Despite a healing arm, I managed to find time over the past month to do some work on the battery warmers. I started with GroQuick heater cable. The instructions say not to allow the cable to self-intersect, so I designed a foam structure to hold the cable in place:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8phD6V1h1lJNAvx0639Zh3alpuW6FJeUCVpXJzO2oCqIa_8uZnuYg55Wu_JOC3IAnPT-UbvI87MCLlaiPwyhNyVbhYjvs5XUdt_HXw2fQre0HuJi93CZLgeDCpSUMANhyphenhyphenmfwx3xJHQA/s320/00a_FoamDesign.jpg)
It goes between the batteries, like this. Fortunately, the AGM-1280T batteries are just smaller enough than the US-8VGC that this all fits in the existing box:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJApEG9GFzO0XGHb4od3_wm4wt6PycGSiYcRODum3d_ZUgdt7n6mJQq8cMmqBFfjR1bhwNwEM_BbPtuCiM-hC4ZvX7TdvQPfYOJnDY8OhGNU4uiYzyE9wlNjCCasCb4O5MnQjFPFcDVQ/s320/00b_FoamBatts.jpg)
I laid out the pieces so I could make a PDF template for cutting:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_FXBMRIsOofs-IpIlIk9G_t1ALzk_kQT718TCxCTZt57c8dhULNIsrMT85XAfH_L-2RGqPyuYxytnbk1qyiw5mE9aXrL1c-_mBcTgis_y1me5HH7ZDg6F6kDMVWO4z7fw7OvBe7ULl4/s320/00c_FoamPlan.jpg)
Since I'm healing, I enlisted the help of a henchman. This is my daughter KatC's friend Naiche:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOHYzbDqO16C6sTdLaBBiOeBAwTv86_aJlldbPu-VMO8qXGVzjegfmLW_WYc4Rl5Z1VbzkvizOjusthmaFEd8V70MVRTviSoSxpvwXEFKLL2L-IXXZ9o_TVAHJw6nvkia1I6gqD-S28w/s320/01_Henchman.jpg)
He helped me cut the foam and aluminum pieces for the warmers:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VBqzql4-usiIpBzBTY54TdFRAEHqgThx0oYnV8iCNty7VHokEPgFcuDtIiezLDYvmJIRYadwnYTRnyH2_E6laZGkvXXsZW7xkbuRGlkRVwHLeNKYcDUOQ6RqfvOZNjqBrYjhKv5KwcU/s320/02_Pieces.jpg)
I used a Dremel with a 1/4 inch bit to rout nice even grooves for the cable in each piece:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrm_-g4iOV3xYQSOqjlFVemmTBO9JUkcvnPeeTpZnpbnX_9k-8iYE1lgk6eWNz_bhHv93dhjNV8ZfKhsDf88Aq_KPwgtv77oZ5e8Li1h3v2srdxNIpoASSM0J8yXXQPzFIPJnEUxW7m_c/s320/03_Grooves.jpg)
Here is the biggest warmer in progress. First, the cable goes in the grooves, up to the point where it must go *through* the warmer to catch the other pieces:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwsFE38l_Gnlo5-rMm8As6VACnUYCfZHok5xGgHFGsyrJ42Nx_hZuhWbdPOnEfSjxmxYy7cunZWPd-_fgfh8oS9haqgIHNCakbEMeU9gbacge3lmB6kIbC8HNBpWB9EKZ6whdbrY8JtU/s320/04_FirstWire.jpg)
A loop is pulled through to the back:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFKn1-gJHadXKSbucfTAKyZ5WW5h-DuLzOvAi8VCxM68LWdyTR5y-F2Cb0612YMlUVTX0D_RixOcizZvLOdYxOp_Xpfs85mL7QAKORON9MNPV1el_mnnCBJ2m2wwKbLZis0kbZiP4ORI/s320/05_PulledThru.jpg)
And one of the other pieces put in place, with the cable inserted in the groove:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmLpv-tMo2872X68HTwICgXt-oiYWSEKFZL9PJWKp6h8-0F_uShbvOfDNxRQTN0KEN9DIVu6jGdGSvvgMwoTFXFUAVCpVcMtnC_KKGuZ44uLjrhQDInMuv8iL_vMCwfoRZT_Cf0pYNfY/s320/06_FirstVert.jpg)
