Funny how I asked about this kinda stuff on a forum full of electrical engineers and they gave me long, convoluted talks about how I should never attempt to make a personal heater without spending years mastering ohms law and studying 1000 page electrical textbooks. Meanwhile in a few minutes Robert gives me the exact barebones, functional information I need. Thanks again sir for all you do, you're a different breed of thinker, appreciate you 👍
Nice video. I found you by specifically searching for DIY infra-red heater, because I did not want to pay all that money for some lower power devices. Thank you a lot. You are indeed my spirit animal XD ^^.
I have an old wetsuit, so I'm going to try and make my own heated body suit by sowing in the single strand carbon throughout the suit. Nice and toasty in these cold winter months. What a good idea. Thanks for all you do.
Wonderful Video. When you have no lab-equiqment you can use DC Multifunctional Power Supply. They have an output from 3-12V or 9-24V so you can adjust the heat.
Thanks Rob, another great infrared video! If I remember correctly, standard solar cells for panels generate around 5 Watts each (you can buy "B grade" factory "faults" for next to nothing). So, have a bunch of those running into a few batteries throughout the day, and make some carbon fibre wallpaper. Sure, you won't be looking at huge temperatures, but it will hold a steady temperature keeping the room above silly temperatures during the evenings. And best of all, it can probably be done for a couple of hundred pounds, and will never need refueling. It's on my radar for a test project. If I get round to it I'll share the results.
Wow, ok, now I understand how the car companies do the heated seats! Love the battery connection and it's giving me ideas for a small portable emergency heater.
only come across this channel about 3 days ago absolutely love it has got me brain doing flips with ideas started building a perlite/peat/sand heat battery running on 15 watts amazed so far. BIG THUMBS UP
Fifth generation American , 1/4 breed of pure bloods , 3 countries dictators , one country Vanangians of Kievan Rus , Army of all nationalities ! That’s me !
What a great and SIMPLE heater ! Put the ribbon into a sand BATTERY and simply attach it to a SOLAR PANEL for some extra FREE HEATING this winter. CHEERS from Manitoba CANADA
What a great idea for a DUMP LOAD ! Preheat well water going into your HW tank. OR simply heating water for livestock via Solar or Wind AC/DC power....no electrocution worries at low voltages Thank for getting OUR minds thinking about this simple "heater" !! (FYI - I want to make make a heated steering wheel cover your video shows how easy that should be)
I have been watching your vids for awhile now. I also really like how you present them. Alot of good info covering all types of thangs and most of it is stuff i had always wanted to know, so thank you.
@@JW-YT thank you. I always find it difficult to find some of the main stuff that Robert uses. Looking up carbon fiber has led me know where. Some have nylon in it some have a coating over it. I don't want to waste money on something if I don't know for sure.
Just this week i watched an rc car try to catch fire because the ESC terminals were set into a CF plate. That apparently was an oversight from a company on a fairly mass produced product 😂 carbon also works as a faradays cage. Supercars apparently have the worst cellular reception lol
This is really cool! I've been designing nichrome heaters for years, but have never considered carbon fiber. I need to get some of this stuff and give it a try! I am very impressed with the content that you are creating. Keep up the good work!
Greatly useful info! Thanks!! One thing that might be helpful would be to give us the 'search terms' you use to find these awesome materials. Putting effective words into the search engine is a skill I am still working on. "uncoated carbon fiber roll 1 inch" on Amazon search gave me options, but left me feeling uncertain as to what would actually work.
any carbon fibre mate - you only have to worry about the coating burning off - so plug it in outside for a bit and it will have burnt off - if yo buy uncounted you don't have to do that - but there are carbon fibre sellers who will tell you if it is uncoated or not - you don't need to use amazon
You could easily use a PWM module that you get from the auto recycler. It's used to control the brightness of the instrument lights in a car, so it's designed for 12V power, and a few amps!
Looks ideal as a homebrew heating belt for demijohn or bucket. When they are now selling mains voltage heating belts for around £25 these days. I have had an old homebrew heating plate and a belt both expire with a puff of smoke in recent years.
@@alanwakefield2453 I have a small bench power supply a while ago. The sort they use in schools. It was dirt cheap at the time, because it was a 220v version. So just I added one of the small plug sizes step down transformers.
Can I ask how you would do that? I have a USB point in my car, and I was considering running something off that to provide heat to a pad in a similar fashion shown in the video. I wasn't sure what I'd need inbetween the USB port and the carbon/fabric to replicate the negative and positive terminals in the video. Any pointers would be appreciated, thanks.
I have slept in my van for the last 7 years... this morning it was 32 degrees F inside of my van when I woke up at 05:30. I have a Chinese Diesel Heater that I kick on and it only takes 20 minutes or so to warm the old Cube Van up. I do have a Bidderord 120 volt Heated Mattress Pad that keeps me nice and warm...but I would love to have something like this to hook to my 12 Volt Solar setup ! Now I need to find out where to buy some of this flexible Carbon Fiber material ! Great video Robert !
This would be good for a temporary window defroster to add to a vintage automobile. It would also make an excellent seat heater for cold winter mornings.
