Make your own

[CrazyDave]

Make Your Own Heated Clothing

[Shadow ghost]

I read it and I think it's a great idea. Sweet little DIY. Would I do it? Heck no. My luck I'd miss some wire or down the road the wire would burn through the lining and I'd be a screaming version of ghost rider 😅


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[CaptCrash]

Electricity make Crash cry. Crash no like. If Crash tried Crash would taze himself...

[CrazyDave]

Originally Posted by CaptCrash

Electricity make Crash cry. Crash no like. If Crash tried Crash would taze himself...

Juice scares a lot of people.. by juice

GIVES MY CREATION LIFE!!

[Convict1997]

already did it. I took the easy route, though. I went to northern tool and got one of these:

12v Heated Travel Blanket


I cut off the controller since it turns off after a set amount of time, split the blanket open, and used the wiring inside. I purchased a single layer golf vest and did this:

Front


Back


In these pictures, the vest is inside out and the wires are just taped in place. I found out that the yellow wire was just carrying voltage to the thermistors and didn't actually heat up so I removed that part. Once I got the wires evenly spaced, I stitched them to the jacket every 6 inches or so. Then, a drop of fabric glue to ensure the knots don't come untied and it's done. I installed a cigarette lighter plug under the tank on the passenger side, just in front of the seat, and a switch on the handlebar to turn it on and off.

I forget the exact numbers but, based on the amperage listed on the blanket package, I think it came up to somewhere around 45-50 watts. Doesn't sound like much but this is plenty warm to allow me to ride in low 30's with just my leather jacket, the vest, and a t-shirt. Between the blanket, the vest, and varous wiring bits and pieces, I've got about $40 in it. Been using it since the end of last winter and haven't had any issues other than the anemic power reserve of the Aero. When idleing with the vest and the driving lights on, voltage steadily drops. For anyone using heated gear, I definitely recommend some type of voltmeter. Not the light thingy either. Something with numbers. You want to know that you're heading for a problem before you actually get there.

[Haze]

This is a great DIY project
Both inexpensive and very effective.
I wired up a jacket liner and a pair of glove liners. Pictures show
how I sewed 30ga wire into a pair of jersey gloves that I use as
liners to my gaunlet gloves. Did the same for my jacket liner.
Upholstery needle used to sew the wire into the jacket and gloves.
12V Cig socket used to power the gloves and jacket liner.
Used 2 PWM (pulse width modulator) to control the heat. The gloves are wired in series using 1 PMW for control. The other PMW controls the
jacket liner. All Electronics come pre assembled. I just stuck them in a
hobby box and attached the knobs.
Total cost $40.00


Glove liners

Finished Gloves

Tools

Parts

PMW Controllers

Finished Project

Cheers,
Haze


Original photos and written procedure by Ken Hastie:
http://www.hastie.org.uk/heatedjacket.html

[SuperiorKolours]

Originally Posted by haze

this is a great diy project
both inexpensive and very effective.
I wired up a jacket liner and a pair of glove liners. Pictures show
how i sewed 30ga wire into a pair of jersey gloves that i use as
liners to my gaunlet gloves. Did the same for my jacket liner.
Upholstery needle used to sew the wire into the jacket and gloves.
12v cig socket used to power the gloves and jacket liner.
Used 2 pwm (pulse width modulator) to control the heat. The gloves are wired in series using 1 pmw for control. The other pmw controls the
jacket liner. All electronics come pre assembled. I just stuck them in a
hobby box and attached the knobs.
Total cost $40.00


glove liners

finished gloves

tools

parts

pmw controllers

finished project

cheers,
haze


original photos and written procedure by ken hastie:
http://www.hastie.org.uk/heatedjacket.html

very nice!

[We trudge on]

Our method is easier than all of this. We simply wait until the weather is warm enough to ride. Brilliant...


We trudge on (warmly).

[MikeB]

When idleing with the vest and the driving lights on, voltage steadily drops. For anyone using heated gear, I definitely recommend some type of voltmeter. Not the light thingy either. Something with numbers. You want to know that you're heading for a problem before you actually get there.

Glad you put that in there, because I have seen posts where people talk about heated jackets, gloves and even booties, apparently without regard to total current draw. One solution, which may be best used in emergencies only, is a headlight cut-out switch which will free up 55W or so when the voltage is dropping. I have one on my Wee-Strom, but of course that still leaves me with one functional headlight. On a single-headlight bike it would have to be used carefully and only when traffic circumstances permit.

I'm assuming not many riders are out after dark in winter.

[wallasan10]

This is a very interesting thread.

I’ve shied away from heated gear for a number of reasons…

1. The cost. I’m a cheapskate; I’d rather spend my money on things like tires, oil and gas.
2. I don’t like the idea of being tied to the bike; I realize that the break-away connectors would do their job if I forgot to unplug them before I got off the bike but I just don’t want the hassle.
3. Anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong; warm clothing will stay warm but heated gear might not if it loses power or otherwise fails for whatever reason. Of course wet gear = all bets are off.
4. I don’t ride that much when the weather is that cold; my daily commute in only about 30 minutes and I can take just about anything for that length of time. Longer rides are scheduled for warmer weather.

But this thread has got me thinking. I looked on ebay and found the wire to be affordable. I ordered 30ft of wire for $8. I’ll play with it and see where it goes.