Keeping warm in cold conditions has been a problem for troops since, well, since there have been troops. The DoD Transformation site has the scoop on the latest developments: Vacca Incorporated’s biofuel-powered flameless catalytic heaters.
Through the Company Grade Officer Initiative, the directorate funded the integration of the heaters into a vest.
The lightweight, easy-to-use prototype combines a standard work vest with two of Vacca Inc.‘s biofuel-powered heaters in the two front panels of the vest.
Using fuel cell concepts developed at Los Alamos National Laboratories, Vacca Inc. developed heaters that work by passing methanol or ethanol across a catalyst membrane. The reaction byproducts are heat, carbon dioxide, and small traces of water.
The prototype weighs dramatically less, at only 12 ounces, than the 1.7-pound commercial products on the market today and has the potential to weigh eight ounces in future designs.
And
Commercially-introduced lithium ion heated jackets provide heat for two and a half to three hours before recharging the battery.
In contrast, Vacca Inc.‘s prototype, can last 22 hours with 100 cubic centimeters of fuel in low heat mode (22 Watt) and 12 hours in high heat mode (42 Watt) according to the company’s final report.
The vest’s internal fuel supply has high/low/off settings for increased control.
Both the vest and fuel are much more affordable to the Department of the Defense compared to the available commercial products.
The vests are projected to cost less than half of what current commercial solutions cost and could be ready to launch by 2007.
How about a body armor/heating vest combo?
– cross-posted by Murdoc
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of having something that will keep me warm, but only for 22 hours is scary.
What happens when your stuck in a place you can’t recharge? Do you Freeze?
Otter
it’s a personal heating thing. how long do you expect it to work for? a liter of fuel will last 2200 hours. that’s a really long time to me. presumably you’d wear this under a jacket anyway.
honestly, the only way you’d get heat for much longer is to get some plutonium 238 and use the heat from the radioactive decay.
The problem with this type of method versus electric heating is accessibility of energy source. You could hook in the recharger (in some case, with a transformer) at any place that provides an electrical outlet for the battery of electric heater unit, but you need to go to a specific site to get the fuel. It will have to be resupplied to every site that uses this type of heating application when it is low.
Keep my toes, fingers and ears warm and I can do the rest. In other words, get this into my boots, gloves and helmet.
As soon as they develop wearable heat-pumps we’ll be set. Refrigeration or heat in the most efficient package possible.
I wonder how much more bulk this will be when combined with a IBV.
Looks like an outfit from Star Wars.