Whazzup wit mah new Widder gloves??

[Dangerous Dave]

Last year I added grip heaters and V-Strom guards to my Gen I for the winter. It was a definate improvement, but I have a real problem with my right index finger getting PAINFULLY cold due to some (surgeon inflicted) nerve damage in that hand. Even on my 15 minute ride to work on a 30* day, it was bad. I decide heated gloves were at the top of the priority list before this winter hit.

I read all the recent threads popping up on heated gear, heat 'trollers, etc. I decided to start with just gloves and no 'troller since my hands are the only thing I really have a problem with (even down to 20*F), and the 'troller is easily added after the fact. So I scored what I believed to be a good deal on a set of used but excellent condition Widder gloves with the battery harness. I really don't have a need for them until the temp gets below 40 or so, but yesterday was a golden opportunity. The wife and I were going to ride up to visit our daughter at Ohio State and she was taking us to the football game (Go Bucks!). It's about an hour and 15 minute ride from here to there and temp was 38 degrees when we were leaving. Perfect opp to try out the new Widders (which I wired up on my lunch hour at work a few days ago). For the majority of the trip, they did a very good job, although turning my grip heaters on low was better for the palm side. That bad finger was happy all the way there. But after about an hour, as we were getting close to Columbus, the gloves started getting VERY warm. I knew at that rate it was going to be a problem once we stopped moving. It quickly got worse! Fortunately, traffic on the highway came to a halt near the stadium, giving me time to get one glove unlugged before having to start moving again. Of course I immediately realized they must be wired in series, because the other glove started cooling down immediately as well. Good thing!

Now before anyone starts trumpetting that if I had a heat-troller I could have turned them down...I already know that. What I don't know is why they started getting so hot after an hour of riding. The ambient temp may have come up a few degrees, but not that much! Is this a common occurence? If it is, I may have to go ahead and pony up for the 'troller. But for the first hour all was good. Very good. Most of my winter riding is just back and forth to work, just a 15 minute trip. If they're only going to do this after an hour or more of use, I might still not need the 'troller. So...anyone else experienced anything similar, or is this an anomoly?

Tanks,

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

Gee, get the troller and all your heat can be controlled. without it the gloves will perform on max heat. I have a troller on all my heated gear and never am I uncomfortable either hot or cold. Catfish has all the stuff for heated gear.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Gee, get the troller and all your heat can be controlled. without it the gloves will perform on max heat.

I know that, but you missed my question. Why did they suddenly get much hotter after an hour of operation?

 

[odot]

Maybe it takes an hour for them to get up to full operating temp?

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Maybe it takes an hour for them to get up to full operating temp?

Seems kinda unlikely. I could see them taking 4 or 5 minutes to get up to temp, but an hour seems excessive. Widder may or may not be the best in the business, (I know Gerbings and WarmN Safe are high quality), but they've been producing heated riding gear a reeeeeally long time. I'm kinda thinking more along the lines of some kind of current flow issue...maybe within the gloves themselves. I know the Gen I Feej charging system is borderline for heavy farkling, but I only run a few 'bike powered' accessories, and all were on the entire time. That being grip heaters, Audiovox cruise, and the Widder gloves. Chatterbox, Garmin, and MP3 player are all self powered. Temp was about 15 degrees warmer for the trip home, so I didn't use the Widders last night, just regular street gloves and grip heaters. So no opportunity yet to check for a repeat performance. Wondering if maybe there's something wrong with the gloves and I didn't get quite as good a deal as I thought. Bought them used, but they look perfect. I dunno. I'm sure old man winter will be here sooner than I really want and I'll get plenty more time for evaluation.

 

[ionbeam]

Some things that can cause the gloves to suddenly heat up:

• Change in the rate of heat loss --
  
  ambient went up, wind velocity changed, wind direction changed, insulation changed, etc.
• Change in power --
  
  Volts went up, current went up or resistance went down.
   
  Current could go up if the wires in one of the gloves shorted together causing resistance to go down.
   
