I talked with the folks at WnS, did all the stuff to sync it, still had no heat or full heat. My dual manual works fine.
Which heated gear controller?
- Thread starter paulcb
- Start date
OP
OP
WnS controller?
Yes. That's the one.
I have been using the W&S jacket and gloves for the past 2 years now (switched from Gerbing....but that's another story) along with the W&S dual remote heat controller.
This setup has worked flawlessly.
"The default if plugged in and no remote contact is I think 1/3 heat level".....this is true.
Mike Coan from W&S told me that that it was designed like this in case you had a controller failure when you were on the road. if this happened, you at least had 1/3 heat constantly heating you. Nice feature.
I have found however, that in shoulder seasons, I sometimes only want the jacket on as an under layer and didn't need the heat or I would get cool and then need heat. I would have to unplug the jacket to stop the heat and then pull over to plug the jacket back in when I needed heat again.
This was the only thing that annoyed me about this setup.
Problem solved......a riding buddy of mine had heated gear that was either on or off.
He was using this http://gerbing.com/collection/on-off-lighted-switch.html to control the heat on his gear.
I figured hey... if I plug this inline with my W&S, I can turn the heat completely off when I don't need it...and turn it on when I do....without having to unplug and plug the jacket in.
I always put new batteries (AAA) in the remote controller every riding season.
Andy
This setup has worked flawlessly.
"The default if plugged in and no remote contact is I think 1/3 heat level".....this is true.
Mike Coan from W&S told me that that it was designed like this in case you had a controller failure when you were on the road. if this happened, you at least had 1/3 heat constantly heating you. Nice feature.
I have found however, that in shoulder seasons, I sometimes only want the jacket on as an under layer and didn't need the heat or I would get cool and then need heat. I would have to unplug the jacket to stop the heat and then pull over to plug the jacket back in when I needed heat again.
This was the only thing that annoyed me about this setup.
Problem solved......a riding buddy of mine had heated gear that was either on or off.
He was using this http://gerbing.com/collection/on-off-lighted-switch.html to control the heat on his gear.
I figured hey... if I plug this inline with my W&S, I can turn the heat completely off when I don't need it...and turn it on when I do....without having to unplug and plug the jacket in.
I always put new batteries (AAA) in the remote controller every riding season.
Andy
OP
OP
FWIW, I asked the following question to WnS the other day and got their answer less than an hour later... (I'm posting the WnS answer with their permission)
My question: I'm considering the purchase of your remote dual controller and wondering about the communication technology used in this device. Has it proven to be reliable? If connection is lost, what happens to the set heat level? And, I know it varies, but how many hours of use will the supplied AA batteries last?
WnS Answer:
Hi Paul,
One of the Mikes may hop in and correct me, but the Transmitter uses a radio-type frequency to transmit to the receiver. We have had this controller for well over 5 years, and have not had any interference issues with other devices. The only transmission issue we found, is that the receiver and transmitter need to be on the same side of the body. For example, the receiver in the front left pocket of the jacket liner, and the transmitter somewhere on or in front of the body, not behind the body. So in other words, very reliable, we have not had any issues.
The “run time” for the batteries is too variable for me to say “X many hours”, variant on how old the batteries are to start with (brand new batteries can be quite old), the temperature they were stored in, the temperature of use, the length and frequency of use etc. We have had customers report the AAA batteries lasting 1-2 years.
If the batteries were to die while in use, the receiver will stay at the set temperature until unplugged. When you plug the receiver back into the battery harness, it will automatically go to 1/3 power (30% heat setting).
Ride Safe and I’ll see you on the Road!
Thanks,
Krysti Slonaker
Warm & Safe Heated Gear, LLC
www.warmnsafe.com
krysti@warmnsafe.com
My question: I'm considering the purchase of your remote dual controller and wondering about the communication technology used in this device. Has it proven to be reliable? If connection is lost, what happens to the set heat level? And, I know it varies, but how many hours of use will the supplied AA batteries last?
WnS Answer:
Hi Paul,
One of the Mikes may hop in and correct me, but the Transmitter uses a radio-type frequency to transmit to the receiver. We have had this controller for well over 5 years, and have not had any interference issues with other devices. The only transmission issue we found, is that the receiver and transmitter need to be on the same side of the body. For example, the receiver in the front left pocket of the jacket liner, and the transmitter somewhere on or in front of the body, not behind the body. So in other words, very reliable, we have not had any issues.
The “run time” for the batteries is too variable for me to say “X many hours”, variant on how old the batteries are to start with (brand new batteries can be quite old), the temperature they were stored in, the temperature of use, the length and frequency of use etc. We have had customers report the AAA batteries lasting 1-2 years.
If the batteries were to die while in use, the receiver will stay at the set temperature until unplugged. When you plug the receiver back into the battery harness, it will automatically go to 1/3 power (30% heat setting).
Ride Safe and I’ll see you on the Road!
Thanks,
Krysti Slonaker
Warm & Safe Heated Gear, LLC
www.warmnsafe.com
krysti@warmnsafe.com
I have a powerlet liner and controller. I can't remember who actually made it though.
Works fine in all weather for years. Sometimes have to clean the barrel connectors and tweak the center pin open a little but no real issues.
No detents other than the off position switch ganged to the pot, it's continuously variable. For a PWM controller it would just ad cost and perform no function.
