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Latest Thinking on Heated Seats?

Jetmart

Well Known Member
I searched a read the older threads on heated seats.
Looking for the latest info.
In the northern climates is heated seats really needed in a RV-14?
How is the regular cabin heat in the RV-14?
For those who put it in how did you wire it? Would you do anything different?
I personally don't like the thought of heated seats but considering it for the wife.
I fly an open cockpit Waco YMF down to 17F.

Thanks,
 
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I've got heated seats in my -9A. I've never used them. I've flown down to about -20C (-5F) and my cabin heat (dual heat muffs) works well enough. I can't see that adding seat heat would encourage me to fly colder temperatures. At that temperature the cabin starts cooling fast enough that a warm seat isn't going to be enough. And really, I can't muster the energy to open the hangar doors when it's that cold.

The incremental cost wasn't much, so I don't regret the heated seats, but I don't think I'd do it again.
 
You won't regret the heated seats, the girls love them! Mine came with a relay for each seat which I mounted between the seats. The 3 position switches are mounted on the lower console, on the "HI" setting they each draw about 6 amps.
 
It doesn't matter if you never use your heated seat. Put them in for her. The goodwill gesture is worth more than the cost of the seat heaters x 1000.
 
I?ve used my heated seats quite often, my wife doesn?t fly in the cold very often but I guarantee her seat heat is on.
I?ve found the seat heater is great in the KS winters just after startup and takeoff (seat foam is so stiff I sit several inches higher) but after 20 mins of flying I usually have to turn it off. I?ll use it continually in less than 25 degrees OAT on the ground or up high, I?ll also crack an air vent and leave it on. Every build/canopy sealing is different, I?ve been comfy in some RV?s at -25 and freezing in some RV?s at 35*.
 
Guys: I agree with CrabAndy, during cold weather here in Reno, my seat heat come as soon as the engine starts. The cold hard seats warm and soften quickly. When wifey flies with me in the cold, as soon as we get in and buckled up she wants the heated seats turn on full high. I bought mine off Ebay were not very expensive for two seats, bottom and backrest. They came with everything to install, basically plug and play. Dan from Reno
 
Take a minute to perform a search on the forums here for a recent discussion about using what is essentially a PWM dimmer control to provide variable temperature control for heated seats. When I read that thread my first thought was, "DOH! Why didn't I think of that!?!?!" It just seems a far smarter method of temperature regulation than the switch/relay technique that seems to be the standard of control inherited from the automotive world.
 
Every build/canopy sealing is different, I’ve been comfy in some RV’s at -25 and freezing in some RV’s at 35*.

Completely agree with crewstation sealing. I was contemplating retrofitting heated seats until I spent some time sealing the floor, gear legs, and canopy. Now always warm and don’t see a need for them.

BUT, as others have said, if I put it in, wife would definitely appreciate it.
 
Heated seats are a *lot* more efficient for transferring heat to the occupants than forced air. Especially in an unsealed cockpit. I turn my heated seats on in the car before I turn on the heater.

The benefit to an engine-heated airflow is that the heat is "free"... You'd just be dumping it overboard otherwise.
 
Put them in. If not for you, for your bride or passengers. I've used them in my car in the summer for lower back pain. They are simple and cheap to install while building.
 
Before you put in seat heaters, Google "seat heater fire".

My wife loves them in her car but the though of having them in my plane frightens me.

I added sheepskin covers for the seats, which made her very happy, summer or winter.

As for the heater, cover just the muff with exhaust wrap from an auto parts store. That will do an amazing job of adding a LOT of heat to your cabin. Do not wrap the exhaust pipes, just the muff.
 
I do not have any vehicles with heated seats. I have Sheepskin seats in my RV-6 and love them. Yes they are extra money and weight but have not found anything more comfortable against my body in the summer or the winter. Must be why every airliner that I have seen the front seats in have had Sheepskin on them.

I have a neighbor that has heated seats in his F150 and I like them. It did not get cold when I was in SoCAL but it did get cold in PA. NC gets cold but not as bad as PA.

I am planning for heated seats in the RV-8 project.
 
I bought my seat heating setup from Blake at Flyboys Accessories and I really love them. I haven't taken time to optimize the heating on my RV-3. There's an air gap at the rear of my sliding canopy so applying heat to my back and rear end is much appreciated. I usually start out in the high heat setting and back off to low heat once I'm airborne.
 
I just ordered seats with heating and cooling. Texas gets both extremes.

Jay

Interesting - how does the cooling work? The air-conditioned seats in my truck are one of those features that I never knew I needed until I tried it, but don't seem like something feasible for an aircraft.

Before you put in seat heaters, Google "seat heater fire".

I see this comment come up frequently (probably because I've been doing a lot of seat-heater reading lately), and I always wonder the root cause of these fires.

