heated clothing

[Russbusa]

Due to the snow and pi**ing rain the bikes have remained under wraps in the garage so thoughts have been of the cold dry weather to come before summer finally arrives.
As i'm no longer a teenager (yes i know its a shock to some) I now have the ability to realise when I'm freezing up and its no fun to keep going, so I think to myself. . . . heated jacket...... Hmmmm how much !
Sod that for a lark because as soon as I get one karen will want one too, A quick spying mission on google, a quick chat with Mr Ohm about his laws and a small order to RS components later. . . . . .

2 heated jackets for the princley sum of,,,,,, wait for it , , , ,, £5

Most heated bike jackets are rated around 4 amps which courtesy of Mr ohm and his laws gives 65 watts of heat (bmw riders seem to prefer 90 watts but this will melt the chocolate bar in your pockets)

The magic teflon coated multi stranded wire has a resistance of 3 ohm for a 6 metre length which on my jackets zip out lining went up and down both front panels once, three times up and down the back panel and an extra loop across the lower back area. A fused line from the battery with connectors to the jacket, the lead in the jacket loops up into the internal pocket if you dont want it powered up.

The maths for those of interest :-
Voltage= Current x Resistance
Watts = Voltage x Amps

(With engine running)
13.8 volts = 4.6 amps x 3 ohm

13.8 x 4.6 = 63.48 watts

Plenty of heat to be a real benefit and keep you warm and for less than £3 a time not worth riding without it !

The wire is only 0.75mm thick so you dont notice it is in the jacket

[Russbusa]

I had a mate who was an electrician in america, they called him in to the jail to fix one of those chairs,,,,,,, he said to them " I'm not working on that, its a bloody death trap " !


12 volts aint gonna cause any grief in the rain unless its salt water and if its salt water it will give off a gentle mist of chlorine gas and keep the jacket nicely sterilised

[johnr]

maplin sell electrically heated clothing, gloves, shoe inserts, and waistcoats iirc.

[Russbusa]

I looked at the maplin waistcoat (£20 at mo) but it only heats the front panels and runs off batteries, fine for standing in the greenhouse but not man enough for us bikers. Most of the bike jackets are around 60 -65 watt, some go up to 90 watt but that is a serious heat output over time.

It was simple to thread the wire through the lining in the jacket, 2 crimps, some heatshrink, some cable and a connector later all sorted.

RS do the correct teflon coated cable for £10+vat for a 30m/100ft roll which is enough to do 5 jackets I'll dig out the part number if anybody wants it?

[Russbusa]

4 degrees here today and just done a ‎30 mile round trip on the 550 Kat, running sweet as a nut and the diy heated jacket working perfectly, it was warmer at 70mph on the dual carriageway than sat in Abergavenny drinking coffee !
After the traditional coffee pit stop I was glad to get back on the bike, feel that heat and feel like the kid on the ready brek advert with the glowing orange halo
I rode back up over the moutains where the temperature must have been around freezing but got home toasty warm

[Russbusa]

Its getting colder here again so i have made a few adjustments to the heated jacket, a little less resistance increases the heat.

I did the calculations after a few glasses of red wine and think i got it just about spot on this time, didn't feel cold at all