Heated Glove Liners Version 3.5 - 9V USB C Optimized

NOTE: I revised the design of the controller and created a new Instructable. I recommend following that one instead of the instructions in Step 5, 6 & 7. The change switches from a female to male USB-C board which plugs directly into a battery with a flexible silicone wire instead of using a stiff USB-C cable. Keep that in mind when ordering the USB board.

Heated Clothing Controller Version 2

This is a variation on my version 3 heated glove, but designed to be powered by a USB C power bank supplying 9V along with a DIY controller to vary output between 0 and 100%. The higher voltage reduces the current drawn by each glove so I am able to run both gloves from a single battery. The higher voltage also allows a single heat loop to be used instead of 2 parallel ones further simplifying construction.

For my previous projects I reused a power supply and controller from another heated product, so finding something similar to complete a project could prove difficult. However this new version using a USB C power bank should make it easier to pick a battery. Plus that battery can be used for other purposes when not needed for heating.

In practice I've found it is best to keep the battery and controller inside a jacket and run extension cables down the sleeves. Having the battery and or controller located near the glove is cumbersome. At the bottom of this Instructable I've included some comments about experience using this version of the glove for a few months this winter.

• To reduce clutter in this tutorial the carbon fiber soldering technique is described in a separate Instructable Working With Carbon Heat Rope.

The final product a pair of thin liners with battery powered heat delivered to all 5 digits that you can slide into your favorite outer glove! The heat is generated from carbon fiber rope attached a liner of your choice.

Items you may need to order along with links to sample items:

• Carbon Heat Rope: Approximately 1 meter (might as well get extra incase you run into a problem)
• Liner Glove of your choice
• Construction steps will make the gloves slightly smaller inside, so it is best to choose a liner that isn't super tight
• 24 AWG Highly Flexible Silicone Covered Hookup Wire
• Double Sided Fabric Tape
• This comes in sheets and rolls. I find the sheets easier to use since they have backing on both sides making them easier to cut. When cutting the rolled tape it sticks to scissors. The roll tape pieces also curl before sticking them down.
• Liquid Electrical Tape
• Thin polyester fabric (a thin poly spandex blend with some stretch, prices vary wildly but a local fabric store should have something on sale, remnants, etc. I've just been cutting up an old pair of stretch thermal underwear or bike shorts)
• USB Type C Power Bank that supports Power Delivery (PD) 9V 2A or greater.
• E6000 clear adhesive: I prefer the 2oz size with the tapered nozzle.
• 3.5 x 1.35 mm DC Barrel Connector Male (2)

SEE NOTE AT TOP! These parts are for the controller, but I recommend following the updated Instructable instead and using that part list.

• 3.5 x 1.35 mm DC Barrel Connector Female (3)
• Mini PWM Motor Controller / LED Dimmer
• USB Type C PD Trigger 9V (many listings have several voltages to choose from)
• Short USB Type C cable
• LED & Resistor (I used a red LED and 56 ohm resistor https://ledcalculator.net)
• 22 AWG silicone parallel conductor wire (for extension cables)
• Polyimide (Kapton) tape

Tools:

• Soldering iron and solder
• Solder flux
• Pliers
• Small wire snips

Optional Tools:

• Grabber test leads
• 3rd hand soldering clamp
• Multimeter that can measure current (amps)
• Multimeter temperature probe

This project involves attaching carbon fiber heating loops and electrical connector to a pair of gloves. Power is supplied via extension cables run down the sleeves of a jacket. Since we are creating an electronic circuit the carbon fiber cannot cross itself.

• Gloves are turned inside out
• Heating loops are prepared by attaching wires to carbon fiber rope
• Heating loops are attached to glove using double-sided fabric tape and a cover fabric
• Power plug and power cable added.
• Extension cables built
• Controller Assembled

Heat

The heat produced by the carbon fiber rope rapidly increases as the length decreases so you need to be careful to avoid making a heating loop that is too short otherwise dangerously hot temperatures can be achieved.

Voltage also affects how hot the heating loops will get. The instructions provided here assume a 9V is used. Heating loop lengths would need to be shortened if using a 5V USB power bank and lengthened if using higher voltages. The charts on this page can be used as reference: https://www.carbonheater.us/temperature.htm

A power controller should be used to limit the peak temperature rather than connecting a glove directly to a battery unless the glove is designed with a low peak heat.