Naively, it seems that an overheat situation in the simple pads sold by Flyboy would be prevented by proper circuit protection. This assumes that simply running the pad on high indefinitely wouldn't start a fire (and I sure hope that's not the case). Otherwise, I think that having a pad put out higher-than expected heat would involve an increase in resistance, and thus current.

But I'll grant there's a lot of "if" and "assumes" in that paragraph. I'll also grant that the thought of a seat fire in an airplane is a lot scarier than in a car, for obvious reasons.
 
cooling

It has 6 fans, 2 in bottom and 4 in back with perforated leather to let it flow. Not really A/C but airflow should help with the Houston summers.

Jay
 
Thumbs up

I use my heated seats all winter long, I would really miss it if they were gone. If all it took to get my wife in the plane was add heated seats, SOLD. Now I have to figure out how to get the cooled seats, great idea. I actually put in the cheap Amazon heated seats and have held up surprisingly well
 
We fly all winter long here in Minnesota and some pretty cold weather. The heated seats come in handy especially upon landing. When you pull the power back, the heat from the exhaust system Gets to be pretty minimal. We have actually added an item to our landing checklist to turn on the seat heaters.
 
Another way to skin the cat...

I wanted some warmth for our fannies, but I didn’t want the complication of separate circuits, and the idea of stepping on seats with heating elements, wear/tear or short circuiting bothered me.

Went with an easier option and one I can pull out once it gets warm (happens early down here in Texas).

https://www.amazon.com/Zone-Heated-...81345261&sprefix=Car+seat+heat,aps,203&sr=8-5

$35 for a 2 pack that plugs into a cigarette lighter outlets which I already have installed for other stuff. No extra circuit. No extra wiring. Sits on the shelf once it gets warm. Simple..and effective. They actually work really well...and are a layer of protection for the nice sheepskin seats underneath.

And, since they’re so cheap...if stepping on them causes them to stop working, it makes replacements cost effective.
 
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I did the same thing as Rob, above, and I?m happy with it. Mine looks a little different (color), and has a 3 position power switch that plugs in to the cigarette socket like Rob?s. I don?t know how much current it draws, but that plug is protected by a 10 amp cb and it has never tripped. Works fine, is comfortable, and I can take it out when the weather warms up.
 
I bought some automotive seat heaters and they work great. We use them often in the winter (which is about 2 weeks long here in San Diego). Switch has a low/high setting and they don't really draw too many amp's even on high setting. I would highly recommend installing them.
 
Amperage draw...

I can speak to the amps draw...on low about 3-4 amps per seat until they reach their design temp...then I?ve noticed they cycle on/off to maintain that temp.

Seems about double that on high, but frankly can?t remember...I can?t sit on them that long when it?s on that setting and I?ll note that I rarely have flown when it?s been considered necessary to have it there. Not a cold weather fan-boy!

Have never kicked the breaker either...

These seat heaters and a couple of decent battery powered heated jacket liners have kept the fanny/torso toasty warm.

If I was a far north flyer going this way, I?d probably invest in some decent cycle/snowmobile gear where you can go full Monty with a good vest/liner along with plug in gloves and socks...run that off 12v as well.

Just an FYI too...I took out the heat muff on my ship. Just run it with the above setup...still have scat tubing connected up and I now use the air source as a way of bringing some cool breezes in around our feet during hot WX season...just close it off until that happens.
 
Thanks for all the great information. I have decided to go with permanent heated seats. Not so much to make the wife happy but it sounds like there is a good practice reason to have them in cold weather.
It is more common and easier to do than I realized. Getting Classic Aero for my interior. They will supply the harness and switches. Aerotronics will install on the panel.
 
Anyone know of an ON/OFF lower amp draw setup? All I'm finding is the LOW/HIGH/OFF switches with the amp draw 5+ amps per seat. Like to keep it under 4 per seat.

Thanks!
 
Anyone know of an ON/OFF lower amp draw setup? All I'm finding is the LOW/HIGH/OFF switches with the amp draw 5+ amps per seat. Like to keep it under 4 per seat.

Thanks!

Not sure if there's a product that does exactly that. However, you could try:

  • Replace the OFF/LOW/HIGH switch with a SPST that only allows LOW
  • Replace the included switch/relay with a PWM module to give fine-grained control. Possible that you could put an upper limit on the PWM to limit max draw.

FWIW, I'm planning on the heater pads from Flyboy, and a PWM setup. The one downside I've thought of there is there might be greater potential for the back seat heater getting left on accidentally.
 
Used them yesterday

I put heated seats in the front of my RV-10. I used the carbon fiber ones from Amazon with a 5 position switch. I had to do a lot of trimming, cutting and fitting to get them installed including cutting the pad into 3 sections joined only by the edges.

I had them on 2 (out of 5) yesterday. These seats are as comfy and warm as my Cadillac!

Since I am still in phase 1 my wife hasn't had the chance to use them. She will be thrilled when she does.

Worth the cost and effort !
 