Hard to feel the off detent as the pot shafts have an o-ring to keep water out.
Works fine in all weather for years. Sometimes have to clean the barrel connectors and tweak the center pin open a little but no real issues.
No detents other than the off position switch ganged to the pot, it's continuously variable. For a PWM controller it would just ad cost and perform no function.
Hard to feel the off detent as the pot shafts have an o-ring to keep water out.
OP
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I got the Gerbing T5 Hybrid gloves for Christmas. Don't have the controller yet but connected my jacket liner and gloves directly to the battery and they feel great... warmth all over my hand! The gloves appear to be really well constructed, fit well and don't inhibit working with the controls any more than other well insulated gloves, although they don't have any hard knuckle protection. I think I'll actually look forward to cold mornings now. 
Edit: Just pulled the trigger on the Warm & Safe remote dual controller with the belt clip. Nice discount for us on the forum... thanks WnS!
Edit: Just pulled the trigger on the Warm & Safe remote dual controller with the belt clip. Nice discount for us on the forum... thanks WnS!
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Just to close out this thread, I received and installed the WnS remote dual controller. I've only used it twice but so far so good. Commuted in for 40 mins at ~20?F this morning and both the gloves and jacket liner were set to about 50%... seemed to be about the right spot for both, although it's only 1 data point. Curious as to what settings others use?
Depends more for me on speed.
When temps are hitting freezing and below on my commute, gloves on fullthe whole time and I fine tune the heat I feel with the grip warmers. But that is doingf 70+mph on the highway for 40 minutes. If I'm doing stop and go low speed city driving, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 setting on the gloves.
Jacket is usually 1/4 to 1/2 setting.
This morning the tempos weer from 12?-14?. So gloves on full, jacket just above 1/2 pants and socks were about 1/4. Towards the end of the ride I turned the pants and socks up a bit. The pants more then socks. Once I got off the highway and I sit in a stop/go queue for 2 miles, first thing to turn down was the jacket, maybe an 1/8.
When temps are hitting freezing and below on my commute, gloves on fullthe whole time and I fine tune the heat I feel with the grip warmers. But that is doingf 70+mph on the highway for 40 minutes. If I'm doing stop and go low speed city driving, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 setting on the gloves.
Jacket is usually 1/4 to 1/2 setting.
This morning the tempos weer from 12?-14?. So gloves on full, jacket just above 1/2 pants and socks were about 1/4. Towards the end of the ride I turned the pants and socks up a bit. The pants more then socks. Once I got off the highway and I sit in a stop/go queue for 2 miles, first thing to turn down was the jacket, maybe an 1/8.
OP
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Nope, 4. I keep everything separate. Socks are more used then the pants, but they could probably be linked without issue. Gloves being the most used and also highest settings consistently. If I wasn't doing so much highway running I might be able to link gloves to jacket. (no.. even off highway the gloves get cranked a lot more then the jacket.)
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I use two duals, the olde fashioned wired type. That way they stay permanently with the bike and I never worry about forgetting something. If I'm having issue with one controller or channel I can always switch to another channel and I won't have to think that the spare controller is at home. (Knock on wood no issues yet.)
Bottom of each glovebox side panel is where I mounted the knobs. The actual controller part is tucked up to the inside of the panel out of the elements.
The two on my left I use for my jacket and gloves, color coded white and black. the two on my right are for socks and pants, color coded red/yellow. I put matching colored tape/clear heatshrink around each plug and cable so I don't have to think too hard about what gets plugged where. And using the same channel for the same device keeps me from getting confused while riding and trying to adjust my gear.
Bottom of each glovebox side panel is where I mounted the knobs. The actual controller part is tucked up to the inside of the panel out of the elements.
See this link.
The two on my left I use for my jacket and gloves, color coded white and black. the two on my right are for socks and pants, color coded red/yellow. I put matching colored tape/clear heatshrink around each plug and cable so I don't have to think too hard about what gets plugged where. And using the same channel for the same device keeps me from getting confused while riding and trying to adjust my gear.
OP
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Thanks TC, nice install and setup. I've decided to keep mine as portable as possible so I can easily move it to another bike when/if I need to. Thus the remote control.
You'll get to put both to the test tomorrow morning. Forecast looks like it may be 16 degrees, assuming you're going to ride. The only part that I dread is the 22mph winds, also forecast.
OP
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Hey Joe, good to hear from you. I rode in with both on Monday, it was 19?F when I left the house. Worked well except my legs were cold. I solved that this morning with a pair of ski pants under my MC pants (my daughters idea). Looking forward to a really cold tomorrow morning for a good test. (can't believe I just said that)
Thanks again for the good deal on the jacket liner, although it did cost me extra... I had to buy a controller and gloves!
(actually, the gloves were a Christmas present.)
Glad I could pass the liner on to someone who will use it.
The T5's rock. I've about worn mine out. They still heat fine but the outer layer is about worn through on the inside of the index and middle fingers on my left hand (too many times in the rain I think).
I'll absolutely be replacing them with another set of T5's soon.
Perfect gift!
The T5's rock. I've about worn mine out. They still heat fine but the outer layer is about worn through on the inside of the index and middle fingers on my left hand (too many times in the rain I think).
I'll absolutely be replacing them with another set of T5's soon.