heated seats

[pegscraper]

Last fall, someone here mentioned connecting some tubing into the coolant circuit of the engine and running it through your jacket for heat. It was said as a joke, but the idea was that it was free heat and didn't load down our low output stator. The nuisance would be to connect and disconnect yourself from a water line all the time.

 

But what about running a water line through the seats? Laugh if you want, but this is halfway feasible, isn't it? The seats are removed only seldom. Maybe the lines could even be long enough that the seat could be removed and set down next to the bike without disconnecting lines, or maybe not. Maybe use some quick disconnect fittings, like those used in high pressure air lines. Put a valve in the line to shut the heat off during the summer. I suppose grooves would have to be cut in the seat foam to make room for the lines. Then maybe put a thin piece of foam over top of it all. Go ahead and laugh, but why wouldn't this work? Who's going to be the first to try one?

 

Hey, someone has to think of something first and get laughed at. People laughed at Alexander Graham Bell right over the telephone. So said Barney Fife, anyway.

[Yammer Dan]

First thought is you wouldn't be able to control heat. Might get a little warm down there.

[BoomerCPO]

My main concern with that setup would be a hot coolant leak too darn close to the family jewels...................................

[cecdoo]

Hey I aint laughing, I think you mite be onto something, Craig

[Andrew]

By ading a manual bypass valve you may be able to regulate the amount of heat and also isolate it if needed.

[pegscraper]

The valve in the line, shut it only part way off. Not hard to control the heat.

 

When is the last time you had to replace a coolant line anywhere else on this bike? How frequently do we have to replace the heater cores in our cars? And they only go bad because the brass corrodes around the joints. Just a simple rubber tube here. It could happen, but pretty unlikely.

[FreezyRider]

GO FOR IT, LYNN!!!

 

Here's your chance to make your first Million$$$$. "Build it and they will come".

Who knows, stranger things have happened!

[N3FOL]

Coolant for heat? If you get a leak or a blowout, you will never forgive your Venture.

[pegscraper]

Read above where I asked how often you've ever had to replace a coolant hose on this bike, or heard of anyone here who had one blowout. Replace it every so often then. It can't be that much of a problem.

 

Yeah, Freezy, I think you and I both know how well that building and selling stuff goes. I'll stick to just doing my own. It may or may not be this year though. I have enough else to do. But the idea occurred to me and I thought I'd mention it.

 

How about this? Instead of running the tubing across the top of the seat or in the middle, run it across the bottom just on top of the seat pan. Easier to install, and no concern about the foam texture on the top of the seat or how the upholstery will fit. There should be plenty of heat there to make it through the foam.

 

I know there's a small coolant hose coming out of the breather cover and Teeing into another coolant line. I wonder if that line could be extended several feet and run through the seat.

[Yammer Dan]

It does make you think. A GOOD rubber tube that you could depend on and a valve to control flow??? You never know.. I think on top of the pan to heat the foam sounds possible. The valve would be important as to how much flow and being able to shut down if bike overheated!!

[OutKast]

No different that hydronic radiant floor heat. The old original systems used copper, but the problem was the alkaline in the concrete floors eating up the copper. The new systems use a special "oxygen barrier" pex piping, but tight bends are difficult.

 

I would think some small 1/4" copper tubing laid out on the pan and zip tied down would be a good place to start. Some cheap compression fittings.

 

Tie this into 2 points on the same coolant line. Install a ball valve in the coolant line inbetween these two points. Throttle the valve down just enought to generate the desired flow through the seat.

 

What is the ID of the coolant line you are considering tapping?

 

I have designed/installed a few of these systems in houses. See my website www.kustomkontractor.com

[pegscraper]

There you go. Use a piece of soft copper. Then all these guys wouldn't have to worry about leaks at all. The only drawback on that one is the cost of copper today. Would aluminum tubing be feasible? There is already plenty of aluminum in the coolant system anyway.

 

I just went out to look. The metal fitting for the small coolant line coming out of the breather cover on the right side is what, 1/4" outside, so maybe 3/16" or 1/8" inside. I was thinking it was a bit bigger than that. Would that be big enough to get any real heat out of for a seat? Maybe the coolant lines would have to be tapped somewhere else. Or maybe that size would be just fine. What do you think?

 

We eventually want to put hot water tubing in the floors in our house for heat. It's not going to be anytime real soon, but we want it. I will have to keep you in mind. Is pex the kind of plastic tubing being used for this purpose? I've heard of it and seen it, but never used any.

[StarFan]

Hi Lynn.

Regarding putting floor heating in your house then Pex is one of the right material to use. It is not entirely plastic since it is a plastic coated aluminum tubing. Just be careful to read all the manufacturer specs regarding how much heat his production can withstand as well as how long it will last. We use a lot of these here in Iceland since our hot water comes from the ground and is relatively unexpensive. The guarantedd lifetime of the pex tubings that are available here in Iceland is 50 years given that the temperature of the water does not exceed 60°Celsius (around 140°Fahrenheit).

Just a friendly warning: Have somebody that has experience with these systems advice you what brand and type of pex to purchase. If this goes wrong then you might be spending a lot of money to get it right. It is better to spend more money on good quality material from the start. Believe me - I have been there.

[stardbog]

Is It Cheaper t buy Heated Clothing, Or build your own heated clothing. I Know last ear somebody has successfuly build his own, but I'm forget who and how.