Brilliant!! This solves a problem I been pondering on lately as temperatures are dropping like a rock. My first idea was to use a liquid which heats up with chemical reactions but as you could imagine that is stupidly dangerous if you get a chemical run away reactions. This however your idea is controllable and safe. Nice! 🥵🥵
Man, you keep giving me ideas. This has probably become my favorite channel. I watch almost every new video I see in my feed. Thanks again. As a motorcyclist, I could see making some clothing, socks, thermal underwear, etc. If 12v is enough to get some warmth, it could be plugged right into the bikes power. If you want a few more volts, I assume you can just wind a small induction coil and add it to your circuit. I really need to get my old college textbooks out and review the stuff. I'm curious if you did any tests to find out the wattage per foot, per degree of temperature increase, and I wonder how long an 800amp car battery would power say a 12 foot section sewn into a sleeping bag and still have a decent amount left to start an American V8... I realize there a lot of variables. I would just be curious as to a best guess.
Not if there isn't any way for the strip to fold in on itself and for the leads/crimps to touch each other. Both sand and air are inherently electrically insulating at these voltages and amps. The tape is recommended if it is possible for the leads/crimps can potentially touch each other. For the method you are using, I personally would use cheaper and more heat resistant Nichrome wire--probably wrapped around copper pipe. If wrapping the Nichrome wire around the copper pipe, be careful though to make sure neither the crimps/leads nor wires carrying the electricity from the source to the crimps/leads touch the copper pipe. That can also short the electrical source. To make sure this doesn't happen, you can just use silicone caulk to cover the crimps/leads. You don't need to tape the whole thing, etc.
Carbon fiber provides a better greater surface area, but is more expensive than nichrome wire and the latter can handle higher temps without degrading. For something like gloves--a fairly small amount of material needed, yeah, I would probably use the carbon fiber. That way, you could even get wider cloth and cut out a mitten or glove shape of the carbon fiber cloth and get a really even, full coverage of heat. (If you do that, best to tape off or silicone caulk the edges of the cloth so that it stays together better. It unravels fairly easily, especially in wider cloths).
this is such a cool video. currently researching infrared sauna heaters and. really want to build my own. electrician by trade so. cant stand the prices sauna companies want for heaters.
you have probably covered this before but i tried just using the thinnest wire i could find laying about wrapped about 10 meters of it around my gloves and connected it to an 18650 battery ,it got to a cosy 35 degree in about 3 minutes i might try stitching some suitable wire into jacket liner and make me a heated jacket
Yes I want to make a water heater. I think I can wrap the water cylinder in carbon fibre rope with Kapton tape on cylinder first then on top to keep the rope apart but I may need high voltage to heat a 50 foot length.
You can get a used computer power supply, fairly cheap, add ribbons to add more area,more current using switches , for more heat, or switch between series and parallel for more heat, pull more current, more heat, I got a 12,v 36a supply, two for about $18, or adda dc motor controller to crank up the heat, or even a decent size dc converter!
Hi Robert, was quite skeptical about leaving a comment in here in case you won’t see it, but I realised you’re getting back on most of these comments. Firstly thanks for these informative videos, I’m in a progress of crating a heater using carbon as the main heating element i have few questions and wondering if your available for a chat . I greatly appreciate your expertise and experience in creating heaters. Let me know if a chat is an option … thanks
This would work for simple heating tape for pipes in like the laundry room, with the plastic coating of teh tape, you are waterproofed within reason. could help with pipe bursts in freezing temps.
Your's is far and away the best YT channel. Also, where're the links to your ohms law vids in the description? I think u forgot ro add them, or, I am too stupid to be able to find them 😄
Robert, this video is giving me a lot of good inspiration!! Just wondering, if I'd like to make a flexible heating blanket of lets say 150x150cm that needs to become about 50-60 degrees celcius, would a single sheet of carbon fibre be a good idea? Saves a lot of work compared to putting all these thin carbon fibre bands in some spacing on a flexible sheet.... And how would the edges be conected to the wires...ribbon clamps are a bit to small :)
@@martinsaint9999 speak for yourself 🙂 I'm working on carbon capture, off grid hydro power and creating homes for those without.. As well as reinventing the wheel, or car as a whole, every aspect. Much needs to change with our ever growing population, from the ways we produce and consume power, to what we do with our waste. I just need to be heard, I'm a one man army, repeatedly told my lofty goals aren't my problem to fix...
Opens up a whole host of possibilities, heated screen wash bottle & pipes to name but one, a lot simpler (and possibly cheaper) than ribbon trace cables. Next step to investigate might be simple temperature control.
You could also rig it up with a moveable contact to control the distance between the two contacts, but that seems more difficult. Another idea would be to run different lengths at the same power, I think.
I'm thinking get a straight piece of copper pipe, wrap this around it and have a water heater. If you could get that drawing 2 or 300 watts say and connect it to a single radiator. So it recirculates Like converting a radiator to electric with a heating rod, you could do this with some kind of thermostat and have a very cheap to run electric radiator.
I guess oil heaters could move to conductive carbon felt or something cheap like that to make heat. Though you could make a sand battery radiator heater using carbon heating elements.
Hot Pants or 'willy warmer' haha brilliant! Used carbon fibre fishing rods for years they come with a warning... don't use them under power line they are conductive!
incidentally the reason I have all that wide Kapton tape is for 3D printer work, and making flexible circuit boards by putting thin sheet of copper on it and spraying the copper so I can engrave the paint and acid etch it, and if needed lay the kapton over the etched area too so I can adhese another layer of copper circuit the same way before sealing it all in with circuit components :)
Good idea, it has a higher melting point than nichrom too so, easy diy kiln? I kinda want to coat it in clay and fire it to make a ceramic space heater lol. Wait, if carbon fiber can conduct it can make a magnetic field cant it? Would make electric motors much lighter.
