how to make your own heated cloths – do-it-yourself

Everything but the Teflon wire, clothing material, and needle can be purchased from radioshack. All together the materials would cost you about 50 dollars, and you’ll have enough wire left over to make a jacket and more.


– 30ft of 30 AWG Teflon wire
– Some normal copper wiring (16 AWG)
– Connectors (See note 1)
– Ring connectors for connecting to the battery (See note 2)
– Fuse (Over 4 amps with just pants, over 10 if you make a jacket)
– Fuse holder (See note 2)
– An SPST switch (optional but recommended) (see note 3)
– Thermal underwear (or whatever you want to use)
– Cloth to make a lining
– A thick sewing needle


Note 1: You’ll want to chose a connector that can be can be quickly disconnected. This is for the cases where you forget to disconnect from the bike and you try to walk away. Rather than tearing anything apart, the connectors will just come apart. There is an instructable on how to make one that’s pretty cool. Here’s the . But if you don’t want to make one, you should get a coax type plug or maybe a quarter inch plug, like the ones used on guitars. The coax plugs are what is used on professional clothing. I have a bunch of bullet connectors laying around, so that is what I’m going to use.


Note 2: You can buy a pre-made battery harness with fuse holder for pretty cheap. It’s actually cheaper to buy the pre-assembled one than it is to make one unless you have the parts laying around. This second time around I’m using a pre-made one.


Note 3: You can also buy a pre-made switch which looks pretty nice and is waterproof. This is what I’m using this second time around:


Step 2
Theory
You can skip this part if you don’t want to know any of this.


This works on the same principal as a light bulb or a toaster. Pass electricity through a high resistance, and you get heat. In this case though, we are controlling how much heat the clothing will put out by varying the length of wire we will use. To figure out how much wire to use, we will use ohm’s law or


Current [Amps] = Voltage [Volts] divided by Resistance [Ohms]


The wire we are using has a resistance of .1 ohms per foot. So if we used 30 feet of wire, the total resistance would be 3 ohms. This is ignoring the resistance of the connectors and wire going to the battery but it should be negligible in our calculations. The voltage of most modern motorcycle batteries is 12 volts. So 12V/ 3 ohms = 4 amps. Now we know how much current our pants will draw.


So you want to know how hot this will be? Here’s an excerpt from this site


Power [Watts] = Current [Amps] x Voltage [Volts]


Based on our project consisting of a 12-volt battery and a current of 4-amps, the power consumption would be (4-amps x 12-volts = ) 48-watts. The heat output of 48-watts, can be expressed in British Thermal Units (BTU) per hour by performing the following conversion:


BTU / Hour = Watts x 3.413


Put simply, one British Thermal Unit (BTU) is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1-pound ( lb) of water 1-degree Fahrenheit. Thus the vest in our project would output ( 48-watts x 3.413 = ) approximately 164 BTUs per hour. If this value isn’t intuitive to you, consider that 48-watts is similar to a 50-watt light bulb, and imagine the amount of heat that a 50-watt light bulb outputs. That may not sound like much, but when that amount of heat is contained under a jacket, you will find that it is plenty warm.


Also, if you were to look at the power output of Gerbing’s heated pants, you’ll see that they put out 44 watts of energy, so our pants will be warmer than theirs. If you want to go even hotter than that, just use a shorter length of wire. Just remember ohm’s law and you’ll be all set.


Step 3
Threading the wire














After measuring out 30 feet of teflon wire, you’ll want to thread it through the pants. Plan your layout. Otherwise you’ll have a hard time figuring out where to put 30ft of wire. You’ll want to put most of the wire where the wind will hit you. So for me, I put a bunch on my shins, and on my thighs. Turn the pants inside out. If you are using thermals, it helps if you wear them to stretch them out, otherwise you’ll have a hard time putting the pants back on.


Measure out 15 ft (or the halfway point) and mark it. Now starting at the middle point of the crotch, feed the wire all the way up to your halfway mark. Now tie a loose nut or put some tape to keep the other half from passing through. Make your way down the inseam, and then follow the pattern that I drew below. You’ll want to finish around the waistband area. This is where we’ll attach a connector. Once you finished with the one pant leg. Repeat the process for the other pant leg with the other half of the wire.


This new layout is better as well because it doesn’t constrict the legs like the spiral pattern does. It makes it much easier to put the pants on.








Step 4Soldering the wires










After you have finished passing all of that wire through your pants, you’ll want to connect them to the thicker gauge wire. After I soldered them, I bent the thin wire down leaving some slack and taped it the the thicker wire. I did this to act as a sort of strain relief. If there is a better way to do this, please let me know.






Step 5Adding a connector



i





Now it’s time to add a connector to the end. Tie a knot in the thicker gauge wire and then pass them through the pants; the knot will act as a strain relief. Now solder and or crimp whatever connector you bought. Always make sure to put the female side on the bike.


