Classic Aero seat heaters

[219PB]

I purchased the Classic Aero synthetic leather seats with the heaters built in. I was wanting to ask anyone that have these type of heaters if you ever use them with the "low" setting enabled or always use the "high" setting? I spoke with Classic Aero and he told me before I purchased them that they do not get as hot as standard automotive seats. The heaters only pull 5.9A per seat. That is OK with me.

The reason that I am inquiring is that if most people use high all of the time I can greatly simplify the wiring by wiring the seats directly for high only. This will eliminate two switches and two relays.

[jwyatt]

I have the same seats & heaters from Classic. I typically flip them on low unless it's a particularly frigid situation (eg. starting up after parking out on a cold ramp). I flew this week in single digit OATs and the low setting was enough for me in jeans and sweatshirt+jacket. I do have the Vetterman muffler system though.

If you're concerned about the relays, you may be able to replace the switch/relay setup with an appropriately rated 3-position toggle (off-low-high). IIRC the relay switches the two heatpads from series to parallel connection to control the heat level. Even if hardwired, you'll still need an on/off switch.

This old thread has some possibly relevant info.

[flyboy1963]

any married guys will surely confirm this.

....set yours permanently to 'low'.

put TWO of them on the other seat, and permanently wire to 'MAX. DefCon 6.2 - 1200 watt' setting for the Mrs.!

....also, put a dummy dial on the dash, and make a big deal out of turning it to the 'max. comfort' setting for her!

[TCONROY]

I have the same synthetic leather and heated seats from Classic Aero and I find the "High" setting too hot. Sometimes "Low" is even too warm. I've even considered adding some large watt resistors to lower the voltage on the Low setting.

[KRviator]

Originally Posted by flyboy1963

any married guys will surely confirm this.

....set yours permanently to 'low'.

put TWO of them on the other seat, and permanently wire to 'MAX. DefCon 6.2 - 1200 watt' setting for the Mrs.!

....also, put a dummy dial on the dash, and make a big deal out of turning it to the 'max. comfort' setting for her!

I got a bloody good chuckle out of this, because I would never have thought of doing something so sneaky myself!

[climberrn]

Use mine on high for 15 minutes or so, then switch to low. They actually heat up better than the factory ones in my Ford truck. My VW ones heat up better though. Must be from the extra emissions😳😳.

[219PB]

Thanks for all of the replies. I will go ahead and install the seat heater high/low switches.

[Saber25]

I'm curious, if the ambient temperature is so low that it would require in seat heating, would that not infer that flight conditions are so cold that in the event of a forced landing, being dressed warmly would negate the need for inflight heated seats. Kinda reminds me years ago boarding pax in winter at KORD or KDEN with a flight to a warm and sunny climate and them wearing tank tops, shorts and otherwise unsuitable gear. I wondered how they would make out in an evacuation on a snow covered runway with 30kt winds and snow blowing up their shorts :-)

I fly my RV4 and Pitts all winter long appropriately dressed and the Pitts provides heat simply by being a Pitts.

Cheers, Hans

[rockwoodrv9]

I do agree that you should always fly with whatever you think you will need to survive going down whatever time of the year it is, but there is a difference between surviving and being comfortable. Especially for my wife.

[gblanck]

PWM dimmers like these work great to control the seat heaters without needing the hi/low switch and relay that comes with them.