Heating Systems for long dives

[dunny]

I currently dive using a lola heated vest and glove inserts which I think comes to 130 watts. I use the lola 10Ah battery which gives me about 90mins of heating. The good thing about the lola system is that it has 3 output settings. 33%, 66% and 100% which allows me to extend the battery life albeit at the loss of heat. With some serious dives on the horizon (3hrs in 6oC) I need to rethink my setup. I've manged 2hr 30mins before but ran out of power and those last 20mins of deco where pure misery.

The obvious choice was to move to the 28Ah battery from lola but they have now stopped making it. So I've been looking at other options, having some control of the power output is very important to me. I put the glove inserts next to my skin and it is possible to burn your hands and having to constantly toggle it on/off is a PITA.

The best option seems to be an ammonite thermo 24Ah, this gives more runtime and the option of 75% and 100% power. All of the Santi and LFM options seem to be on/off or require another controller inline which I would like to avoid. Does anyone know of anything else?

Would love the option of an E/O on my scooter since there are 24Ah of batteries sat there doing nothing on deco but haven't seen any DIY E/O connectors for that.

 

[Whitrzac]

Light monkey Pitkin
Running it off scooter Batts would require a voltage regulator to step it down to 12is volt.

 

[grantctobin]

E/O off your scooter is very likely a DIY solution involving a lathe, some EE experience, and a step down. Iirc Seacraft makes the only manufacturer supplied version.

If you’re getting 90min, you’re probably not pulling 130W off a 11.1V 10Ah battery.

Read the PDF from post 3 of the below thread for some other ideas. I’ll add that Fathom has started or will be started producing their own heat units.

Bottoms of feet cold (drysuit, 39F / 3.9C water)

I'm trying to dial in my exposure protection for winter Lake Tahoe diving. It gets down to (and is currently) 39F, pretty much from the surface on down. I've taken a number of steps to boost my thermal protection and have successfully done 90 minute dives at this temp without getting too chilly...

scubaboard.com

 

[broncobowsher]

UWLD
Have a look at his stuff. The battery pack runs a higher voltage, but look at the watt-hours. Since heat energy is measured in watts and not amps.
Nice thing is the controller throttles back the higher voltage so you get a consistent output even on high as the battery voltage sags.

 

[lermontov]

I currently dive using a lola heated vest and glove inserts which I think comes to 130 watts. I use the lola 10Ah battery which gives me about 90mins of heating. The good thing about the lola system is that it has 3 output settings. 33%, 66% and 100% which allows me to extend the battery life albeit at the loss of heat. With some serious dives on the horizon (3hrs in 6oC) I need to rethink my setup. I've manged 2hr 30mins before but ran out of power and those last 20mins of deco where pure misery.

The obvious choice was to move to the 28Ah battery from lola but they have now stopped making it. So I've been looking at other options, having some control of the power output is very important to me. I put the glove inserts next to my skin and it is possible to burn your hands and having to constantly toggle it on/off is a PITA.

The best option seems to be an ammonite thermo 24Ah, this gives more runtime and the option of 75% and 100% power. All of the Santi and LFM options seem to be on/off or require another controller inline which I would like to avoid. Does anyone know of anything else?

Would love the option of an E/O on my scooter since there are 24Ah of batteries sat there doing nothing on deco but haven't seen any DIY E/O connectors for that.

60f is pretty much the usual temp for my diving - i use a santi flex 2 and LM 20ah battery i dont turn the battery on til 70 min and i easily get 2 hours plus.
If youre turning it on at the start of the dive and running out on deco then your doing it wrong, theres literature out that demonstrates that you'll increase the risk of dcs that way

If you need more then consider getting a second battery to plug in on your deco - you could clip it on to the down line -or if you doing serious deco get support crew to bring it down to you

 

[bobmaggi]

What glove inserts are you using that get hot enough to burn if on continuously?

 

[Dave Whitlow]

E/O off your scooter is very likely a DIY solution involving a lathe, some EE experience, and a step down. Iirc Seacraft makes the only manufacturer supplied version.

If you’re getting 90min, you’re probably not pulling 130W off a 11.1V 10Ah battery.

Read the PDF from post 3 of the below thread for some other ideas. I’ll add that Fathom has started or will be started producing their own heat units.

Bottoms of feet cold (drysuit, 39F / 3.9C water)

I'm trying to dial in my exposure protection for winter Lake Tahoe diving. It gets down to (and is currently) 39F, pretty much from the surface on down. I've taken a number of steps to boost my thermal protection and have successfully done 90 minute dives at this temp without getting too chilly...

scubaboard.com

Dive Xtras offer 12w E/O power for Piranha (Smart Slice) and Cuda (Power Outlit kit). Both are supplier supported and available today.

 

[Dave Whitlow]

I currently dive using a lola heated vest and glove inserts which I think comes to 130 watts. I use the lola 10Ah battery which gives me about 90mins of heating. The good thing about the lola system is that it has 3 output settings. 33%, 66% and 100% which allows me to extend the battery life albeit at the loss of heat. With some serious dives on the horizon (3hrs in 6oC) I need to rethink my setup. I've manged 2hr 30mins before but ran out of power and those last 20mins of deco where pure misery.

The obvious choice was to move to the 28Ah battery from lola but they have now stopped making it. So I've been looking at other options, having some control of the power output is very important to me. I put the glove inserts next to my skin and it is possible to burn your hands and having to constantly toggle it on/off is a PITA.

The best option seems to be an ammonite thermo 24Ah, this gives more runtime and the option of 75% and 100% power. All of the Santi and LFM options seem to be on/off or require another controller inline which I would like to avoid. Does anyone know of anything else?

Would love the option of an E/O on my scooter since there are 24Ah of batteries sat there doing nothing on deco but haven't seen any DIY E/O connectors for that.

Light Monkey do batteries up to 30Ah and the Pitkin controller can extend battery life by running the heating at lower power (down to 30%). In the UK these are available through Deep Ideas, as are E/O power options for Dive Xtras scooters.

 

[dunny]

60f is pretty much the usual temp for my diving - i use a santi flex 2 and LM 20ah battery i dont turn the battery on til 70 min and i easily get 2 hours plus.
If youre turning it on at the start of the dive and running out on deco then your doing it wrong, theres literature out that demonstrates that you'll increase the risk of dcs that way

If you need more then consider getting a second battery to plug in on your deco - you could clip it on to the down line -or if you doing serious deco get support crew to bring it down to you

Yeah I don't turn it on until the way back up. If its a dive without a scooter I can normally make do on 66% and be absolutely fine even if I run out of power. But with the scooter, I think I get colder a lot faster since i'm going through the water faster and not swimming. On those dives it can get very cold on deco.

 

[dunny]

What glove inserts are you using that get hot enough to burn if on continuously?

LOLA Heated Glove insert

LOLA Heated Glove insert

www.golemgear.com

Those on 66% are hot. On full power it would burn my hands.