02-12-2011, 07:39 AM
Hi fellow ice fisherman. This isn't a traditional post, but I thought I would share it with you. This is something I started a couple years ago in Alaska to keep my hands warm. It's cheap and you won't have to mess with chemical hand warmers anymore. Here's what you do:
Go to an electrical supply store and get a ceramic resistor (photo 1). This one cost $0.84. I get 25 watt resistors (that's not the amount of heat they put out, it's how much they can handle before they burn themselves up). The number of ohms will dictate how much heat they put out. That is calculated by squaring the volts and dividing by the ohms. If you are using a 12-volt battery and the resistor is 30 ohms, it will put out 4.8 watts (144/30=4.8). Are you with me so far? I prefer mine to be around 5 watts up to 10 watts. Anything above that is too hot for the hands. Next, just get two pieces of wire with alligator clips ($0.32). Connect to each end of the resistor with solder or electrical tape (photo 2). Most people have flashers or underwater cameras these days that are powered by 12-volts, so when your hands get cold, clip the wires to the 12-volt battery from your device (photo 3). Polarity doesn't matter. The resistor will warm up really fast and won't draw very much power, your hands are warm, and you can keep fishing. There you go. I hope that keeps some of you (or your kids) on the ice a little longer on those cold days. Enjoy.
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Go to an electrical supply store and get a ceramic resistor (photo 1). This one cost $0.84. I get 25 watt resistors (that's not the amount of heat they put out, it's how much they can handle before they burn themselves up). The number of ohms will dictate how much heat they put out. That is calculated by squaring the volts and dividing by the ohms. If you are using a 12-volt battery and the resistor is 30 ohms, it will put out 4.8 watts (144/30=4.8). Are you with me so far? I prefer mine to be around 5 watts up to 10 watts. Anything above that is too hot for the hands. Next, just get two pieces of wire with alligator clips ($0.32). Connect to each end of the resistor with solder or electrical tape (photo 2). Most people have flashers or underwater cameras these days that are powered by 12-volts, so when your hands get cold, clip the wires to the 12-volt battery from your device (photo 3). Polarity doesn't matter. The resistor will warm up really fast and won't draw very much power, your hands are warm, and you can keep fishing. There you go. I hope that keeps some of you (or your kids) on the ice a little longer on those cold days. Enjoy.
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