 ·
Cool. I have everything but the wire and the switch. I think I'll start with a switch for now and go from there. Couple questions. How much wire do I need for a jacket liner and gloves? Also, do I need a three way switch or just a on/off one?
 
#9 · (Edited)
The answers to many of your questions can be found in my photo site. There's a good bit of information in the captions.
Homemade Heated Glove, Jacket & Boot Liners - kphenix's Photos

The wire is cheap. I'd go ahead and buy two 75ft rolls. The DPDT switch works by switching two sets of heating wire loops between series (50% power) and parallel (full power) so you'll have to isolate each half of the jacket liner and use two plugs.


If you want to use a simple on/off switch, you can experiment with longer loops of nichrome to reduce the maximum wattage so the jacket doesn't get too hot. Maybe start with 8ft loops instead of the 4.5ft loops that I use.

While we're on the subject of plugs, SAE trailer light plugs are cheap and easy available at any auto supply.


I have learned that I prefer the coaxial style plugs. You can get them at Radio Shack or buy the pre-made pig tail extensions from Warm & Safe.

While you're waiting for your wire to ship, here are links to pretty much everything I have written on the subject: :blah-blah: :sleeping: :sleep1:

QUICKIE ELECTRIC VEST - Rounders Bulletin Board

DIY HEATED GLOVE LINERS - Rounders Bulletin Board

WANNA TRY YOUR HAND (and patience) AT MAKING HEATED GEAR? - TWT Forums

Homemade Heated Glove Liners - ADVrider
 
#8 ·
I want heated gear!!!
 
#12 ·
Ken Phenix said:
CORRECTION: That's 1/16" shrink tube to cover the nichrome - not 1/8" and you'll need some larger tube to cover the crimp connectors after they have been soldered.

Also make sure your DPDT switch has a center off position.
Sounds good. One other question. What kind of shrink tubing are you using? Just the regular stuff or the kind with the adhesive in it?
 
#13 · (Edited)
Just the regular cheap stuff. It comes in 4ft sections. I cut the nichrome into 4.5ft sections to get around 15 watts. I thread it into a piece of tubing, clamp one end in a vise and gently stretch the tubing while I apply the flame/heat. A 4ft piece of tube will easily cover 6 or 7 feet of nichrome.
 
#14 ·
:dots: Here's a reminder that sooner or later all heated gear breaks.
It was around 40f this morning so I pulled out the old homemade gear for a test run. The right glove was dead and so was my old soldering gun. I made a trip to Harbor Freight Tools and this evening I located the break. I popped on a new crimp connector and filled it with solder (crimping alone won't hold the nichrome very well)



I covered the repair with shrink tube and replaced the stitching.



Good as new. :hello:
 
#20 ·
This is tempting, but I'd be starting from complete scratch. I dont even have my bike set up to run heated gear.
I'd start with a dual controller from either Gerbings or Warm & Safe for around $100. It comes with a fused harness to connect to the bike's battery. That will be your biggest expense - if you already have good winter gloves, boots & outer wear.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Thanks man! I'm working on my winter gear right now. I have smeared Sno-Seal into my boots. I am washing Nikwax into my jacket. And I just wired up another pair of gloves.

Oh and the base layer 3.0 is ready to go sans the heat in the sleeves that I didn't need anyhow.
http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/f15/kens-heated-base-layer-3-0-a-37714.html

The glove liners are nice and toasty inside my winter gloves plus I get to enjoy genuine Gore Tex waterproofing. No retail heated glove is currently available with Gore Tex as far as I'm aware. However, this winter I'm going to try something a little different as my priorities have changed a bit. I can live with the slightly more brittle nature of the high resistance nichrome wire I use and don't mind the occasional repairs. But as I do more Iron Butt riding, I realize the glove/liner setup takes longer to don and doff. So for the sake of saving precious minutes at those Iron Butt gas stops and after some research I have ordered some hippo-hands style handlebar muffs and heated grips. I will still carry the liners for redundancy.

I decided wire my old leaky Olympia gloves since I'll be able to hide them in the muffs. First I took a half day to make some glove forms out of dowel rods. They're not necessary but they do speed up the process.






 
#26 ·
NIce work Ken! I have shared your links on heated gear with all kinds of firends & co-workers.

A good friend from the engineering department is going to try a DIY heated gear build using "carbon heated tape" ..... have you looked into it yourself?

BTW .... I find your wooden hands super creepy! For halloween your should sport a long sleeved jacket with them and freak people out! :laugh:
 
#28 · (Edited)
HA! :laughing6-hehe: Yeah I had to walk around the house doing Schwarzenegger impressions.

I've seen some examples of the carbon strips in DIY gear over on ADV but for some reason nobody seems to follow up. The stuff is kind of expensive too. Besides the nichrome I have a ton of was cheap and I've already done the math.

Have your buddy log in here and we'll get to work.
 
#39 · (Edited)
#41 ·
Correct. FirstGear electrics are made by Warm and Safe. Just try to spring for the two knob controller if possible. Single units are $69 each and the double retails for $99. You'll be ahead of the game when you make of buy gloves.

BTW: The main difference between the major brand gloves is wattage. Gerbing's is 27 watts and W&S / FirstGear is only 15. I have ridden in conditions that overcame 15 watt liners. The liners I build now with two 54" strands of nichrome each are 30w.
 
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