The different types of hand warmers
Are you here because you are looking to find out about or maybe to purchase a battery-operated hand warmer? Let’s first establish the many types of hand warmers available and then look at your options as far as battery versions are concerned.
Available hand warmer types on the market are: –
1) instant hand warmers
2) reusable hand warmers
3) fuel operated hand warmers
4) battery operated hand warmers
Battery operated hand warmers can be broken down further into two specific types
1) General usage electric hand warmers
2) Targeted application (e.g. golf cart or cycling/motorcycling electric operated gloves).
If you are looking for hand warmers for golf, please go to best-hand-warmers-for-golf/ which covers these hand warmers in more detail. As for cycling/motorcycling gloves, I will cover these in this article
However, this article is mainly focusing on the general usage battery hand warmer. The categories covered are:
- How they work
- Charging
- output of heat
- makes/models
- functions
- costs
- summary.
How do battery hand warmers work?
The battery used the hand warmer is a lithium-ion battery. This type of battery came into use in the early 1990s and generally replaced the much larger Nickel-Cadmium batteries for certain. The benefits being they are much lighter and smaller making them suitable for computers, mobile phones, watches etc and have the ability for high output, such as for tools and even motor vehicles. They don’t discharge their power anywhere nearly as quickly as the alternatives and require lower maintenance. While this is still a relatively new technology means it is evolving quite rapidly and it is also more expensive compared to nickel cadmium batteries. Lithium-ion batteries have the ability to be recharged. But this has a finite number of charges and also limits the life cycle of a product if it is embedded into it.
Charging battery hand warmers
battery operated hand warmer is normally charged using a USB to USB 2 cable. The charging time is between 2 to 4 hours. This will depend on make and level of charge required to fully recharge the hand warmer.
Heat output of battery hand warmers
This will be dependent on the make and model you purchase but you can expect a temperature of around 50 degrees Centigrade (122 degrees Fahrenheit). If you get a two-setting hand-warmer, the lower setting would probably be around 40 degrees Centigrade (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The temperature it is being operated in i.e. the ambient temperature will have an effect on the heat output and how hot your hand warmer feels and this will have a direct effect on how warm it will make your hands. Therefore if it is being operated in lower temperatures the hand warmer will not achieve as high a temperature also the length of operation time will probably reduce.
Normally, you can expect up to 9 to 10 hours usage on low settings and around half of this on a high setting. Again all these figures are subject to make and model of your hand warmer. Some models might have three settings which will give you even more flexibility.
Make/functions of battery hand warmers
Few battery-operated hand warmers are purely just a hand warm warmer. Most also have the capability to act as a power bank. This allows you to extend the life of your phone, tablet, or computer whilst you are away from a charging point.
This can be very handy in a number of settings and where your battery has given up the ghost and no mains power to plug into! Don’t expect it to give you unlimited power but it might help to get you out of an emergency or maybe keep a petulant teenager busy for an hour or two longer.
Don’t forget however it will shorten the usage as a means of keeping your hands warm.