 |
Matronics Email Lists
Web Forum Interface to the Matronics Email Lists
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Michael Wynn
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 148
Location: San Ramon, CA
|
 Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 12:59 pm Post subject: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
 |
|
Hi all,
I am wiring up the seat heaters in my RV 8. I bought the option from Classic Aero when they made the seats. The heaters are carbon fiber and come from sports imports:
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/carbon-fiber-seat-heater-kit.html
They are set up with a switch that operates a solid state relay of some sort. The factory supplied switch wiring does not work at all with where I need to put the switches so I was going to rewire them. I am assuming that the relays don't draw a lot of current. My question is what size wire to use. B&C has a nice four wire cable in 22 gauge. For a three foot run, that should be fine as long as we are talking a couple of amps or less.
Has anyone measured the current draw for the switches in these seat heaters? Is there a simple way for me to do that? Maybe take a two ohm resistor, turn on the heater and measure the voltage drop across the resistor?
Regards,
Michael Wynn
RV 8 Wiring
San Ramon, CA
[quote][b]
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
_________________
Michael Wynn
RV 8
San Ramon, CA |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Michael Wynn
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 148
Location: San Ramon, CA
|
| Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 3:51 pm Post subject: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
|
|
Hey Chris,
I was going to use the relays and that part of the wiring. My issue is with the switch wiring. It is too short. I could spice in some length but thought I might as well solder at the switches and into their connector. You are probably right about the high setting. It's all I use in my car. I was just trying to figure the amperage going through the switch wiring. Should be negligible, since it just runs a relay.
Thoughts?
Michael Wynn
In a message dated 5/10/2011 3:10:03 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, rv8iator(at)gmail.com writes:
| Quote: | [img]res://C:\Program Files\Nuance\NaturallySpeaking10\Program\web_ie.dll/QMARK.GIF[/img][img]res://C:\Program Files\Nuance\NaturallySpeaking10\Program\web_ie.dll/ARROW.GIF[/img]Hello Michael,
The last RV-8 I built had the sports imports seat heaters. Each set (seat and back) require approx 100 watts. about 7 amps at 14v. You can re-wire but I recommend using their relay although any DPDT relay with contacts rated for at least 7 amps and a 14 volt continuous duty coil. You can substitute and SPDT switch rated for 7 amps or more for the high/low. Actually all you will use is Hi. The heaters work well but a warm flight suit is still required if you spend any time in cold air (below -10 C).
Chris Stone
Newberg OR
RV-8 No 2
| Quote: |
I am wiring up the seat heaters in my RV 8. I bought the option from Classic Aero when they made the seats. The heaters are carbon fiber and come from sports imports:
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/carbon-fiber-seat-heater-kit.html
They are set up with a switch that operates a solid state relay of some sort. The factory supplied switch wiring does not work at all with where I need to put the switches so I was going to rewire them. I am assuming that the relays don't draw a lot of current. My question is what size wire to use. B&C has a nice four wire cable in 22 gauge. For a three foot run, that should be fine as long as we are talking a couple of amps or less.
Has anyone measured the current draw for the switches in these seat heaters? Is there a simple way for me to do that? Maybe take a two ohm resistor, turn on the heater and measure the voltage drop across the resistor?
Regards,
Michael Wynn
RV 8 Wiring
San Ramon, CA
| Quote: |
ist" target="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List
tp://forums.matronics.com
_blank">http://www.matronics.com/contribution
|
====================================
List href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List
====================================
ms.matronics.com/">http://forums.matronics.com
====================================
tp://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/contribution
====================================
|
|
[quote][b]
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
_________________
Michael Wynn
RV 8
San Ramon, CA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest
|
| Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 4:39 pm Post subject: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
|
|
At 04:54 PM 5/10/2011, you wrote:
| Quote: | Hi all,
I am wiring up the seat heaters in my RV 8. I bought the option from Classic Aero when they made the seats. The heaters are carbon fiber and come from sports imports:
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/carbon-fiber-seat-heater-kit.html
They are set up with a switch that operates a solid state relay of some sort. The factory supplied switch wiring does not work at all with where I need to put the switches so I was going to rewire them. I am assuming that the relays don't draw a lot of current. My question is what size wire to use. B&C has a nice four wire cable in 22 gauge. For a three foot run, that should be fine as long as we are talking a couple of amps or less.
Has anyone measured the current draw for the switches in these seat heaters? Is there a simple way for me to do that? Maybe take a two ohm resistor, turn on the heater and measure the voltage drop across the resistor? |
How big is the switch wiring? You should be able
to extend the wires with the same gage of wire
with no concerns for actual current draw.
Bob . . . [quote][b]
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rv8iator(at)gmail.com
Guest
|
| Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 7:05 pm Post subject: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
|
|
Michael,
The pre-wired switch that is part of the heater package switches between 'hi' and 'low' and off. The relay switches the second heater element only. When hi is selected it energizes the relay coil to switch current to both the 'low' and 'hi' elements. The switch contacts only see the relatively low current of the low setting and the lower current of the relay coil. You can use a switch style CB to provide a means of disconnecting in the event of a malfunction, or a fuse and SPST switch.
Chris
On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 4:46 PM, <MLWynn(at)aol.com (MLWynn(at)aol.com)> wrote:
[quote] Hey Chris,
I was going to use the relays and that part of the wiring. My issue is with the switch wiring. It is too short. I could spice in some length but thought I might as well solder at the switches and into their connector. You are probably right about the high setting. It's all I use in my car. I was just trying to figure the amperage going through the switch wiring. Should be negligible, since it just runs a relay.
Thoughts?