After all of that is done, you’ll want to add a liner. This will serve two functions. One it will protect your wires and two, it will keep you from getting burned. Trust me, this wire gets hot, it WILL burn you…I found out the hard way. I think an easy way to do this would be to buy another set of thermal pants, and sew them on the inside.








Step 6Final steps










Now put together the female connector with the switch and fuse housing, and end it all with a ring connector on each end. To brake it down, take two lengths of your thick wire. Attach a ring terminal on one end of each wire. Now, connect one of those wires to the fuse housing, and the other wire to one of the terminals on the switch. Now attach another wire to the other terminal on the switch and have that go to one side of your female connector and the other end of your fuse housing to the other side of your connector. Don’t worry, I drew a diagram. And there you have it, your own heated pants. Now you can do the same thing for any other article of clothing you want to electrify.






Step 7More Info
If you want more info, just search “DIY heated clothing” in google. That’s how I learned about it. Below are links to sites that I think have good information.


Source :
http://www.mototour.us/technical/electricclothes.htm
 http://home.mebtel.net/~rbutterfield/Heat.html
http://www.shadowriders.org/faq/electricvests.html

Winter – Motorcycle Riding Tips

For some bikers, winter riding is simply not an option. For them, the bike goes into hibernation in the garage, protected by a thick layer of grease and covered by a tarpaulin until the spring shoots appear.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right kit, a little common sense, and some minor changes in your riding style, you can carry on riding safely through all but the worst of the winter weather.

Riding anytime of the year demands caution, however winter in particular can be treacherous. Almost half of Britain’s motorcyclists say that riding on icy, winter roads is one of the worst aspects of motorcycling. Below are some helpful hints together with a list of the common hazards that bikers may face during the winter months.

Wrap up against the winter

It may sound obvious, but investing in specialist winter riding gear can make a massive difference to your winter warmth and comfort. One-piece leathers are clearly the best as they offer less opportunity for the icy wind to find a way in. If you can’t afford these, make sure your layers overlap well.

If you can only invest in one piece of winter kit, then make it a quality pair of gloves. Modern technology has created a range of waterproof, thermally efficient gloves that will keep your hands warm and dry as you ride. Failing that, make sure you keep a spare pair of inner gloves in your pocket so you can change them if they get wet. The wet pair can then dry in your pocket from your body heat ready to be changed again.

Riding in the correct kit is not just a comfort issue either. If you’re wet and cold, you will tire more easily and will not respond as sharply to events around you. This is particularly true of cold fingers. Combine these slower reactions with the more hazardous roads of winter, and you’ve got more potential problems.

Respect the winter roads

From the autumn storms, when rain falls on roads which have accumulated grease and oil all summer, to the treacherous black ice of winter frosts, the riding conditions in winter demand your utmost respect.

The simple advice is to take it easy. Save your carefree open-road riding for those glorious summer mornings. In winter the conditions need as much care as you can muster. Not only will there be much less grip on wet and icy roads, you will also be challenged by the wind and the rain as you ride along. So use your lane, and give yourself space to adapt, adjust, and slow down. And if you have a long ride ahead, plan to stop and warm up along the way.

Stop, revive, and survive

It’s worth remembering that poor conditions affect everyone else around you too. Motorists, who struggle to see bikes at the best of times, are even less likely to see you when their windows are misted up. Even pedestrians become a real hazard, as they bow their heads to the rain or hunch up against the cold, leaving them prone to walk out in front of you without looking properly.

Wet Roads

Increase the breaking distance between you and other vehicles to account for wet and greasy road conditions. By increasing your distance you will get minimal spray of other vehicles and will be able to judge and anticipate other road users driving much easier. Watch out for wet leaves on the road. These can make the surface slippery and could make you lose control.

Vision

Bad weather such as fog or even low winter sun can restrict your view. Be aware of the hazards; ride to suit the road conditions.

Rider Visibility

Bikers need to be as visible as possible to other road users. By wearing reflective clothing it helps other road users to see you, especially on dark mornings and early evenings. By making contact with drivers using their mirrors, this also makes you visible to the driver.

Signal earlier

Signal earlier to give as much notice as possible to other road users of your intentions.

Lights

Check your lights regularly to make sure they are working. Also ensure your lights are visible and clear of dirt.

Tyres

Check your tyre pressure to ensure it’s suitable for winter riding.

Mirrors

In winter months, use anti-misting spray on your visor and mirrors.

Strong winds

Try to avoid riding in strong winds, however if it is absolutely necessary then be aware of hazardous objects being swept onto the roads such as carrier bags, boxes, branches of trees, cones etc.

If you do have to go out this winter on your bike, stay alert and ride well within your limit.

But For all the problems of winter riding, it still beats standing at a bus stop in the rain, or struggling to de-ice your frozen car every morning. With a little planning and a little care, you’ll be enjoying the sunshine of spring before you know it.

SOURCE:

Related articles

• Bad Weather Is The Least of Your Worries When You Ride Your Bike (motorcycleinsurance.com)
• motorcycling : Pleasure n Pain (hydro-carbons.blogspot.com)