Battery Life

The milliamp hour power ratings of USB C power banks is usually based on the 3.7V of the cells they contain. The easiest way to estimate runtime is to use Watt Hours instead. A 10,000 mAh battery would be 10.000 x 3.7 or 37 Watt hours. This glove design draws about 7.9W per glove or 15.8W total. 37 WH / 15.8W gives a runtime of about 2.3 hours at maximum power. A test I performed at full power came in just under 2 hours. They get hot on high so I usually run them between 1/2 and 3/4.

Heating loops are sized and wires added before they are attached to the gloves. Each glove uses a 3 segment heating loop, one segment for the thumb and two more segments to cover the remaining fingers.

See this Instructable for connecting wire to carbon rope:

https://www.instructables.com/Working-With-Carbon-Heat-Rope/

Gloves

While preparing the heating loops it will be helpful to have the gloves present to checking necessary wire length

• Turn gloves inside out

Heat Loop Segments

The total length of carbon fiber for each glove should be 45 cm to generate reasonable heat at 9V. An 8 cm segment for the thumb, 19 cm segment for index / middle fingers, and 18 cm segment for the pinkie / ring fingers with the segments bridged by 24 gauge wire. An additional wire is connected on each end to connect to the power plug lead. Refer to the diagram to see where connections are required.

• For each glove cut pieces of carbon fiber rope of the following lengths (extra half cm to accommodate trimming)
• 8.5 cm
• 18.5 cm
• 19.5 cm

Segment Link Wires

The segment link wires (yellow in diagram) all connect to carbon fiber at tip of a finger the wires will run parallel with the rope, have the wire in that orientation when making the connection.

• Using the glove as a guide measure a length of wire long enough to go from the tip of the middle finger to the tip of the ring finger with about 1 cm of extra on each end for wire stripping.
• Use the wire to join the two long carbon fiber segments (see separate Heat Rope Instructable)
• Again using the glove as a guide measure a length of wire long enough to go from the tip of the index finger to the tip of the thumb with about 1 cm extra on each end for wire stripping.
• Use the wire to join the index/middle finger segment to the short thumb segment.

Power Supply Wires

Cut two more pieces of wire for power supply. It's best to make these around 20 cm to give you options when it comes time to route them later as they need to wrap around from the palm side of the glove to the back. Choosing 2 separate colors is helpful for grouping the positive and negative connections.

• Attach one wire to the end of the pinkie/ring finger segment. This wire should run parallel to the carbon fiber like the segment link wires.
• Attach the other wire to the short thumb segment. Since this end isn't at a finger tip, the wire will run away from the carbon fiber instead of along with it.

Sealing Solder Connections

If not done already, liquid electrical tape should be applied to all the solder connections.

Testing

The fabric adhesive is very strong and it would be very difficult to get access to the heat loop once installed so they should be tested before continuing. Take care to not have the loop overlapping themselves or each other causing a short while testing. Again refer to the following Instructable for testing advice: https://www.instructables.com/Working-With-Carbon-Heat-Rope/

For this version of the glove the resistance of the heat loop should read around 10 ohms on a multimeter. With a 9V power supply they should draw around 0.88 A which would give a power consumption of about 7.9W.

Repeat to make heating loop for the second glove.

A power lead and connector is needed for each glove along with extension cables to reach the controller.

Glove Power Lead

• Cut a 24 cm length of parallel conductor (joined) wire.
• Split the two wires apart about 1 cm and snip about 1/4 cm off the black wire (red one needs to be longer).
• Strip about 1/2 cm of covering from the wire split ends.
• Insert the wires onto a male DC barrel connector, apply flux, then solder.
• These are typically wired center positive, so the red wire would be connected to the shorter tab.
• Use snips to trim excess wire and ensure the positive and negative aren't touching.

Note: The male connectors are held together by friction and I've had a few come loose and fail.

• After both wires are attached add some E6000 adhesive over the white plastic part of the connector to prevent it from coming lose during usage.
• Screw on connector shroud. (I've been cutting off the flexible piece on the end to make the connector shorter)

Make one of these for each glove.

Glove Extension Cables

The Length of parallel conductor wire needed for the extension cables may vary depending on the length of your jacket arms and controller placement. You may want to do this step at the end. I used 66 cm for my extension cables.

• Cut desired length of parallel conductor wire.
• For the male DC connector end repeat the steps for the Glove Power Lead above.

Note: Ensure both connector shrouds have been slid over the wire, it's easy to forget.

