Burnt from a heated shirt "Thermulation"

[AYahoo]

Hi All, I wish to share with you my latest "experience" while diving in the Bahamas on a liveaboard last week.
I bought a heated shirt two years ago - here is the link to the product: thermalution.com

During the last two years, I was super happy with the product used it on many occasions (about 40-50 dives). but last week during my trip in a night dive, I felt something hot on my ribs, though I turned it on by mistake, so I pressed the button to turn it off, and then I felt like something was burning me alive under the water. I quickly understood that I have a problem with the shirt and had to take my BCD & wetsuit off, then take the shirt off and finish the dive. when I came up back to the boat I saw a nasty burn on my ribs, to be fair since I'm an experienced diver, I was able to keep calm and take everything off under the water, but I must admit that it wasn't pleasant.

on the boat, I saw that the battery connector that is located on the ribs was melted...

Now I thank god that it happened to me and not to my spouse since she also uses the shirt sometimes and she is NOT experienced and she would freak out underwater.

Now I contacted the company with the information and they tried to blame me for using the product wrong, I'm not sure how I forgot to use this product after 50 times, but maybe.

So please be careful using products like these they seemed harmless to me and that is the reason that I'm posting it, so people could understand how dangerous it really is, and how the company handles these issues.

Safe diving!

 

[Bubblesong]

Thank you for posting @AYahoo ! I have two second hand Thermalution shirts i am hoping will make diving more enjoyable for me and my daughter.
Can you tell me what Thermalution said exactly about “using it wrong”? Like wrong batteries? Not wetsuit rated? I know some are only for drysuit, different colors on switch tell the difference. I have heard people say to wear a shirt under the Thermalution, but that would not have helped you With an exploding Electrical.

 

[AYahoo]

Hi

Thank you for posting @AYahoo ! I have two second hand Thermalution shirts i am hoping will make diving more enjoyable for me and my daughter.
Can you tell me what Thermalution said exactly about “using it wrong”? Like wrong batteries? Not wetsuit rated? I know some are only for drysuit, different colors on switch tell the difference. I have heard people say to wear a shirt under the Thermalution, but that would not have helped you With an exploding Electrical.

Hi @Bubblesong,
the one that I bought was up to 70m diving gear (for wetsuit), according to their email, I might have bent the plug too much. but it got bent when I tried to pull the plug out (I tried to disconnect the battery from the shirt on the boat for fire safety). other than that they asked me to ship it back to them so they could investigate the reason it happened.

 

[flyboy08]

Electric..electricity under water? Not for me. Glad it wasn't worse!

 

[Kharon]

Electric..electricity under water? Not for me. Glad it wasn't worse!

Especially in salt water. Nope, nope, nope - not for me.

 

[Scuba J7]

Electric..electricity under water? Not for me. Glad it wasn't worse!

Especially in salt water. Nope, nope, nope - not for me.

I guess you guys are not a fan of dive computers or lights? Electricity can be used safely in water, and it’s my understanding that’s it’s even safer in salt water as it has less resistance than a human.

 

[flyboy08]

Yes, but not against my skin or in a manner I can't rid of it asap.....don't get me wrong, I've been using heated gear on my motorcycle for years, but I wouldn't in submerged water....tech just not there yet.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I guess you guys are not a fan of dive computers or lights? Electricity can be used safely in water, and it’s my understanding that’s it’s even safer in salt water as it has less resistance than a human.

If the batteries in my computers or lights fail, the odds of a 3rd degree burn are pretty low.

But agreed that electricity underwater isn't inherently the issue.

 

[Pinecube]

Have you ever used that heated shirt while not in the water? I don't know about this product specifically but some products are designed to use the water for heat dissipation. Without water the extra heat can cause wires/insulation to overheat and deteriorate.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Have you ever used that heated shirt while not in the water? I don't know about this product specifically but some products are designed to use the water for heat dissipation. Without water the extra heat can cause wires/insulation to overheat and deteriorate.

If that is the case, then the wires they are using are grossfully too small of a gauge.

This is simple Ohm's Law. I doubt Thermolution got that cheap with the wiring.