  Voltage could go up if your battery was low and the charging system finally caught up with the flat battery (very unlikely).
   
  The quality of an electrical connection changed. (Ding, ding, ding)

 

[odot]

Used gloves. Hope you washed them things. That's almost as bad as used shoes......stanky. And I'm not sure about washing electrical heating stuff.....what ion said.....could be a short circuit and the battery's just pumping them amps through them heaters.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Current could go up if the wires in one of the gloves shorted together causing resistance to go down.

That was my first thought, which is why I said maybe I didn't get as good a deal as I thought. Although with only a 3A inline fuse, they can't be shorted too badly, or pulling too much current.

Voltage could go up if your battery was low and the charging system finally caught up with the flat battery (very unlikely).

Agreed, not very likely since I believe the battery to be in good condition and good SOC.

The quality of an electrical connection changed. (Ding, ding, ding)

Could be. But to get hotter, the connection would have to get better. I wouldn't expect a connection to get better mid-flight. I'm leaning towards the glove internal wiring myself, as you mentioned.

Thanks Alan for NOT just telling me to go buy a heat-troller. I always appreciate your replies.

Used gloves. Hope you washed them things. That's almost as bad as used shoes......stanky.

They didn't smell and they looked virtually unused. Since I bought them from a guy in Texas, that would stand to reason. Do you wash your hands everytime you handle paper money? It's some of the most germ infested stuff you handle in the course of a day. Did the guy before you wash his hands before handling that doorknob in the public shitter at the mall? And you think buying clean used gloves is "stanky"? I can hear the germies comin' to get you already there odot.

 

[odot]

Jerries already got me.....and no, I will not wear your shoes.

edit:....oh, did you wash the gloves?

reedit:

Athlete's foot spreads easily. You can get it by touching the toes or feet of a person who has it. But most often, people get it by walking barefoot near swimming pools or in locker rooms. The fungi then grow in your shoes, especially if your shoes are so tight that air cannot move around your feet.

If you touch something that has fungi on it, you can spread athlete’s foot to other people-even if you don't get the infection yourself. Some people are more likely than others to get athlete's foot. Experts don't know why this is. After you have had athlete's foot, you are more likely to get it again

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Jerries already got me.....and no, I will not wear your shoes.

I don't know who Jerrie is or what he did to you, but what you do in the privacy of your own home is your business. :blink:

edit:....oh, did you wash the gloves?

Nope. Washing electric gloves doesn't strike me as a great idea. Although the FAQ section on Widder's website says they will continue to heat even when wet without risk to the user. Not quite the same thing though.

reedit:Athlete's foot spreads easily. You can get it by touching the toes or feet of a person who has it. But most often, people get it by walking barefoot near swimming pools or in locker rooms. The fungi then grow in your shoes, especially if your shoes are so tight that air cannot move around your feet.

If you touch something that has fungi on it, you can spread athlete’s foot to other people-even if you don't get the infection yourself. Some people are more likely than others to get athlete's foot. Experts don't know why this is. After you have had athlete's foot, you are more likely to get it again

That's darn good info there odot. Not exactly sure what it has to do with gloves since I doubt the previous owner wore them on his feet and I DEFINATELY have no intention of wearing them on mine. But I promise to keep you updated if any fungi develop.

 

[HaulinAshe]

Think about guys, it's a 12 volt DC system. There is no/zero danger of electrical shock to human body, wet or dry. A complete open wire would be no more dangerous than grabbing both posts of the bike battery simultaneously with your hands. No effect!!!

I'm betting that the previous owner had something you did not, knowledge of an intermittent connection that resulted in very little heat and then sometime WFO heat.

Sorry to hear the "deal" probably went sour.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

I'm betting that the previous owner had something you did not, knowledge of an intermittent connection that resulted in very little heat and then sometime WFO heat.