I am not technically minded so I don't understand the watts amps bit. And I was thinking that, because of its flexibility, it might be a good way to create cost effective, efficient and, with a thermostat, controllable underfloor heating without massive building disruption as in water based underfloor heating?
This is a great idea. I have been looking to add heating to my motorcycle gloves cheaply and this is a great way. Would there be a problem if I was to bend an induction coil inside the palm and use it to get power from another coil around the handle bar rather than battery power this? Wondering if the conductive element might interfere with the power transfer?
@@ThinkingandTinkering thank you, I have heated grips already but they heat the palm but not the place the cold air comes against the back of the hand, and every time you touch the break or clutch you lose all the heat and have to start again.
you don't need the tape if you are going to put it into clothes mate - you only need the tape if it is stand alone to prevent it crossing over - unclothes you just sew it in so it can't do that
Hi Rob. Big Clive has done a couple of videos on re-using the li-ion cells from discarded disposable vape pens recently. It might be another way to power something like this, especially for smaller items like gloves or hats where having a large battery pack would be a disadvantage?
@@guesswho399 Yep. They have rechargable cells just no charging circuitry. It's a shocking waste that they are just thrown into landfill when the battery is exhausted.
If i wanted to sew this into a hand sewn heating pad, what would i need to attach it to a cord that can be plugged into a wall Instead of a battery? (I would use a temperature-regulated thermostat).
You need to map out where the blood vessels come to the surface of the body, so then you know where is best to sew in the heating element for the most efficient heat exhange. I'm thinking the back of calves, and inside of the fore arms.
Good question. I would want to see the specs of a comparable setup to try and figure it out. He told use the voltage and amperage so we can calculate resistance for comparison. From there I would look at whether commercial rigs have circuits to limit power draw from the battery, lowering output but extending duration. The 8 hour life could only be a marketing gimmick based on use at an ultra low setting, right? I like the question though. There certainly are a bunch of different heating elements you could use but these materials are mostly readily available to the average viewer. I love these ideas!
Probably they are using significantly lower voltages/amps and only heating to something like 95* F or so, which is around (slightly above) the temp of outside of skin. The less draw, the longer the battery will last. If you're putting this within/below insulation, you don't really need to heat it much since the insulation will be "trapping" both the heat of the heater and of your own body. (Trapping not the best term, more like slowing down the exchange of energy from outside to inside rather). Also, they are using new lithium ion batteries which have higher energy density per volume and mass. Especially as compared to a 9 volt alkaline battery or an old, probably LiFeP0, tool battery. Those times may also be slightly optimistic and within best case lab conditions i.e. non real world conditions. Bring that out into an interior Alaskan cold winter day with -40 or colder and doubt it will last as long because there will be more and faster energy exchange (or "heat loss").
because they don't get that hot - energy consumption and heat are related - more heat more energy less heat less energy - if you don't get it hot it will last the same time - anyway you don't want it hot - warm is good enough
The applications are endless. I'm thinking inexpensive heated handlebar grips for the motorcycle and in a sleeping bag or sleeping pad. Just have to figure out the battery situation (how big to get a good 6-8 hour sleep without having to switch batteries). Thank you!
@@ThinkingandTinkering sorry to be a bother, but do you think that carbon felt is conductive? I was thinking about trying a few experiments with that and a variable voltage DC power supply for tattoo machines. Any thoughts?
@@ThinkingandTinkering I've been out trying this for an hour in my shop and get nothing. I ordered a 0-18v 1.5a dc power supply from Amazon. It's meant for tattoo machines. Nothing is happening except the lcd screen on the power supply just blinks. Any ideas?
Please do a vid, on which we should use, Gas or Electicity to heat our homes, my place is gas heating, but with electric pumps, or should i be heating individual rooms that are occupied with an electric heater ? i ask you, as you are much more in tune with this stuff than i am,
We have no gas in our village so I have individual heaters in the rooms. I actually think it is better than central heating as you can warm the rooms you want to. I have a separate water heating tank
Rob mentioned that it is more important how the heater heats than the source of heat. Conduction, radiation or convection heat. Electric infrared heaters in the occupied room are very efficient. Gas heating often heats the air in the room thru convection, which is very inefficient. Heating one room is more efficient than heating rooms that aren't being used if the same type of heating is used. He talks more about this in his previous videos on heating. Cheers.
@ThisorThat I have an infrared heater in my bedroom which I put on shortly before going to bed. An electric blanket too. Unfortunately a convector heater in the lounge but it is thermostatically controlled.
My one concern is might the resistance at the clip change over time. If the contact at the clip loosens the resistance and heat generated at the clip increases.
they crimps mate - crimps count as a permanent connection in the 18th regs I believe - but if it worries you fix the crimp to the base cloth and sew the tape to the same cloth - potential problem solved
@@ThinkingandTinkering my fear is just a fear of the unknown, over time, might the carbon oxidize at the crimp. It's something I'd watch for. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing and everything will be fine, but oxidation of aluminum wires at unprotected crimp has been known to set homes ablaze.
Great video, very inspiring. Do you have any data on: at which Voltage/Amperage say, one meter of this stuff, 1 cm diameter, would break down? Without the insulating coating of course.
