Heated gear/battery system compatibility reference

[FigureItOut]

I thought it'd be useful to have a compendium of what batteries will work with what heated gear. Post here what you've had success with and what if any modifications were needed.

For my contribution, I've included some other info that may be helpful if you like to get creative with power sources and connections.

 

[FigureItOut]

Both Bosch and Milwaukee use a size M coaxial connector. That's a 2.1mm pin and 5.5mm OD, is the most common size of barrel connector, and is found on CCTV cameras and all sorts of devices and wall warts.


The Bosch heated gear will run off any 12VDC source. I've powered my Bosch jacket off of a Milwaukee M18 power source, a car cigarette lighter plug, and a cheap SLA hobby battery. You can buy size M jacks with solder-on and screw terminals.


The Bosch jacket will not power up, however, unless you convince it that the Bosch battery holster is attached, which is easy to do. The holster outputs, and the jacket must see, two pulses to off after the jacket is plugged in. To run the jacket from a Milwaukee battery for example, you must plug in the jacket 3 times, leaving it plugged in the third time. You don't need to do it particularly fast.


The Bosch jacket uses about 850 mA of current on high. The current is the same on medium and low, but it pulses on and off, probably using a PWM.


The Bosch battery holster, once plugged in, outputs 12VDC to a female size M connector with no detection circuitry of any kind, except it does give the two pulses to open when first plugged in. It could be used to power up just about anything requiring 12VDC, within its current capacity.


The Milwaukee M18 power source outputs 12VDC to a female size M connector without any apparent detection circuitry. It could be used to power up just about anything requiring 12VDC, within its current capacity.

 

[aspireguy95]

The Milwaukee battery with power source works in the heated craftsman jacket

 

[kctyphoon]

The Milwaukee and Dewalt power sources are interchangeable as well. I have both, and a coat or hoodie from each... I could SWEAR that I remember reading, or seeing a video stating the Milwaukee did NOT work with the bosch, and the speculation was that maybe the polarity was reversed on the Bosch plug. I think that was on an older model, but if the guy posting above has both and he says that they work - I'll believe him over something else I saw or read..

I think the Ridgid jacket from last year uses the same plug too.. probably the Kobalt as well. Chances are these are all made by the same place anyway, just with different materials and designs.

 

[extropic]

FigureItOut,

Twice in post #2 you write that Milwaukee M18 batteries put out 12VDC.

I had assumed that the M12 system was 12VDC and the M18 system was 18VDC.

I don't own any of either so can't check.

Was your reference to M18 in error (s/b M12)? Or do you confirm that the M18 system operates on 12VDC? Other options?

 

[FigureItOut]

FigureItOut,

Twice in post #2 you write that Milwaukee M18 batteries put out 12VDC.

I had assumed that the M12 system was 12VDC and the M18 system was 18VDC.

I don't own any of either so can't check.

Was your reference to M18 in error (s/b M12)? Or do you confirm that the M18 system operates on 12VDC? Other options?

Not the battery, the slide-on power source. I wrote it twice to clarify that I was indeed using an M18, and that the power source does indeed output 12VDC. The power source is designed to upgrade the potential runtime on the Milwaukee jackets, which is on the M12 system.

 

[FigureItOut]

I could SWEAR that I remember reading, or seeing a video stating the Milwaukee did NOT work with the bosch, and the speculation was that maybe the polarity was reversed on the Bosch plug. I think that was on an older model, but if the guy posting above has both and he says that they work - I'll believe him over something else I saw or read..

My post was wordy so let me summarize on the Bosch jacket. When you plug it in the jacket needs to see the "secret handshake". To replicate that with another company's battery pack, plug it in three times, leaving it plugged in the third time.

 

[extropic]

Not the battery, the slide-on power source. I wrote it twice to clarify that I was indeed using an M18, and that the power source does indeed output 12VDC. The power source is designed to upgrade the potential runtime on the Milwaukee jackets, which is on the M12 system.

AHHH HAAA! Thank you for your reply. It's clear to me now.

 

[kctyphoon]

My post was wordy so let me summarize on the Bosch jacket. When you plug it in the jacket needs to see the "secret handshake". To replicate that with another company's battery pack, plug it in three times, leaving it plugged in the third time.

Is that something you figured out on your own, or is it "the fine print" of the manual?

