Originally Posted by
bentgear
What about a small 11.5 volt regulator that could go inline. With only a 4 amp draw I wouldn't think it would be hard to design or that expensive to produce. Maybe just a circuit board kit like in the old days. Limit input voltage to 18 or so and then a 3 or 4 cell lipo would work. Even a fully charged gell cell is 12.6
I was just doing a little searching online and found
this (#TEN 40-1212N). It's a 12V to 12V DC converter, that will accept 9-18V input, with 12V output, and can be regulated further through the use of an external resistor. Problem is that it's only puts out 3.33A at 12V. It was stated that the current draw is APPROX 4 amps. How close is that figure?
The model that I listed is only 1"x2"x1/2", so it could easily be mounted inside a starter box, and allow use of 3s or 4s packs. I'm no electrical expert, so other folks please chime in after lookin at the specs closely, but if this works.....problem solved, and long heater life is ensured.