i did think it was odd that the new heater is 11.1
wich makes most have to purchase another battery for this
and this was marketed for the uk and aus customers within reason.
But you said to use with ur starter box your quote!!!!! but most use 14.8 in there box
so its made more expense to the consumer i thought that a 12volt or a 14.8 volt would be more advisable.
The idea of a heater is the best invention

I have one small 4S pack for the starter and a separate 3S pack for the heater inside my starter box.

The heater is 12V I believe...3S is the closest you can get with a LiPo.

I guess what I'm asking is, has the lead acid battery been ruled a big no no since its over 12 volts and will damage the heater after regular use? Kinda looking for someone who can say " yes my heater was killed by a lead acid battery". I know sometimes people on here(rctech as a whole) get kinda picky on the details.

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.

With just a little more amps in the output this thing would be perfect. Thanks for looking Mike. Not sure Competition Heat is interested as no one has bothered to reply yet. For me a partially charged 3 cell is not the way I want to handle the situation.

Yeah, if I can find a 50W version, that will be the ticket. Traco has a high power product line as well, with an input range of 9-36V, but the nominal is stated as 24V. Even though it's listed as 9-36, but I don't know how the output would be with going that far below nominal. Here's a link to that one.

I'm going to talk to a couple of the electrical engineers at work this week, and see how hard it would be to make up a simple 50W DC-DC converter, with an input range of something like 9-14V DC.

If I want to get fancy, I'll have them design it with a potentiometer on the output, so it can be dialed down from 12V to 11.5 for the break in / under 2 gallon setting that Eric recommended. Probably overkill, but I'm an engineer too (mechanical, not electrical), so coming up solutions to problems like this is kinda fun for me.

Or instead of doing all that, I'll just buy one of these .....it's not adjustable down to 11.5V, but it's at least the right input and output specs. This one's small enough and rugged enought to work in a starter box too.

Heck, I'd be OK wiring this in with my gel cell, and putting a set of terminals on my box. I'd use my AC heater in the pits, and then just use the DC one on the staging wall. At 9000mAh, it's not likely to drain my gel cell in a race weekend, and I keep it hooked up to my battery tender when not racing anyway...

GH75S1212

thats the one but wheres the prices?

Just run a Fully charged 3S and be done with it. Its not like the Pack will sustain 12.6 for very long, Maybe the first couple minutes give or take.

Sorry Integra, just not interested in the 3 cell option.

Ed M.

Why may i ask ? Hobbyking has cheap packs readily available and most guys have capable charger's that can easily do a 3S at reasonable charge rates.

Being hard headed. Got 3 cell packs, got several capable chargers, have no desire to use this method. Would prefer a steady voltage option that a regulator would give.

Ed M.

Yeah I bought mine thinking I can run it from my 12v gel cell in the starter box...

It needs to be renamed to the "11.1 VOLT ENGINE HEATER"
(I don't really want to run LIPO due to fire hazard)

Not sure how I'm going to run it yet.

i have been waiting since august for the 12v version......not really interested in this one myself......i guess i'll keep using my halogen in a coffee cup

Just returned from the Fall Brawl Race in Myrtle Beach. For those who have never been, I would highly recommend this event. The track is located in a very nice park and is a well kept facility with a great layout and track surface.These guys know how to run a great event and I will be back next year as a sponsor and participant.

Competition Heat engine heaters were in full swing as the temps ranged from the low 30's at night to high 40's during the day. Most competitors were using our 120V heater and a few used the new 12V along with myself. The great thing about the 120V is you could put it on and pretty much forget about it until your ready to fire it up, it sure came in handy.

As for the 12V Comp Heater, I, along with a handfull of others used it over the weekend with great success.