Would it be possible to use this material for cooling? How can we get the opposite effect? A cooling headband would be nice to relief some fever symptoms I'm experiencing right now. Can this be turned into a peltier device?
Question: at 2:20, you mention it's drawing 1.1 ma - is that correct? I would think it would be 1.1 A (amps) for about 10 W Otherwise, it would be 0.01 Watts, which sounds very low for a heating element.
Noticed that further in, you do mention Amps, so it was just a mis-speak. Question, would you address the length vs the current use? With the example of the LiIon battery pack: if you doubled the length of the element, it should be a lower heat, but last twice as long. I haven't worked with carbon fiber, but Ohm's law should still be valid, unless there something weird with how the resistance shows up because of multiple/ parallel fibers.
@@ThinkingandTinkering Can you talk to the IR emission spectrum? I've been studying photobiomodulation and there are specific spectral bands that more active biologically, and others that mainly excite water and appear as sensible heat
Robert, you are breaking the barriers one by one! Good job 👍
cheers mate
Funny how I asked about this kinda stuff on a forum full of electrical engineers and they gave me long, convoluted talks about how I should never attempt to make a personal heater without spending years mastering ohms law and studying 1000 page electrical textbooks. Meanwhile in a few minutes Robert gives me the exact barebones, functional information I need. Thanks again sir for all you do, you're a different breed of thinker, appreciate you 👍
Nice video.
I found you by specifically searching for DIY infra-red heater, because I did not want to pay all that money for some lower power devices.
Thank you a lot.
You are indeed my spirit animal XD ^^.
I have an old wetsuit, so I'm going to try and make my own heated body suit by sowing in the single strand carbon throughout the suit. Nice and toasty in these cold winter months. What a good idea. Thanks for all you do.
Just don't go swimming 😆
@@yippykaiyay012 sounds more like a challenge than safety advice 🤣🤣
D.C. works underwater so you should be safe
Sounds like it might turn out to be a sauna suit.
@@yippykaiyay012 Especially iun salt water LOL
Wonderful Video. When you have no lab-equiqment you can use DC Multifunctional Power Supply. They have an output from 3-12V or 9-24V so you can adjust the heat.
Thanks Rob, another great infrared video!
If I remember correctly, standard solar cells for panels generate around 5 Watts each (you can buy "B grade" factory "faults" for next to nothing).
So, have a bunch of those running into a few batteries throughout the day, and make some carbon fibre wallpaper. Sure, you won't be looking at huge temperatures, but it will hold a steady temperature keeping the room above silly temperatures during the evenings. And best of all, it can probably be done for a couple of hundred pounds, and will never need refueling.
It's on my radar for a test project. If I get round to it I'll share the results.
Do you know about the conductive ink? That may be a better idea...
that's a clever idea mate - please do share if you do it
Under floor heating sheets would do the same job.
@@davidsoulsby1102 not as cheap though
interested
Wow, ok, now I understand how the car companies do the heated seats!
Love the battery connection and it's giving me ideas for a small portable emergency heater.
nice
only come across this channel about 3 days ago absolutely love it has got me brain doing flips with ideas started building a perlite/peat/sand heat battery running on 15 watts amazed so far.
BIG THUMBS UP
Thank you for teaching the rest of us about the principles of electronic & mechanical engineering.
I am glad you liked it mate
Good Heavens! I've 60 plus years in my rear view mirror and yet YOU inspire me to think of what could be! Thank you, Sir! You stir my mind.
oh wow - cheers mate and thanks for taking the time to say that
Pause , Hei Hello from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan , where people still build things themselves !
I used to work in Grand Rapids. People are a little crazy stuck out there away from civilisation.
Greetings from Ukraine!
the same here, most ukainian people used to do things by themselves 😉
We are Civilization ! Everywhere else is messed up !
Fin?
Fifth generation American , 1/4 breed of pure bloods , 3 countries dictators , one country Vanangians of Kievan Rus , Army of all nationalities ! That’s me !
What a great and SIMPLE heater ! Put the ribbon into a sand BATTERY and simply attach it to a SOLAR PANEL for some extra FREE HEATING this winter. CHEERS from Manitoba CANADA
What a great idea for a DUMP LOAD ! Preheat well water going into your HW tank.
OR simply heating water for livestock via Solar or Wind AC/DC power....no electrocution worries at low voltages
Thank for getting OUR minds thinking about this simple "heater" !! (FYI - I want to make make a heated steering wheel cover your video shows how easy that should be)
nice one mate - great suggestion
I have been watching your vids for awhile now. I also really like how you present them. Alot of good info covering all types of thangs and most of it is stuff i had always wanted to know, so thank you.
Used carbon fibre for years. Never knew it was conductive :D
Every days a school day. Great stuff.
Were do you get your carbon fiber?
@@shellymitchell9660 I stay in Glasgow. There's a car accessory shop that sells it, they're just down the road from me.
awesome mate - glad it helped
@@JW-YT thank you. I always find it difficult to find some of the main stuff that Robert uses. Looking up carbon fiber has led me know where. Some have nylon in it some have a coating over it. I don't want to waste money on something if I don't know for sure.
Just this week i watched an rc car try to catch fire because the ESC terminals were set into a CF plate. That apparently was an oversight from a company on a fairly mass produced product 😂 carbon also works as a faradays cage. Supercars apparently have the worst cellular reception lol
Looks like a great way to warm seeds for sprouting.
