BATTERY - Emergency Heating Option

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OkieBoogaloo

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Thought i'd share this prep with you - some may find it a good one, some may opt for other options.. like everything there is no one size fits all method.

The Chill Buster 8000 portable electric blanket. These are MEDICAL transport devices designed to keep people warm in transport. They can be found on fleabay for ~$50 most days. They will need a new 12v battery installed. I'd look when it's less cold, they show up a lot. The battery needed is a Werker wka12-7F or equiv 7Ah 12v battery.

I came across these while researching other heating options. While not the most efficient like a kero/propane heater etc.. they are QUITE effective at raising a persons core temp. My theory for these is that for short outages they can be added under a stack of blankets and used in short bursts to maximize battery life. in prolonged outages, my solar chargers or cars/other 12v sources can charge them up.

Runtime on full is just a couple of hours. charge time is about 8 hours and can be done ac or dc. Make sure the unit you get is complete with both chargers and all the parts. These are used surplus. You may find these as the 8001 model.

There's almost no documentation online about these units. spare parts are.. well.. not exactly available. but a couple of units if you want spares.

I have plenty of options for emergency heat.. this is just one oddball option i found that gives some extra usefulness. a 30min burst under a wool blanket makes it quite warm. good for thawing out or an unplanned night in the cold to warm the bed up and get some sleep. and the obvious - hypothermia related medical needs if you need to get/keep someone warm until aid arrives.

Along these lines there are also - USB powered fleece throws out there that work much like the heated gear jackets. just connect to a USB power source and youve got electric heat. Not as effective as the ChillBuster - but good for lounging around if youve got a solar panel and usb power bank. You can even get adapters for your battery tools to use the 24v drill batteries as usb power supplies...
 
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red dirt shootist

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Thank you for this. It would be worth having if only for emergencies. I was driving by the boat docs one day at Lake Hefner and spotted something on the dock, got out the binocs and it was some guy laying down and barely moving, it was a warm March day, I shot over there and the guy was soaking wet and shivering like you wouldn't believe, could not talk. I got him stood up got a shoulder under him and carried him to the truck. Put him in the front seat, turned heater on full and covered him with everything I had, buy then some people came over and I told them to get to the phone at the ranger station (days before cell phones) and call 911. Within minutes the first fire truck pulls up and I've got 4 fireman in battle gear and the victim in the front seat of my little Nissan pickup. They waited for an ambulance and took him away. One of those blankets might have been a life saver.
 

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