Well Jeff, I wouldn't say they had very little heat from the git-go. It was 38 degrees out and we were on the highway at 75 mph for an hour and my hands have never been so comfortable under those conditions. I was damn happy with them...until they started getting hot. Then I knew I was going to need to do something soon. Worked out ok in the end. I may wire in an inline switch at the very least, or maybe break down and buy the 'troller, but either way I'm not really sorry I bought them. Like I said, previously a 15 minute ride to work in those temps would inflict pain for me in my right index finger even with grip heaters on. This is a monumental improvement for a minimal investment. (I did get a pretty good price on them). Plenty of time for further testing. Maybe a heat troller will be on my holiday wish list. We shall see.

 

[OhioFJR1300]

I'm betting that the previous owner had something you did not, knowledge of an intermittent connection that resulted in very little heat and then sometime WFO heat.

Well Jeff, I wouldn't say they had very little heat from the git-go. It was 38 degrees out and we were on the highway at 75 mph for an hour and my hands have never been so comfortable under those conditions. I was damn happy with them...until they started getting hot. Then I knew I was going to need to do something soon. Worked out ok in the end. I may wire in an inline switch at the very least, or maybe break down and buy the 'troller, but either way I'm not really sorry I bought them. Like I said, previously a 15 minute ride to work in those temps would inflict pain for me in my right index finger even with grip heaters on. This is a monumental improvement for a minimal investment. (I did get a pretty good price on them). Plenty of time for further testing. Maybe a heat troller will be on my holiday wish list. We shall see.

It should be fairly easy to get an ohm meter and check each glove and see what you read. They should be the same. You can hook up the meter and bend the fingers and all and see if the ohms changes. Beyond that, Widder would be a good place to ask about them. I know you bought them used, but they may offer to check them for you, or at least give you some insight on how they should operate. I would go with a controller, I use one for my gloves and it does take a while for them to heat up, but when they do,I adjust the control to a lower setting and soon I get them where I am happy. But if I am suddenly moving slower of it heats uo outside a few degress...... they get hot again. I am going to make a guess that there is nothing wrong with the gloves. How do you think your house would be if your furnace come on and never shut off......after a while it would be HOT. Things that make heat need a thermostat of some kind. Just my opinion, your milage may vary.

 

[James Burleigh]

Current could go up if the wires in one of the gloves shorted together causing resistance to go down.

My Widder gloves are connected via wires that go up my sleeves and snap onto the back of my Widder vest. I noticed recently that, although I am very careful to pull the gloves from the female connectors that run down my sleeves in such a way that I don't upset the wiring (pull by the wires), nevertheless the wires going into the female connectors (that plug into the dual-prong connector in the gloves) get exposed and therefore probably short. Late last winter one glove started getting uncomfortably hot to the point I had to turn off the power.

Jb

 

[Bounce]

Get in touch with Pat Widder. Used or not, he'll have an idea of what to try next (controller, diagnostics, repair, etc.).

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Thanks guys for all the excellent thoughts and suggestions. I won't be surprised if I end up buying a controller. I just want to make sure I'm not buying one for a pair of defective gloves. I like the ohm meter idea...don't know why I didn't think of it myself, but glad somebody did.

James, you kinda lost me on what you think is going on with your glove connectors. Can you clarify this for me?

Tanks,

 

[James Burleigh]

Thanks guys for all the excellent thoughts and suggestions. I won't be surprised if I end up buying a controller. I just want to make sure I'm not buying one for a pair of defective gloves. I like the ohm meter idea...don't know why I didn't think of it myself, but glad somebody did.
James, you kinda lost me on what you think is going on with your glove connectors. Can you clarify this for me?

Tanks,

I lost you because I didn't make any sense. See photo below. That's the female plug that runs down my sleeve and plugs into the metal prongs embedded in the glove. When you pull that prong out to take the gloves off, you have to be careful not to grab it by the wire. I am always very careful. Nevertheless, note the copper exposed wires from the two wires to the plug. I presume that is shorting and causing my hand to burn up to the point where I go "Ow! Ow! Ow!" I've returned them once for a free exchange. I suppose I could return these too, but I'm just going to order a new set now that winter's setting in. Jb