heated socks & gloves for working outdoors

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heated socks & gloves for working outdoors

Postby monzaaddict » Fri Jan 12, 2018 4:30 pm

I am working outdoors this winter and have been testing heated socks and gloves. There are various types that use small 3.7v/7.4v/9v etc. battery packs. They really do not work well - they do not get very hot, the batteries do not last 8 hours, and in the case of 9 volt type require new batteries daily.

I was talking with a friend who rides motorcycles and he was telling me about the 12v heat gear available ( jackets, pants, socks, gloves, etc.) and how well it works. I calculated how much energy each article of clothing uses and determined a jacket or pants were not feasible for portable use ( I would have to carry a car battery or generator with me). Socks and/or gloves seemed doable - but I would need a portable power source.

Googling showed me that the only type of battery that would work would be a lithium ion battery. They allow their energy to be released quickly. There are various small 12v lithium battery packs available but would require multiple batteries to be swapped throughout the day. They require relatively long recharging times and only offer up to 500 charge cycles.

I bought a Milwaukee 12 volt heated jacket. It works pretty good if you wear a thin shirt underneath it and then layer other jackets on top. I bought the jacket without a battery or charger and then bought a Milwaukee quick charger and 3 Creabest aftermarket 3.0ah batteries on Ebay/Amazon. I also bought a 5.5mm/2.1mm male/female extension that allowed me to move the battery from the rear battery pocket to a front pocket that is intended for a iphone. This allows the battery to be swapped in seconds without removing outer layers. The jacket has a heating zone that consists of the upper chest and upper back. A second heating zone consists of heated pockets. The jacket has a liner that absorbs and distributes the heat nicely to your core (the arms are unheated). Each zone has low med high settings. I usually use medium and occasionally high. I have never used the third battery in it's entirety. (note that although the batteries are marketed as 12v other than when fully charged they are actually 10.8v).

Milwaukee offers a battery upgrade for their 12 volt jacket based on their 18v m18 line of batteries and an adapter/power source that has outputs for true 12v and usb phone charger. This got me thinking that I could use these batteries and the adapter/power source with 12v gloves/socks.

I bought warm & safe 12v heated gloves and socks as well as a dual channel w/remote heat troller and 2 y cords. I also had to get a right angle 5.5mm/2.1mm male to 5.5mm/2.5mm female adapter.

With a 5.0ah m18 Milwaukee battery and adapter/power source I am able to use the socks OR gloves. The battery lasts all day. You absolutely need the heat troller as you will have burns on your feet if you leave the socks on high. If picking socks or gloves I would get the socks. When I tried to use both socks and gloves at he same time I blew out the electronics inside the adapter/power source - too much amperage draw.

I googled some more and found a step up/down converter that could take an input of 8-40v and output a constant 13.8v at up to 5 amp - Perfect! I opened up the Milwaukee adapter/power source and the battery adapter terminals stick up through the pc board.

The heat troller comes with a fused harness that is intended to be connected to the battery of a motorcycle. I cut off the eyelet terminals and soldered the wires to the Milwaukee adapter/power source terminals sticking up through the pc board. I spliced the step up/down converter into the harness so I would have 13.8v output. I plugged the dual channel heat troller into the harness output. The y cords from the sock liners and glove liners plug into the heat troller. Everything fits into a tool pouch that hangs off my belt.

This works great for me as I spend all day standing and watching others work. Plenty of heat. I usually keep the heat setting in the middle and will turn it up to full for short periods when extra heat is needed.

If picking socks or gloves I would go with the socks. For only socks or gloves, the Milwaukee adapter/power source will work as is just not with both socks and gloves together at the same time. The belt pouch is a little bulky but works for me.

The Milwaukee m18 batteries are sold by the millions and seemed safer than ebay/china no name batteries. The rapid charger is fantastic.
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Last edited by monzaaddict on Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:31 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: heated socks and gloves for working outdoors.

Postby monzaaddict » Fri Jan 12, 2018 4:43 pm

more pics
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