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Ingemar -- you are doing some truly amazing exploration. Well done! When do we get to see photos/the video??? PATCO Service, Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland makes a series of lights and suit heaters for both wet and dry diving. The heaters are available in 6 or 12V set ups. Since they operate in a wet or dry suit, a suit flood would not effect the heater. 410-444-4010; www.patcoinc.com They are component systems in that the cables are separate/joined to batteries/lights/heater pads with quick connectors that are easy to operate wearing gloves. The connectors at both ends of the cables are "potted in" so that water cannot enter, and the outer skin of the cables are protected further with a very durable mesh sleeve. The system is usable with your normal suit and underwear and not a replacement for the latter. You might run your normal primary light config. and have another battery dedicated for the heater only. Or you can operate a light from the battery pack during the dive, and if you have a suit leak, switch the battery over to the heater and exit with your back-up lights. Or, if your dry suit doesn't leak during the dive, just switch to a heater pad at the end of the dive and use the remaining battery juice to keep you warm(er) during deco. Or just connect the heater to a fresh battery staged with your deco bottles at the end of the dive. You can run two heaters at once (front and back) with the optional y-cord. The options allow a lot of flexibility. If you don't like having so many connectors (potential failure points), I'm sure PATCO will hardwire the configuration you want. In any case, you have to plan your dive and gear selection with the consideration of whether your heater config. is a comfort option (OK/just a nuisance if it poots), a life-support component (must function always, therefore must have a back up), or for emergency bail-out only (held in reserve, as a last resort) and dive accordingly, within those limitations. I don't work for the company -- but I enjoyed using a heater during some equipment tests and found it very effective in a wet suit. I was starting out in water that's "toasty" to you (70F). The manufacturer reminded me that it's best to start the dive using the heater and continue with it throughout the dive because it is very difficult for the body to "catch up" once seriously chilled, no matter what the heat source. With something like this, in the water you dive, your nuts might come back down in something less than a week.;-) Best regards, Christopher A. Brown The Technical Diving Video Library http://www.aulinc.com/video.htm ameruwlite@ao*.co*, Fax: 352.669.1256, or Phone: 352.669.5483 Life is short -- this is not a rehearsal. -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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