Following up from my article in the Jan 2008 newsletter, here is more information about the seat heaters Jim introduced into the FVEAA.
The product that a lot of FVEAAers bought in early spring 2007 was the Carbotex heater kit, Single Seat Deluxe - Hi/Lo/Off (CD-SSD-05A). With Jim's bulk purchase, we paid $67/kit (most of us bought 2 kits).
The product is from Cartek Distributing LLC,
www.cartekdist.com. It's a carbon fiber filament on felt backing. It has integral thermostats. The deluxe models have a hi/low/off switch.
Scans of the Installation booklet front cover, back cover and schematics are here:
http://www.fveaa.org/fb?120http://www.fveaa.org/fb?121http://www.fveaa.org/fb?122Here's the schematic for the single seat deluxe model:
Note that on high, the 8 ohm back and seat panels are in parallel, so they look like a 4 ohm load. In low, the relay energizes and connects the two panels in series to make a 16 ohm load. So with a nominal 12v source, each seat in the high setting should draw (I = V/R) 3A which would be (P=V*I) 36 watts. In the low setting, 12/ 16 = .75A and 9 watts. Compare the wattage of these beauties compared to 1500, 3000 or 4000 w heaters! And the heat really goes where you want it most (into the human bodies in the car).
i'll take some actual measurements and post them soon.
It's great to enjoy the genius of others ... thanks Jim :-)
My You Tube thanks to Jim:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dclHeA9ido8