• Split the wires for the female connector end apart a bit more than 1/2 a cm and strip the ends.
• Insert the wires onto the female DC connector, apply flux and solder.
• The shorter tab should be the center positive pin which would be for the red wire. This can be confirmed with a multimeter.
• Use snips to trim excess wire and ensure the positive and negative aren't touching.
• Screw on the connector shroud.

Using double-sided fabric tape and fabric we will create sealed pockets to contain the heat loop segments and wiring.

Preparing Finger Segments

• Cut strips of fabric tape (peel the backing from one side to apply, leaving the other backing in place).
• Apply tape to the outside edge and tip of each of the 4 fingers leaving a gap down the middle wide enough for the heat rope.

Preparing Thumb Segment

• The thumb loop needs a little extra attention. Since the thumb is in a different orientation than the fingers the heating loop may need to be shifted towards the index finger rather than centered on the thumb fabric. For the pair of gloves I made the heating loop ended up being to the side of the thumb instead of centered on it.
• Cut strips of fabric tape and apply to the outside and tip as with the fingers.

Prepare Loop Covering Fabric

• Cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover the thumb and all of the fingers.

Layout Heating Loop

• Remove the tape backing from only the finger tips.
• Layout the heating loop pressing the solder connection onto the tape at the finger tips. Start from one side and work across as you may need to work out twists to get it to lay flat.
• Add additional pieces of fabric tape to define the bottom boundary of the heat loop near the upper part of the palm.
• Also allow for a channel where the power supply wire to the pinkie will transition to the other side of the glove.

Attaching Heating Loop to Fingers

• Starting with the pinkie, peel the tape backing.
• Carefully place the heat loop flat with the wire to the outside, and solder connection resting on the tape at the tip of finger. It helps to use weights to keep wires and fiber aligned.
• Lay down the fabric cover flatly and press firmly.
• Continue for the remaining fingers one at a time keeping the rope flat, and wire on correct side.

Attaching Heating Loop to Thumb

• Remove the tape backing from the tip of the thumb and press the solder connection for the thumb into it.
• Add additional pieces of tape to define a channel for the power supply wire for the thumb to transition to the other side of the glove.
• Peel the tape backing for the thumb and lay the fabric down.
• Working in sections peel the remaining tape and lay fabric over it ensuring the wires are in the defined channels.

Trimming Fabric Covering

If fabric is trimmed too close to the tape it can stick to your hands while wearing the gloves! (The photos show the fabric trimmed tight, but should not be done that way)

• Don't trim the fabric where the wires transition to the other side of the glove at this time.
• Using scissors carefully trim the excess fabric from the palm side.
• Leave about 1 cm excess from edge of the fabric tape.
• For between the fingers you should be able to just cut down the middle without any additional trimming.

Connecting Power Lead

• I usually cut a small hole in the back of the glove to pass the wire through, though depending on the glove you may not want to do this. Keep in mind the glove is currently inside out so the connector end should exit from what appears to be the inside.
• Transition the positive and negative wires from the palm side of the glove to the back with a little slack. While doing this it can be helpful to temporary tape down the wires along the desired path.
• Trim the excess wire from the heat loop wires and solder to the power lead cable prepared in the previous step.
• Repeat for the other battery polarity
• Seal the soldered connection with liquid electrical tape or heat shrink tubing.

Closing up the Glove

• Place fabric tape around the wires on the back of the hand, and where the power lead exits the glove.
• Add additional tape beneath the wires at the exit point to help prevent them from pulling out. You may want to used a needle and thread for additional reinforcement.
• Peel the backing and cover with fabric.
• Place additional tape on the side of the glove to cover the wires where they transition from the front to back. Peel the backing and cover with fabric.
• Trim the excess fabric again leaving a 1cm border so your hand doesn't come into contact with adhesive.

Finishing Up

• Feel around the border of the fabric and add any additional pieces of tape if necessary.
• Turn the gloves right way out.

I recommend following the updated controller instructions in this separate Instructable: Heated Controller Version 2

To power both gloves I created a compact controller with two outputs and a single USB C input. The LED dimmer board I used has a screw terminal block on the back. For my controller I removed it, but it was very difficult to accomplish and involved cutting away all the plastic and removing one pin at a time with a desoldering pump and solder wick. It would be easiest to use the screw terminals. The photos show a mix of both methods.

Prepare Output Wires

For my output wires I made one 10 cm long for the closest sleeve and a second 30 cm long that can reach across to the glove extension cable in the far sleeve. Another option would be to make one extension cable longer than the other.

