Adjusting the Voltage on Electric Socks

K

Thread Starter

Krumb

I think I may be in the wrong place. I'm an amateur working on my socks. When I walk the dog my toes get really cold so I got electric socks for Christmas... the problem is they don't get hot unless I over voltage them with an extra battery... then they get too hot. I need some kind of voltage regulator for cheap. My socks are supposed to run on 3V DC but they don't get warm... I have a 4V DC lead acid battery that I would like to use but the socks get too hot. Is there some kind of volume knob adjustment I can add to adjust the voltage?

<b>Moderator's Note:</b> We get lots of unusual questions on this site, most of which I do not post. Every once and a while we get one that I believe will tickle the fancy of the people who read this forum. This is one such post. You folks have any suggestions for this poor guy?
 
C

Curt Wuollet

Search Ebay for this:

DC New 1.8V 3V 5V 6V 12V 2A Low Voltage Motor Speed Controller PWM 1803B

Ignore the motor speed controller part. What this is is a pulse width modulated voltage regulator.

You need the PWM part for reasonable efficiency. A rheostat or other simple means will waste power and may get as hot as your sox.

Can't guarantee that it will work but it's where I'd start (if I couldn't build one).

And I guess it _is_ a control problem. But too trivial for a PID loop.

Regards
cww
 
R
I'm a year round motorcyclist in Sunny Vancouver BC :)

Search the web for Girbing they make a range of 12 Volt and battery powered heated gear with a lifetime warranty.

They also sell the Pulse Duration heater controls.
 
C

Curt Wuollet

Having mentioned a method for regulating your sox with a lead acid battery, I must mention that as a lifelong resident of Minnesota, I have put extensive thought and effort into the matter of warm feet. The electric socks thing is one of those fads that keeps coming back. They have been through many iterations in my memory of say the last 50 years.

Now with high energy density batteries, they are far more viable than ever before. Which means they are something above joke gift, but still not close to rising to the level of something I would ever depend on. Perhaps where you are, a failure would be inconvenient. Here, or in many parts of the world, frozen feet could be a life or death issue if say, you are stranded in a storm at -25F. If your feet need to stay warm, I would depend on passive insulation,(decent footwear). For your dog walk that could mean winter shoes or half-boots from any number of people. Here, for example, that means boots with thick felt liners and in the car, Army surplus arctic boots rated to -70F. Your feet supply the heat, you just don't let it get away. And the reliability is good.

Regards
cww
 
Thanks everyone! Parts are on order. It's a good reminder that what I'm doing is walking a dog and never more than a phone call away from being rescued if I need it. I certainly wouldn't trust my toes welfare to whatever contraption I may make.

I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Top