Heated Undergarments

[rjack321]

Ummmmm...I'm old and forgetful, but IIRC it was $125.

Well Patco wrote back to me and they are alot more expensive now.

For the unsealed, 160ft rated, SLA powered single heater its $600
The sealed 500ft rated NiMH single heaters are $813

Both come in 25/35/50W verisons your choice. The pad alone in $126. I might go that route and build my own. I need another project anyway.

 

[JeffG]

Both come in 25/35/50W verisons your choice. The pad alone in $126. I might go that route and build my own. I need another project anyway.

Sorry, the price I quoted was just the pad.

The impulse connectors was $140 IIRC
I got my canister from a buddy that had an old Halcyon HID for ~$200 (He sold the head to someone else)

 

[nadwidny]

Sorry, the price I quoted was just the pad.

The impulse connectors was $140 IIRC
I got my canister from a buddy that had an old Halcyon HID for ~$200 (He sold the head to someone else)

Prices for us for the connectors has actually gone down a bit since we bought. I bought a bulkhead and some connectors this summer and paid $67 for the bulkhead and $48 and $46 for the 5/8 male and female connectors. Our cost in 2006 were $72 for the bulkhead and $52, and $50 for the 7/16 connectors.

For those interested the part numbers we used are as follows:

Bulkhead- Impulse IERD2F-BC-4
Male connector- Impulse IE2M-7/16 or IE2M-5/8
Female - Impulse IE2F-7/16 or IE2M-5/8

Most of my connectors are of the 5/8 flavour but they and the 7/16 are interchangeable.


http://www.impulse-ent.com/pdfs/IE2.pdf

 

[TSandM]

I've wondered a lot about the "DIR" approach to heated undergarments -- It seems to me that you have to plan for things to fail. If you plan a dive where you NEED the heat to do the dive, do you carry a spare canister somewhere in the team? Or do you only plan dives you know you could safely do without the extra heat, and just use it to be more comfortable?

BTW, unlike Richard, I have found my heated vest makes the difference between feeling cool at the end of an hour in the water, and actively shivering. That's a big difference for me, personally.

 

[JeffG]

I've wondered a lot about the "DIR" approach to heated undergarments -- It seems to me that you have to plan for things to fail. If you plan a dive where you NEED the heat to do the dive, do you carry a spare canister somewhere in the team? Or do you only plan dives you know you could safely do without the extra heat, and just use it to be more comfortable?

BTW, unlike Richard, I have found my heated vest makes the difference between feeling cool at the end of an hour in the water, and actively shivering. That's a big difference for me, personally.

We plan the dive as if the heater wasn't even there. The fact that it is there is a bonus.

 

[Rainer]

I've wondered a lot about the "DIR" approach to heated undergarments -- It seems to me that you have to plan for things to fail. If you plan a dive where you NEED the heat to do the dive, do you carry a spare canister somewhere in the team? Or do you only plan dives you know you could safely do without the extra heat, and just use it to be more comfortable?

BTW, unlike Richard, I have found my heated vest makes the difference between feeling cool at the end of an hour in the water, and actively shivering. That's a big difference for me, personally.

If you're using the heated vest to prevent shivering, do you consider the dives safe if the heater fails?

 

[JeffG]

I am missing a couple of shots. One is where the bulkhead is attached to the drysuit and the other is how the heating pad is held in place.

I have a hockey undershirt that I sewed a fleece pocket on my back. I stick the heating pad in that pocket.

The heating pad has a connector that hooks it to the bulk head (which is on/through the drysuit)

Here are the Impulse connectors.

The male is attached to the Canister

The female is the bulkhead which is on the drysuit.

 

[JeffG]

The heating pad and impulse connectors

Also, you can see the connector on the heating pad. I didn't install its partner on the bulkhead at this point. (I waited until it was on the drysuit.)

 

[JeffG]

The finished canister

 

[JeffG]

Here is the bulkhead on my suit.

Sorry, its hard to see.

But picture the canister on my belt, plugged into this bulkhead which is hooked up to the heater.