I put heated seats in the front of my RV-10. I used the carbon fiber ones from Amazon with a 5 position switch. I had to do a lot of trimming, cutting and fitting to get them installed including cutting the pad into 3 sections joined only by the edges.

I had them on 2 (out of 5) yesterday. These seats are as comfy and warm as my Cadillac!

Since I am still in phase 1 my wife hasn't had the chance to use them. She will be thrilled when she does.

Worth the cost and effort !

can you say exactly which one you purchased from Amazon? Thanks.
 
Anyone know of an ON/OFF lower amp draw setup? All I'm finding is the LOW/HIGH/OFF switches with the amp draw 5+ amps per seat. Like to keep it under 4 per seat.

Thanks!

Hi Clark, I don't know about other models of seat heaters, but we specifically chose the ones we use because they have a simple relay system to change the Hi/Lo function. The high setting just delivers 12V (parallel) to each element, and low delivers 6V (series) to each element. It would be easy to wire the seats for permanent low.
 
I’ve already installed PWM modules for each seat, and just received our seats from Abby. It just occurred to me that I’m not sure if I should wire the top and bottom pads in parallel or series.

What have others done when using a PWM setup vs the stock relays?
 
Put in heated seats with my lady in mind. She likes the warmth and likes that I thought about her. I find I like mine at high altitude on a cool day.

It was more work than I anticipate because it needed an extra fuse and more time routing wires than seemed reasonable.
 
I’ve already installed PWM modules for each seat, and just received our seats from Abby. It just occurred to me that I’m not sure if I should wire the top and bottom pads in parallel or series.

What have others done when using a PWM setup vs the stock relays?

I was just looking at this this past weekend. The way the provided harness for the heaters works (at least on the WarmSeats units I got from Flyboy Accessories) is to put the two pads in series for low and parallel on high. Since I figure I want the max on my PWM control to be max heat for the seats, I'll be wiring mine in parallel.

Probably the only reason you'd want to put them in series is if you're wanting to limit the max current draw of the system; in series, the max draw will be 1/4 that of the parallel setup.
 
I have over 7 years and 700 hours on my heated seats and love them, even living in Arizona. I have one pad on the seat and one in the lumbar pad. Never had any issue with the seats, but I did change out the snap connector for the wires (to allow easy seat removal) to a more robust type.
On high they're great taxiing out in Utah in Winter and on low they're a nice range extender on old tired backs on long legs even in mild temps. I also have armrests on the doors and center console which I enjoy so much that it drives me crazy to ride in an airplane without.
Towards the end of my career my back felt better after a four hour leg in the RV-10 than the Boeing.
 
I've got heated seats in my -9A. I've never used them. I've flown down to about -20C (-5F) and my cabin heat (dual heat muffs) works well enough. I can't see that adding seat heat would encourage me to fly colder temperatures. At that temperature the cabin starts cooling fast enough that a warm seat isn't going to be enough. And really, I can't muster the energy to open the hangar doors when it's that cold.

The incremental cost wasn't much, so I don't regret the heated seats, but I don't think I'd do it again.

This will vary a bit. I have heated seats and didn't use them much until I upgraded to oregon aero cushions. I am 6' and sit with my head only and inch or so from the canopy. The comfor foam seats, while an EXCELLENT upgrade for comfort, are hard as concrete at 20*. When I get in, my head must be tilted sideways until the seat warms up. With just heat from my rear end, this takes a long time. WIth seat heaters, I typically start sinking in to the foam just before take off.

I didn't put them in the 10 and don't miss them. Though that plane doesn't have the challenges that the 6 does in keeping the cabin warm at 0* Don't forget that when ground temps are mild at 30*, the temps at cruise will often be 0 and the extra airspeed helps to find more sealing flaws.

Larry
 
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I was just looking at this this past weekend. The way the provided harness for the heaters works (at least on the WarmSeats units I got from Flyboy Accessories) is to put the two pads in series for low and parallel on high. Since I figure I want the max on my PWM control to be max heat for the seats, I'll be wiring mine in parallel.

Probably the only reason you'd want to put them in series is if you're wanting to limit the max current draw of the system; in series, the max draw will be 1/4 that of the parallel setup.

It is good to keep the low/high option. Mine start on high but after about 10 min, it gets too warm. There was one flight that I had that the high setting was left on. All it costs you to keep the functionality is the weight of a couple of relays.
 
It is good to keep the low/high option. Mine start on high but after about 10 min, it gets too warm. There was one flight that I had that the high setting was left on. All it costs you to keep the functionality is the weight of a couple of relays.

That's the whole point of the PWM dimmer setup; it replaces the binary low-high control with an infinitely variable one. I get a whole range of heat levels, and at the same time I get to replace the bulky harness+relay with a simple dimmer control and two wires from the dimmer to the seat. All it costs me to get this functionality is $15 per seat for the dimmer.
 
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