DIY 12V current controller for heated socks?

[fuzzybabybunny]

My mom gets cold feet frequently and I want to get her a pair of heated socks. 99% of the heated socks on the market are battery-powered, and since she's elderly and would want to wear the socks overnight, I don't think a battery powered one is a good fit for her.

Gerbing makes some heated socks for motorcycle riders that run on 12V at 2A max:

https://www.amazon.com/Gerbings-Soc...d=1494630658&sr=8-1&keywords=gerbing+12v+sock

They make other accessories like temperature controllers and stuff for it, but I'm thinking that this should be rather easy to DIY, right? The heat is generated by running a current through a resistance wire. With voltage remaining the same, less current means less heat gets generated, so I can control heat output by controlling current.

The 12V socks would require me to buy a 12V 2A AC/DC adapter for like $8 so that it can be plugged into the wall.

I then hook it up to a $10 12V 2A PWM motor speed controller with a dial knob.

Solder everything together, put it in an $8 enclosure box.... and that's it?

 

[Red Squirrel]

A 12v PSU with decent rating should do. But since those socks are probably not designed to run for such a long time I'd run them at a slightly lower voltage to play it safe. Some PSUs you can adjust a bit.

I'd get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/LAMBDA-LS7512-AC-DC-CONV-ENCLOSED/dp/B00DECSOF4

Whatever you setup I would test it extensively before giving her it, just to make sure that they don't catch on fire or anything like that. Not sure how sophisticated they would be, ex: if it has a built in thermistor and MCU that alters voltage to regulate temp, or if it just hooks in directly to the battery.

 

[Crono]

Whatever you setup I would test it extensively before giving her it, just to make sure that they don't catch on fire or anything like that.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Hahahaha I totally forgot about that.