Great idea, @brianconnell3652! Cheaper than a seed starting mat and you can customize it for your use.
for sure
This is really cool! I've been designing nichrome heaters for years, but have never considered carbon fiber. I need to get some of this stuff and give it a try! I am very impressed with the content that you are creating. Keep up the good work!
you should mate - it seems ideal for personal heater whereas nichrome seems better suited to appliances to me
This is probably the most useful DIY project ever
about to make the homies some gloves for Christmas
Oh your a fun guy, just a wee bairn in a sweetie shop. Hurrah, for growing old but never growing up Robert. Keep em coming.
Greatly useful info! Thanks!! One thing that might be helpful would be to give us the 'search terms' you use to find these awesome materials. Putting effective words into the search engine is a skill I am still working on. "uncoated carbon fiber roll 1 inch" on Amazon search gave me options, but left me feeling uncertain as to what would actually work.
any carbon fibre mate - you only have to worry about the coating burning off - so plug it in outside for a bit and it will have burnt off - if yo buy uncounted you don't have to do that - but there are carbon fibre sellers who will tell you if it is uncoated or not - you don't need to use amazon
Hi Hippie I had the same problem ,search uncoated carbon fibre cloth or woven cloth worked for me (ebay)
Aliexpress, takes a lot longer to arrive but better prices. They have every type you could imagine
You could easily use a PWM module that you get from the auto recycler. It's used to control the brightness of the instrument lights in a car, so it's designed for 12V power, and a few amps!
Looks ideal as a homebrew heating belt for demijohn or bucket. When they are now selling mains voltage heating belts for around £25 these days. I have had an old homebrew heating plate and a belt both expire with a puff of smoke in recent years.
And for seed propagators!
@@waveydavie Yes, £25 to £30 for a seed tray sized heated propagator seems excessive to me. When you can get a dog bed heating pad for less than £10.
@@waveydavie I've asked the question about connecting it to the charger for this use so you don't have to keep changing the battery.
that would be a good use mate
@@alanwakefield2453 I have a small bench power supply a while ago. The sort they use in schools. It was dirt cheap at the time, because it was a 220v version. So just I added one of the small plug sizes step down transformers.
We produced a heating sole a few years back with knitted carbon fibers. It did work pretty well but didn't really sell
Totally a parody:
We produced a heated soul a few years back, by sending it to Hell. But, it didn't sell very well.
😂
I can see how it could've been a soul destroying experience.
might be time to relook at that mate - or use them as pads in clothing
@@kennethbain4290 Charlie Chaplin had fillet of boot sole.
Hot soul tends to get funky.
Very nice! I bet it would work perfect under water 💦!
Thank you for the video! It rapidly answered my questions from two days ago about heated clothing.
cheers mate
Absolutely love this one. Going to do this with a 5V usb setup.
awesome
Can I ask how you would do that? I have a USB point in my car, and I was considering running something off that to provide heat to a pad in a similar fashion shown in the video. I wasn't sure what I'd need inbetween the USB port and the carbon/fabric to replicate the negative and positive terminals in the video. Any pointers would be appreciated, thanks.
Now that's exciting that is a huge help especially for people who sleep in their vans or camping. 18 volts out of my drill? Yes great ideas.
I have slept in my van for the last 7 years... this morning it was 32 degrees F inside of my van when I woke up at 05:30. I have a Chinese Diesel Heater that I kick on and it only takes 20 minutes or so to warm the old Cube Van up. I do have a Bidderord 120 volt Heated Mattress Pad that keeps me nice and warm...but I would love to have something like this to hook to my 12 Volt Solar setup !
Now I need to find out where to buy some of this flexible Carbon Fiber material !
Great video Robert !
heers mate
This would be good for a temporary window defroster to add to a vintage automobile. It would also make an excellent seat heater for cold winter mornings.
good idea
seat warmer gets my vote mate!
I like this one, simple but effective, well done rob !
cheers mate
Very cool Robert!! Solved the issue of lens heaters for astrophotography being astronomical in price! Very much appreciated sir.
oh awesome - never occurred to me mate - cheers
Every day learning with you
cheers mate
Brilliant!! This solves a problem I been pondering on lately as temperatures are dropping like a rock. My first idea was to use a liquid which heats up with chemical reactions but as you could imagine that is stupidly dangerous if you get a chemical run away reactions. This however your idea is controllable and safe. Nice! 🥵🥵
Man, you keep giving me ideas. This has probably become my favorite channel. I watch almost every new video I see in my feed. Thanks again.
As a motorcyclist, I could see making some clothing, socks, thermal underwear, etc. If 12v is enough to get some warmth, it could be plugged right into the bikes power. If you want a few more volts, I assume you can just wind a small induction coil and add it to your circuit.
I really need to get my old college textbooks out and review the stuff.
I'm curious if you did any tests to find out the wattage per foot, per degree of temperature increase, and I wonder how long an 800amp car battery would power say a 12 foot section sewn into a sleeping bag and still have a decent amount left to start an American V8... I realize there a lot of variables. I would just be curious as to a best guess.
have a look at the videos I linked at the end of this mat - they should help tremendously
@@ThinkingandTinkering TY. I should have been listening better.
Do you need to tape this to keep it from shorting if you bury a couple straps in a sand battery and attach them to a solar panel of sorts?
