DIY Heated Coat

bennelson · 11-30-12, 02:28 PM

I don't have a basement, and my garage is detached and NOT heated (heck, I can see daylight through the walls in a few places...)

I've gotten sick of being cold while working outside on projects, so I built myself a heated coat!

Out of pocket costs was about $5. That was for a heated massaging seat cover from the thrift store. I can run the heated coat on wall power, car 12V power, and I even rigged it up to run off my Craftsman lithium drill battery!

DIY Heated Coat - YouTube

More on my blog. http://ecoprojecteer.net/2012/11/heated-coat/

Daox · 11-30-12, 06:07 PM

Interesting idea Ben. How well does that one pad/heating element work for keeping your entire body warm?

S-F · 11-30-12, 08:52 PM

How long does the battery last?

bennelson · 11-30-12, 10:28 PM

The heating element pad spreads out to a fair amount of the back pretty well. With the zipper closed, it does a fair job of heating the torso.

Having something in the arms of the coat would be nice too though.

I don't know how long the battery lasts... I haven't run it down yet. I don't know the exact AH rating of the battery, but just by looking at it, it must be at least 2 amp-hours minimum. The heater draws 3/4th of an amp, so a two hour run time should be no problem.

Even after a really bad snow storm, it's never taken me more than forty minutes to shovel the driveway.

AC_Hacker · 12-01-12, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennelson

I've gotten sick of being cold while working outside on projects, so I built myself a heated coat!

This is just such a great idea on so many levels!

I love the thrift store re-purposing angle, I like the DIY angle, and most of all, I like the angle that you brought the heat close to where it is needed, so you need less of it.

And multiple power sources, also.

Awesome, just awesome!

Best,

-AC

MN Renovator · 12-01-12, 07:02 AM

As long as you don't let any wires that would normally be a significant distance apart in the length of wire touch, it won't short out but you do need to be careful that you never get the beginning and the end of the length of wire near eachother.

Also if you aren't satisfied with the heat output at 12v you could always raise the voltage a few volts to add a little more heat. I might do exactly what you did but with my experience of using my 12v electric seat heater and the fact that most coats are insulated fairly well, I don't think I'd need to add additional voltage, I'll probably maintain the same switch for hi/lo and be sure to not run over the normal max voltage of a car's 12v system for the controller electronics to not burn up. That way you could still have control of reducing the heat. Although I'm not sure what method they use for the low setting, could be a crude 1 second on, 1 second off type thing. I have a mattress pad heater in my house that outputs 18.5v and uses a PWM where it will cycle every 2 seconds and vary the on time in increments so the lowest setting is about 1/4 second, wait 2 seconds, another 1/4 second. I'd imagine creating such a PWM circuit is possible but at the same time once you get warm, the coat has insulation and you could turn it off and wait until you are ready to turn it on to add a little warmth again as the temperature swing up isn't too fast.

Great idea Ben. There are some people who use a low voltage heated blanket setup with their EV to add heat to their battery pack in their EV in a similar way wiring up the wires under the cells and far away from any HV conductors.

I just need to find a coat to do this with, I don't want to cut up my daily coat since I don't usually get too cold in it unless I'll be outside for a long time. Might be a good thing to use a thrift store coat or a cheap Wally World one.

bennelson · 12-01-12, 08:42 PM

Part of the reason why I used this coat is that it was old and beat up, and I wasn't afraid to screw it up.

So far, for heating control, I just unplug it if I get too warm. Works fine. Nice and simple.

ecomodded · 12-02-12, 01:57 AM

That's a great Mod/Hack, they actually sell coats like that, powered by Milwaukee power tool lithium batteries.
Your not gonna find one for 5 bucks though, good idea!

bennelson · 12-02-12, 09:59 AM

Yep, I saw this one at the store the other night.

It looked really nice, other than the cost.

When I saw it, I had already wired up the coat and had it rigged for wall power and car power.

The Milwaukee jacket takes small lithium batteries from their cordless tool system. It reminded me that I had that ONE Craftsman 12V lithium battery, and then I rigged up the coat be able to run from that.

Daox · 12-30-12, 03:06 PM

Any updates on this Ben? Any tips for others looking to do the same thing?

11-30-12, 06:07 PM	#2
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Interesting idea Ben. How well does that one pad/heating element work for keeping your entire body warm? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-30-12, 10:28 PM	#4
bennelson Home-Wrecker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 546 Thanks: 3 Thanked 165 Times in 96 Posts	The heating element pad spreads out to a fair amount of the back pretty well. With the zipper closed, it does a fair job of heating the torso. Having something in the arms of the coat would be nice too though. I don't know how long the battery lasts... I haven't run it down yet. I don't know the exact AH rating of the battery, but just by looking at it, it must be at least 2 amp-hours minimum. The heater draws 3/4th of an amp, so a two hour run time should be no problem. Even after a really bad snow storm, it's never taken me more than forty minutes to shovel the driveway. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-01-12, 08:42 PM	#7
bennelson Home-Wrecker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 546 Thanks: 3 Thanked 165 Times in 96 Posts	Part of the reason why I used this coat is that it was old and beat up, and I wasn't afraid to screw it up. So far, for heating control, I just unplug it if I get too warm. Works fine. Nice and simple. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-02-12, 09:59 AM	#9
bennelson Home-Wrecker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 546 Thanks: 3 Thanked 165 Times in 96 Posts	Yep, I saw this one at the store the other night. It looked really nice, other than the cost. When I saw it, I had already wired up the coat and had it rigged for wall power and car power. The Milwaukee jacket takes small lithium batteries from their cordless tool system. It reminded me that I had that ONE Craftsman 12V lithium battery, and then I rigged up the coat be able to run from that. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-30-12, 03:06 PM	#10
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Any updates on this Ben? Any tips for others looking to do the same thing? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-01-12, 07:02 AM	#6
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 939 Thanks: 41 Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts	As long as you don't let any wires that would normally be a significant distance apart in the length of wire touch, it won't short out but you do need to be careful that you never get the beginning and the end of the length of wire near eachother. Also if you aren't satisfied with the heat output at 12v you could always raise the voltage a few volts to add a little more heat. I might do exactly what you did but with my experience of using my 12v electric seat heater and the fact that most coats are insulated fairly well, I don't think I'd need to add additional voltage, I'll probably maintain the same switch for hi/lo and be sure to not run over the normal max voltage of a car's 12v system for the controller electronics to not burn up. That way you could still have control of reducing the heat. Although I'm not sure what method they use for the low setting, could be a crude 1 second on, 1 second off type thing. I have a mattress pad heater in my house that outputs 18.5v and uses a PWM where it will cycle every 2 seconds and vary the on time in increments so the lowest setting is about 1/4 second, wait 2 seconds, another 1/4 second. I'd imagine creating such a PWM circuit is possible but at the same time once you get warm, the coat has insulation and you could turn it off and wait until you are ready to turn it on to add a little warmth again as the temperature swing up isn't too fast. Great idea Ben. There are some people who use a low voltage heated blanket setup with their EV to add heat to their battery pack in their EV in a similar way wiring up the wires under the cells and far away from any HV conductors. I just need to find a coat to do this with, I don't want to cut up my daily coat since I don't usually get too cold in it unless I'll be outside for a long time. Might be a good thing to use a thrift store coat or a cheap Wally World one.

12-02-12, 01:57 AM	#8
ecomodded Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Vancouver Island,Canada. Posts: 1,037 Thanks: 116 Thanked 100 Times in 87 Posts	That's a great Mod/Hack, they actually sell coats like that, powered by Milwaukee power tool lithium batteries. Your not gonna find one for 5 bucks though, good idea!

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