Most of the extra pieces have two sides, a mirror image of each other. The cable goes back up and around:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIv2Tx0BxVwdHOf-SL_G1-QTMjrdYeV3K7ntCnWhWYBXj0vglVHrK31edeQxd40Crv1R6yuxRUmrPjdFSLd9YHD59T_X2re2HXPoo09bNqvqHB2hZ1TWTN66umDFIBVlS2PwnaY8k8O0/s320/07_BackThru.jpg)
The last piece on the rear warmer ends like this:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_CAIrr1Cu_82llE3UHvzVpjlfm-BIMGn8mCCgjOxS25kzpAhytFPNIe8pcNdqn2JJpI78wlwjUrBuJvinSGVcT-0tNtSNJu4n4a41l6Gxekj5YJ9AVeVmzaixq0RWNQ35gPbpT21W1Ks/s320/08_LastWire.jpg)
As you can see, the warmer cable is just a little too long. So, I cut it off. To make it work again, I need to crimp the two internal heating elements together to make a circuit. First, I stripped off about an inch or so of the exterior insulation. You can see the copper grounding braid peeled back and about ready to cut off - you don't want to accidentally ground your heating elements:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVNlTHLOe2SdT3IItQZuBItT5r84dqLqMUXLlGnZyjmJuH9uMby0Z4srzyfhupFK1ZhP1zJIl3nqCpmkuZwiVWkw1SxsqBYDc3qvJhSwiFGs5XMkE7uhZJZWj9h_Bf_0JjoNQwrAUnDU/s320/09_CutStripped.jpg)
In this blurry picture, you can see the next step - the red central insulator is split to reveal the two finely wound heating elements:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCfHySM1dvnkSMCXOqFTlLt-m01TWi4wBGrUQgZL38gGqxPQAdblb0IES8rehYaVck2hErREHGqC8S2rTldouijBPs46SUN5NL2G7igJUlhjsJRG4DI1AG5osb-vwX60I8iH5hsCx0zzE/s320/10_Split.jpg)
The two elements are twisted around each other and bent over to create a larger footprint for...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8Bjb1kLcTMpjZJhyEQMnDJaJC-aJWH68aPeDRfupqrbWR2S1mqg59v5tvaEcLI5zKRTSnPVcqq31ApwicuikZprNSTOBlxiH0FP2YLltR3MgHse5ZyhxsIMY1lZ5gSI9PIGHWoZHKTk/s320/11_EndsBent.jpg)
...crimping a closed-end connector on.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaA-1FHS3nQ93QNWK5XZh6E3hJ17bAf4xiEsfiJeJYlpUJMw_wqYgxMy4DNlVGseesRQmvjL1X9jE7Ld7CWMJ0v0gIZX8ai-b6MSjC6ColFLoYvCqQu7-1NMCHEsLTmy0UF9yRh7Y04o/s320/12_Crimped.jpg)
Finally, heat-shrink tubing (with built-in glue) is applied - the glue lets you pinch the end shut:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKCG1GDa6NNrTS-UguWNAHeSBc8s8GQbo5kxTWLcZ2mLIEirW5MwdvUeaYOCDBppBRrKo1WMe9F5-9Wm8XK1RtuXR4WlgrTVc4wfh8a36tmkBs4FN23JQHIC1hRQsK6NdPwYLabe01kE/s320/13_HeatShrink.jpg)
Lastly, the aluminum facing pieces are installed. They are held in place with heavy-duty duct taping - actual duct tape, of course, withstands heat (since it is intended to be used with heating ducts):
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS79bSEE0dBfv8HB1n3o_7Qre5sLTgzjTLkN6XO7y8KVN-JKsklupih6KR36aN4XFWquKl_zOD_Qzcha3MNA2Ei3lwmw7p_SYCWVlrP4hw8ilJbBcCRgv8kYz03SXuCyDVEJweXUYpZEk/s320/14_AllDone.jpg)
In the new year, these will all get installed into their racks. I hope everybody has a safe holiday season and a fantastic 2010!