Not if there isn't any way for the strip to fold in on itself and for the leads/crimps to touch each other. Both sand and air are inherently electrically insulating at these voltages and amps. The tape is recommended if it is possible for the leads/crimps can potentially touch each other.
For the method you are using, I personally would use cheaper and more heat resistant Nichrome wire--probably wrapped around copper pipe. If wrapping the Nichrome wire around the copper pipe, be careful though to make sure neither the crimps/leads nor wires carrying the electricity from the source to the crimps/leads touch the copper pipe. That can also short the electrical source. To make sure this doesn't happen, you can just use silicone caulk to cover the crimps/leads. You don't need to tape the whole thing, etc.
only if it is moving - if it is fixed by sewing or weight of sand - no need for it
Is it for heat storing sand battery?
I think I would stretch a few strips under the bed sheets. The hot coals leave spots. 😉
lol - they do indeed lol
Awesome! Was considering making a pair of gloves with nichrome wire but this stuff seems much better!
Carbon fiber provides a better greater surface area, but is more expensive than nichrome wire and the latter can handle higher temps without degrading. For something like gloves--a fairly small amount of material needed, yeah, I would probably use the carbon fiber. That way, you could even get wider cloth and cut out a mitten or glove shape of the carbon fiber cloth and get a really even, full coverage of heat. (If you do that, best to tape off or silicone caulk the edges of the cloth so that it stays together better. It unravels fairly easily, especially in wider cloths).
Nichrome wire is too brittle and hotspots will appear after repeated bending.
for gloves I think it is
What an absolutely Stirling individual 👏.
oh wow - thank you mate
Now this inspired me to make my own heated jacked... Thanks RMS. DVD:)
awesome mate - let me know how you get on will you?
@@ThinkingandTinkering Will do...SO C-fiber and clamps can be gotten on Amazon? will check it out. Thanks DVD:)
this is such a cool video. currently researching infrared sauna heaters and. really want to build my own. electrician by trade so. cant stand the prices sauna companies want for heaters.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can get basalt fiber in the same sort of product variation that acts as a heat and electrical insulator.
that would stand up to some heat for sure
Doesn't get much easier than that. Keep it up and they'll start calling you a prepper, LOL. That wouldn't be such a bad thing though. Thanks Rob!
lol - cheers mate
Absolutely awesome and beautiful Robert you're too good
bless your heart mate
you have probably covered this before but i tried just using the thinnest wire i could find laying about wrapped about 10 meters of it around my gloves and connected it to an 18650 battery ,it got to a cosy 35 degree in about 3 minutes i might try stitching some suitable wire into jacket liner and make me a heated jacket
Yes I want to make a water heater. I think I can wrap the water cylinder in carbon fibre rope with Kapton tape on cylinder first then on top to keep the rope apart but I may need high voltage to heat a 50 foot length.
yeah that would do it
Nice, thanks Robert
cheers
You can get a used computer power supply, fairly cheap, add ribbons to add more area,more current using switches , for more heat, or switch between series and parallel for more heat, pull more current, more heat, I got a 12,v 36a supply, two for about $18, or adda dc motor controller to crank up the heat, or even a decent size dc converter!
This is a great idea! I wonder how warm it gets at 5V? (USB outlet)
I live in northern Canada so this seems like a great idea for the deep winter days
good question mate - it will depend on how big you make it
A frame a making point every 10mm you use the Fiber an Wind it in rows maybe it can help
that would work mate
You are a treasure trove of knowledge ✌️ Thanks for sharing all that you do 🙏
cheers mate
Hi Robert, was quite skeptical about leaving a comment in here in case you won’t see it, but I realised you’re getting back on most of these comments. Firstly thanks for these informative videos, I’m in a progress of crating a heater using carbon as the main heating element i have few questions and wondering if your available for a chat . I greatly appreciate your expertise and experience in creating heaters. Let me know if a chat is an option … thanks
This would work for simple heating tape for pipes in like the laundry room, with the plastic coating of teh tape, you are waterproofed within reason. could help with pipe bursts in freezing temps.
Your's is far and away the best YT channel. Also, where're the links to your ohms law vids in the description? I think u forgot ro add them, or, I am too stupid to be able to find them 😄
Robert, this video is giving me a lot of good inspiration!! Just wondering, if I'd like to make a flexible heating blanket of lets say 150x150cm that needs to become about 50-60 degrees celcius, would a single sheet of carbon fibre be a good idea? Saves a lot of work compared to putting all these thin carbon fibre bands in some spacing on a flexible sheet.... And how would the edges be conected to the wires...ribbon clamps are a bit to small :)
With all this priceless free information I can't understand why we're still so big oil dependant 😔
because we don't do anything with the info
@@ThinkingandTinkering
I've just read your about section and it really resonates with me, would you be interested in making a difference..?
We have become mentally lazy and do not evolve ideas enough, I assume.
@@martinsaint9999 speak for yourself 🙂
I'm working on carbon capture, off grid hydro power and creating homes for those without.. As well as reinventing the wheel, or car as a whole, every aspect. Much needs to change with our ever growing population, from the ways we produce and consume power, to what we do with our waste. I just need to be heard, I'm a one man army, repeatedly told my lofty goals aren't my problem to fix...