• Split the joined parallel conductor wires apart a bit more than 1/2 a cm and strip the ends.
• Insert the wires onto the female DC connector, apply flux and solder.
• The shorter tab will be the center positive pin which would be for the red wire.
• Use snips to trim excess wire and ensure the positive and negative aren't touching.
• Screw on the connector shroud.
• Split the wires on the other end apart about 1 cm, strip 1/2 cm of insulation and tin the wires with solder for insertion into the terminal block of the LED dimmer.

Prepare LED

• Trim the longer (positive) LED leg, and one leg of a resistor, apply flux and solder them together.
• Trim back the other leg of the LED and other end of resistor and attach wires to the legs.
• Wrap the exposed metal of the resistor and LED legs with Kapton tape to prevent shorting.

USB PD Trigger Module

• Solder positive and negative wires to the outputs of the USB C board.
• Test fit the board in its desired location and trim wire to necessary length.
• Tin other ends of wire.
• Wrap the USB module with Kapton tape. This will prevent shorting and make it easier to remove the electrical tape if there is a problem later.

Dimmer Board

• You may want to use some snips to trim down pins on the back of the dimmer board if they are too long.
• Again wrap the board in Kapton tape.

Before assembling the controller you should think about where you plan to place it. When I first assembled mine I had the outputs in the back. I later moved them to the side which worked better with my battery placement.

• Connect the USB PD Trigger output wires to the corresponding inputs on the LED dimmer boards. For the board I used the inputs are the outer terminals.
• Connect the LED and glove output wires to the output terminals of the dimmer.
• The type of LED I used is very directional and best viewed from directly in front. Take that into consideration when choosing its placement.
• Use additional Kapton tape to hold components in position.
• Connect USB C cable to a battery and test controller before sealing it.

• Tape the output wires together close to the board.
• Use electrical tape to secure the PD Decoy board. Add a piece of folded electrical tape between the two boards if necessary to support the PD board.
• Wrap the both boards to seal them up.
• Add additional pieces to seal the ends and around the LED.
• Brush on a layer of liquid electrical tape to seal any gaps and tape edges.
• You may want to add Velcro to the bottom for attaching controller. I find the adhesive on peel & stick Velcro isn't strong enough so I use a silicone adhesive such as E6000 for a permanent bond.

After trying several arrangements to power the gloves I settled on keeping the battery in a jacket internal pocket, securing the controller inside the jacket with Velcro and adding cable guides inside the jacket sleeves.

Battery Pocket

My jacket didn't have an internal pocket so I made one using some fabric. It is best to have the battery in place when laying out the pocket otherwise it might end up too small (I had to make a second one). I would recommend against using fabric tape for the pocket. Since there is no overlap of fabric on the inside of the pocket adhesive keeps getting on my battery. E6000 would be a better choice though it will take longer to cure.

Cable Guides

The cable guides need to be 1.5x the width of the cable connector otherwise there won't be enough room to fish it through (another thing I discovered the hard way). Again I recommend using E6000 adhesive instead of fabric tape. I had a few guides come loose after going through the washer. You might want to make the cable guides wider than what I have shown in the picture.

Controller Velcro

Even the industrial strength Velcro I'm using doesn't have strong enough adhesive to stay attached to the jacket, so I used E6000 glue to permanently attach it.

I've been using this pair of gloves regularly for the past 3 months riding a bike in the winter. They have greatly increased my comfort while riding as before I would frequently experience painfully numb finger tips. I generally leave them off until my hands start getting cold. Even now that temperatures are getting up to around freezing I still use them instead of stopping mid-ride to add an outer glove.

Most USB C batteries have an auto sleep feature that cannot be disabled. When the controller dial is turned on there will be no power until you press the wake up button on the Power Bank. This auto sleep feature is why I switched to the dial type controller. The push button style I was using didn't handle the power bank switching between 5V and 9V.

I've found the best technique for putting the gloves on is to pull the glove on, plug the glove into the extension, then reach into the jacket and pull the excess cable back into the cuff so there is nothing dangling to snag.

I use the longer wire on the controller to pass in front of my to connect to the far extension cable. This requires that I unhook that side to take the jacket off. Since I'm using the glove with several different jackets I find this easier than a more permanent routing along the back.

Since the gloves stretch but the heating elements do not, you should be careful when removing the gloves. I quickly loosen each finger a bit, then pull on all fingers simultaneously to take the glove off.

I recommend washing the gloves by hand.