 

[FigureItOut]

Is that something you figured out on your own, or is it "the fine print" of the manual?

I figured it out. Not by accident though, it came up in another thread and I wanted to know.

 

[mrvm]

I figured it out. Not by accident though, it came up in another thread and I wanted to know.

This information is so perfectly timed! I have the Milwaukee and Bosch jackets. Now I can freely add other styles of jackets, vests or hoodies whenever they go on sale or better yet clearance. Last year the CM camo was so ugly a NIB was marked down to $25 for being so hideous. Looks worse than the pic

 

[Mgnu]

You can also zip the Milwaukee jackets into high end expensive outdoor gear hard shell jackets from the North Face. Just look for the North Face models that are zip-in compatible. The zippers are the same....

 

[atikovi]

Any jacket out there that will take Ingersoll Rand batteries? Either the 20V or 12V. BTW here is a current Milwaukee promo I found https://files.constantcontact.com/91e3dd809e/3795729d-a864-4d4d-a60f-6c64d3049464.pdf

 

[jcthorne]

Has anyone used any of the milwaukee power sources with Firstgear heated clothing (motorcycle clothes)?

 

[FigureItOut]

Has anyone used any of the milwaukee power sources with Firstgear heated clothing (motorcycle clothes)?

I looked over their website a bit, and they sell various adapters and such that certainly look to me like they're using the ubiquitous size M barrel connector. One of the accessories they sell is just a receptacle attached to fused ring terminals, that looks like it is designed to connect the heated gear directly to a motorcycle battery. Given what I see there, I would confidently say their gear will work with Milwaukee power sources.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Crazyjake8493]

The Bosch jacket uses about 850 mA of current on high. The current is the same on medium and low, but it pulses on and off, probably using a PWM.

For anyone that's curious the Milwaukee gear operates the same way but draws about 1.03 amps of current at each level, pulsing on and off.

 

[kctyphoon]

All i know - is I’m not spending $150 on heated gloves.. screw that.. i was actually thinking about it when the wind chill hit 17 below the other day.. but not anymore.

 

[paperchasin]

Sorry to bump this somewhat older thread...I searching online and was looking at other options to power up my M12 heated jacket because I don't care for the bump caused by the size of the M12 batteries. Has anyone tried to power their jackets with a portable battery pack? I have a couple of 10,000mah packs that are the same size and thickness as an iPhone and it would be awesome if it worked. I was thinking of buying a USB-A to 12V DC step-up adapter and trying it out.

 

[rlitman]

Forget the step up adapter. The energy loss will make your run time too short.

You could use a lithium jump pack with 12V output. But you’d probably need to solder an adapter for the barrel connector to EC5.

 

[paperchasin]

Bumping this for an update on my quest for an alternate power source solution for my M12 jacket.

I have found a solution that works great for me. I wanted something with a much higher runtime and with less bulk than the M12 batteries. In summary, I purchased a 20,000mAh Anker portable battery pack with USB-C Power Delivery (PD) capabilities. I then purchased a USB-C PD trigger that would activate the 12v output from the Anker battery pack. I wired up the PD trigger to a female barrel adapter to act as a "bridge" and now I am able to use my Anker portable battery pack to power my M12 jacket. I tested this out a few times and on a fully charged battery pack (20,000 mAh capacity), I am able to get 4.5hrs of continuous runtime on HIGH setting with both the jacket and the handwarmers running simultaneously. If anyone is interested in more details, parts, pics, etc. feel free to ask and I will get you the info.

 

[UT4Runner]

Old thread, but another data point-- the Bosch 18v USB power source (older 2.4A USB-A version) also can put out 12v for the heated gear, however in testing I found that the 12v barrel port does not put out any voltage unless a plug is inserted. It bends down a third contact inside the socket to ground, which activates the step-down circuit.

 

[rlitman]

Old thread, but another data point-- the Bosch 18v USB power source (older 2.4A USB-A version) also can put out 12v for the heated gear, however in testing I found that the 12v barrel port does not put out any voltage unless a plug is inserted. It bends down a third contact inside the socket to ground, which activates the step-down circuit.

Interesting. That's good and bad. The buck converters that drop 18V to 12V in these power sources drain the batteries slowly. That's why they have switches. This works in lieu of a switch, but if you leave it plugged in, even if the heated gear is turned off you run the risk of running down the battery after some time.