Opens up a whole host of possibilities, heated screen wash bottle & pipes to name but one, a lot simpler (and possibly cheaper) than ribbon trace cables. Next step to investigate might be simple temperature control.
He already told us how to control temperature; variable voltage input.
9V was appx 30⁰C, 18V was around 40⁰.
You could also rig it up with a moveable contact to control the distance between the two contacts, but that seems more difficult.
Another idea would be to run different lengths at the same power, I think.
Hmm, what effect would increased amperage have other potentially making it more dangerous?
You can't increase amps directly please watch the two videos I link at the end of this video they will help tremendously
brilliant ideas, mate!
cheers mate
I'm thinking get a straight piece of copper pipe, wrap this around it and have a water heater. If you could get that drawing 2 or 300 watts say and connect it to a single radiator. So it recirculates Like converting a radiator to electric with a heating rod, you could do this with some kind of thermostat and have a very cheap to run electric radiator.
I guess oil heaters could move to conductive carbon felt or something cheap like that to make heat. Though you could make a sand battery radiator heater using carbon heating elements.
Hot Pants or 'willy warmer' haha brilliant!
Used carbon fibre fishing rods for years they come with a warning... don't use them under power line they are conductive!
that is cool to know - see what I did there lol
I really love the jokes you always subsequently make!! Well done. Thanks
Would be good for a plant progagator or under a glass tank and connected to a thermostat to heat fish tank
for sure
Awesome ideas and content. Thanks!
glad you enjoyed it mate
Excellent video Rob!
Cheers from London 👍😎🏴🇬🇧🙏
cheers mate
incidentally the reason I have all that wide Kapton tape is for 3D printer work, and making flexible circuit boards by putting thin sheet of copper on it and spraying the copper so I can engrave the paint and acid etch it, and if needed lay the kapton over the etched area too so I can adhese another layer of copper circuit the same way before sealing it all in with circuit components :)
clever mate
Good idea, it has a higher melting point than nichrom too so, easy diy kiln? I kinda want to coat it in clay and fire it to make a ceramic space heater lol. Wait, if carbon fiber can conduct it can make a magnetic field cant it? Would make electric motors much lighter.
Rob love your ideas. You always have he 😂
glad you liked it mate
I am not technically minded so I don't understand the watts amps bit. And I was thinking that, because of its flexibility, it might be a good way to create cost effective, efficient and, with a thermostat, controllable underfloor heating without massive building disruption as in water based underfloor heating?
This is a great idea. I have been looking to add heating to my motorcycle gloves cheaply and this is a great way. Would there be a problem if I was to bend an induction coil inside the palm and use it to get power from another coil around the handle bar rather than battery power this? Wondering if the conductive element might interfere with the power transfer?
I don't know - I don't think so but the best test is to try - equally you could just make the handle grips heater
@@ThinkingandTinkering thank you, I have heated grips already but they heat the palm but not the place the cold air comes against the back of the hand, and every time you touch the break or clutch you lose all the heat and have to start again.
Interesting. Thanks. (I guess Kapton is water resistant / washable?)
you don't need the tape if you are going to put it into clothes mate - you only need the tape if it is stand alone to prevent it crossing over - unclothes you just sew it in so it can't do that
That was amazing! I have to make some! But I have to ask ... what's in the calendar?
Hi Rob. Big Clive has done a couple of videos on re-using the li-ion cells from discarded disposable vape pens recently. It might be another way to power something like this, especially for smaller items like gloves or hats where having a large battery pack would be a disadvantage?
I agree mate - it's an awesome idea
Wait. Are you saying disposable vape pens have re-chargable batteries?
@@guesswho399 Yep. They have rechargable cells just no charging circuitry. It's a shocking waste that they are just thrown into landfill when the battery is exhausted.
Do one more video about the same thing but washing machine washable :)
it is machine washable mate - if it is in clothes you don't need the tape - just sew it in
The man of a thousand ways. 👍🐝🙃
cheers mate
This is a very cool video
cheers mate
Very neat idea thanks 😊
cheers mate
You could make a heat- belt and wear it.
oh for sure warm the belly nicely lol
If i wanted to sew this into a hand sewn heating pad, what would i need to attach it to a cord that can be plugged into a wall Instead of a battery? (I would use a temperature-regulated thermostat).
You need to map out where the blood vessels come to the surface of the body, so then you know where is best to sew in the heating element for the most efficient heat exhange. I'm thinking the back of calves, and inside of the fore arms.
or - you could just look at where they sew them now and copy that!
@@ThinkingandTinkering I think they just bung them in the back because it's easiest and saves on wiring.
@@ThinkingandTinkering I know I did on my fist go.
HA yep just like I was talking about, I finally got to the part where you picked up a roll just like mine at (5:14) LOL
lol
How come heated clothing on the market can last 8hrs, while these last 15-40mins? Is it the heating material? Btw, this is awesome 👏🏽
Good question. I would want to see the specs of a comparable setup to try and figure it out. He told use the voltage and amperage so we can calculate resistance for comparison.
From there I would look at whether commercial rigs have circuits to limit power draw from the battery, lowering output but extending duration.
The 8 hour life could only be a marketing gimmick based on use at an ultra low setting, right?
I like the question though. There certainly are a bunch of different heating elements you could use but these materials are mostly readily available to the average viewer.
I love these ideas!
