On 3 Jun 2016 at 22:39, Bill Dennis via EV wrote: > I've see Lee Hart's description of using an electric blanket under a battery > pack for heating. Does anyone know if the controllers for these blankets will > work with a modified sine wave inverter? That is, if the blanket's little > control unit that allows you do adjust the heat setting and has an automatic > shut-off timer will work if powered by a modified sine wave inverter.
Not that I mean to answer for Lee, but - maybe. One issue that should be OK - assuming that the thermostat is a traditional mechanical type - is its ability to handle your inverter's output wave. "Modified sine wave" inverters should really be called "modified square wave" because they're closer to that. But the wave still crosses zero volts 120 times a second. That's what you need for the thermostat to manage opening without welding its contacts, which is what would probably happen if you tried to use it on DC. If the blanket has some kind of electronic controller, instead of a mechanical thermostat, then I don't know. I have some other concerns. One problem I see is that an electric blanket thermostat responds to room air temperature. It cycles on and off every few minutes or so (coarse PWM), with more on-time as the room temperature falls. Seems to me that it'd be tough to make it hold a consistent battery temperature, since it wouldn't be able to sense the actual battery temperature. Also, the thermostat isn't designed for automotive use, where it might be exposed to the elements and lots of vibration. Finally, I'd be concerned that an electric blanket isn't designed to have weight on it, it's meant to be placed OVER a person. David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA EVDL Administrator = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