Michael Wynn
In a message dated 5/10/2011 3:10:03 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, rv8iator(at)gmail.com (rv8iator(at)gmail.com) writes:
| Quote: | Hello Michael,
The last RV-8 I built had the sports imports seat heaters. Each set (seat and back) require approx 100 watts. about 7 amps at 14v. You can re-wire but I recommend using their relay although any DPDT relay with contacts rated for at least 7 amps and a 14 volt continuous duty coil. You can substitute and SPDT switch rated for 7 amps or more for the high/low. Actually all you will use is Hi. The heaters work well but a warm flight suit is still required if you spend any time in cold air (below -10 C).
Chris Stone
Newberg OR
RV-8 No 2
|
| Quote: |
ist" target="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List
tp://forums.matronics.com
_blank">http://www.matronics.com/contribution
|
[b]
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Michael Wynn
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 148
Location: San Ramon, CA
|
| Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 7:56 am Post subject: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
|
|
Hi folks,
I didn't understand that part of the heater current is running through the wires. I thought it was just controlling the relay. That being the case, I will definitely want to match the existing wires. Looks like time for a splice. The wires on the switch are somewhere around twenty gauge. The wire is automotive type, so it is a little hard for me to figure out exactly what size it is. If the max current draw is 5 amps, then twenty gauge ought to be fine.
Thank you all for your insights. I will get to work.
Regards,
Michael Wynn
RV 8 Wiring
San Ramon, CA
In a message dated 5/10/2011 8:06:57 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, rv8iator(at)gmail.com writes:
| Quote: | Michael,
The pre-wired switch that is part of the heater package switches between 'hi' and 'low' and off. The relay switches the second heater element only. When hi is selected it energizes the relay coil to switch current to both the 'low' and 'hi' elements. The switch contacts only see the relatively low current of the low setting and the lower current of the relay coil. You can use a switch style CB to provide a means of disconnecting in the event of a malfunction, or a fuse and SPST switch.
Chris
On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 4:46 PM, <MLWynn(at)aol.com (MLWynn(at)aol.com)> wrote:
| Quote: | Hey Chris,
I was going to use the relays and that part of the wiring. My issue is with the switch wiring. It is too short. I could spice in some length but thought I might as well solder at the switches and into their connector. You are probably right about the high setting. It's all I use in my car. I was just trying to figure the amperage going through the switch wiring. Should be negligible, since it just runs a relay.
Thoughts?
Michael Wynn
In a message dated 5/10/2011 3:10:03 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, rv8iator(at)gmail.com (rv8iator(at)gmail.com) writes:
| Quote: | Hello Michael,
The last RV-8 I built had the sports imports seat heaters. Each set (seat and back) require approx 100 watts. about 7 amps at 14v. You can re-wire but I recommend using their relay although any DPDT relay with contacts rated for at least 7 amps and a 14 volt continuous duty coil. You can substitute and SPDT switch rated for 7 amps or more for the high/low. Actually all you will use is Hi. The heaters work well but a warm flight suit is still required if you spend any time in cold air (below -10 C).
Chris Stone
Newberg OR
RV-8 No 2
|
| Quote: |
ist" target="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List
tp://forums.matronics.com
_blank">http://www.matronics.com/contribution
|
====================================
List href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List
====================================
ms.matronics.com/">http://forums.matronics.com
====================================
tp://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/contribution
====================================
|
|
[quote][b]
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
_________________
Michael Wynn
RV 8
San Ramon, CA |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
longg(at)pjm.com
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 8:30 am Post subject: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
|
|
Do Not Archive
Chris,
Ah, you CA folks have it made. I can only wish. I did the heated seat thing last winter but wished I had used thinner wire (gets hotter faster) and wrapped it around my feet so I could rid myself of the two useless blocks of ice I call my legs.
Heated seats are great and yes a great pair of shoes and a good flight suit are also necessary.
If you fly a lot in the cold, adding an old fashioned forced air heater is "still" the best option.
We'll it's May now and I'm beginning to get feeling back in my toes.
Enjoy,
Glenn
--
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rv8iator(at)gmail.com
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 9:54 am Post subject: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
|
|
Heat in front is great... But haven't seen an acceptable way to get it to the rear seat. The motorcycle guys have full electric heated suits... socks and all !!! A bit like suiting up for a ride in the Sled!
Here in Oregon... it's not the cold as much as the ice. Really don't want to be a test pilot for airframe ice studies...
chris
[quote]
Do Not Archive
Chris,
Ah, you CA folks have it made. I can only wish. I did the heated seat thing last winter but wished I had used thinner wire (gets hotter faster) and wrapped it around my feet so I could rid myself of the two useless blocks of ice I call my legs.
Heated seats are great and yes a great pair of shoes and a good flight suit are also necessary.
If you fly a lot in the cold, adding an old fashioned forced air heater is "still" the best option.
We'll it's May now and I'm beginning to get feeling back in my toes.
Enjoy,
Glenn
[b]
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
longg(at)pjm.com
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 10:21 am Post subject: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
|
|
Chris,
If your heating inlet control (inside the firewall) has an option for floor or defrost (front) you could Y off the floor outlet and send a 2" scat tube to the rear seat area - easiest/cheapest.
The other option I've seen is to scavenge the heat off the oil cooler (through a shroud) and instead of sending it overboard run it through the firewall to the seating area. Treat this like you would an old car, remove shroud in summer.
Glenn
--
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Eric M. Jones
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 565
Location: Massachusetts
|
| Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 4:05 am Post subject: Re: Modifying Seat Heater Wiring |
|
|
I haven't seen the seat heaters, but a question came to me:
Is the back side of the seat heater insulated and reflective? If not, why not? It would use half the power.
Eh?
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
_________________
Eric M. Jones
www.PerihelionDesign.com
113 Brentwood Drive
Southbridge, MA 01550
(508) 764-2072
emjones(at)charter.net |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
Get Email Distribution Too!
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