Probably they are using significantly lower voltages/amps and only heating to something like 95* F or so, which is around (slightly above) the temp of outside of skin. The less draw, the longer the battery will last. If you're putting this within/below insulation, you don't really need to heat it much since the insulation will be "trapping" both the heat of the heater and of your own body. (Trapping not the best term, more like slowing down the exchange of energy from outside to inside rather).
Also, they are using new lithium ion batteries which have higher energy density per volume and mass. Especially as compared to a 9 volt alkaline battery or an old, probably LiFeP0, tool battery.
Those times may also be slightly optimistic and within best case lab conditions i.e. non real world conditions. Bring that out into an interior Alaskan cold winter day with -40 or colder and doubt it will last as long because there will be more and faster energy exchange (or "heat loss").
because they don't get that hot - energy consumption and heat are related - more heat more energy less heat less energy - if you don't get it hot it will last the same time - anyway you don't want it hot - warm is good enough
What a fantastic channel... 👍👍👍
I Agree Lil bullet
wow - cheers mate
ingenious ! you are an excellent resource
wow - cheers mate
I can see this as a heating strip for windows. Add a solar panel, this can warm up the area in front of a window.
that's clever thinking mate
The applications are endless. I'm thinking inexpensive heated handlebar grips for the motorcycle and in a sleeping bag or sleeping pad. Just have to figure out the battery situation (how big to get a good 6-8 hour sleep without having to switch batteries). Thank you!
yes mate they are and I like the things you suggest - particularly the hand grips by the way
@@ThinkingandTinkering sorry to be a bother, but do you think that carbon felt is conductive? I was thinking about trying a few experiments with that and a variable voltage DC power supply for tattoo machines. Any thoughts?
@@ThinkingandTinkering I've been out trying this for an hour in my shop and get nothing. I ordered a 0-18v 1.5a dc power supply from Amazon. It's meant for tattoo machines. Nothing is happening except the lcd screen on the power supply just blinks. Any ideas?
Please do a vid, on which we should use, Gas or Electicity to heat our homes, my place is gas heating, but with electric pumps, or should i be heating individual rooms that are occupied with an electric heater ? i ask you, as you are much more in tune with this stuff than i am,
We have no gas in our village so I have individual heaters in the rooms. I actually think it is better than central heating as you can warm the rooms you want to. I have a separate water heating tank
Rob mentioned that it is more important how the heater heats than the source of heat. Conduction, radiation or convection heat. Electric infrared heaters in the occupied room are very efficient. Gas heating often heats the air in the room thru convection, which is very inefficient. Heating one room is more efficient than heating rooms that aren't being used if the same type of heating is used. He talks more about this in his previous videos on heating. Cheers.
@ThisorThat I have an infrared heater in my bedroom which I put on shortly before going to bed. An electric blanket too. Unfortunately a convector heater in the lounge but it is thermostatically controlled.
I have done videos on this before mate - have a look at designing heaters that I link to at the end of this vid - it should help
My one concern is might the resistance at the clip change over time. If the contact at the clip loosens the resistance and heat generated at the clip increases.
they crimps mate - crimps count as a permanent connection in the 18th regs I believe - but if it worries you fix the crimp to the base cloth and sew the tape to the same cloth - potential problem solved
@@ThinkingandTinkering my fear is just a fear of the unknown, over time, might the carbon oxidize at the crimp. It's something I'd watch for. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing and everything will be fine, but oxidation of aluminum wires at unprotected crimp has been known to set homes ablaze.
That's the best idea yet. Recommend a fuse to anyone building with batteries.
cheers mate
Brilliant video thanks
cheers mate
I’m going to give this a try to stop the pipe to the outside tap freezing. Wish me luck! 😳
You are so nice guy! Thank's you for sharing your knowledge!
cheers mate and bless your heart
Great video, very inspiring. Do you have any data on: at which Voltage/Amperage say, one meter of this stuff, 1 cm diameter, would break down? Without the insulating coating of course.
Any ideas for flexible end electrodes vs. the clips?
Just recently came across your channel..
Love it.
Is that similar to an electric blanket.
awesome - welcome aboard and yes it is
You're the man!
Loved the "underwear" comment at 4.28 😂
Would it be possible to use this material for cooling? How can we get the opposite effect? A cooling headband would be nice to relief some fever symptoms I'm experiencing right now. Can this be turned into a peltier device?
Maybe a silly question, but I will ask it anyways because I am sure if I am wondering, there are many other as well. Can you use AC to power this?
Question: at 2:20, you mention it's drawing 1.1 ma - is that correct? I would think it would be 1.1 A (amps) for about 10 W
Otherwise, it would be 0.01 Watts, which sounds very low for a heating element.
Noticed that further in, you do mention Amps, so it was just a mis-speak.
Question, would you address the length vs the current use? With the example of the LiIon battery pack: if you doubled the length of the element, it should be a lower heat, but last twice as long.
I haven't worked with carbon fiber, but Ohm's law should still be valid, unless there something weird with how the resistance shows up because of multiple/ parallel fibers.
no - mis speak that I corrected late - but you spotted it lol - cheers
@@ThinkingandTinkering Can you talk to the IR emission spectrum?
I've been studying photobiomodulation and there are specific spectral bands that more active biologically, and others that mainly excite water and appear as sensible heat
Is the larger the area of the carbon fibre, the larger the battery drain ?
Could you do this Using sections of fishing rods?
If using batteries what can I use to know when to stop charging the batteries to prevent overcharging?