Would it be possible to make my own small heat pad that would work with a 120v Sunbeam electric blanket controller? It's 180W style M85AP. I don't believe I have any nichrome wire, just some solid copper wire in a couple different gauges. Not sure if that would work or not so any advice would be awesome. The pad doesn't need to be very big I mean just big enough for my grandmothers ancient cat to curl up on at night. He's one of the bigger cats I've seen but like I said he's real old and skinny, oh yeah and I live in southern OR so it doesn't get too cold here. Anything below 20°F is pretty rare and only gets to freezing or a lil lower ~20x a year.

 

Get a small heating pad from Amazon like these...

https://www.amazon.com/Comfytemp-El...&keywords=mini+heat+pad&qid=1610892207&sr=8-8

 

The problem with making a heating pad is that there are safety considerations you probably are not aware of, and you can't count on strangers on the internet to know how to keep your grandmother's cat or you from being electrocuted or your house burnt down. I leave stuff like this to the pros who work for companies that can send these products off for proper safety testing, I advise you to do so as well.

 

Hello,

Also look for the special made for pets:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pet+heat...pet+heat+pad,aps,251&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-a-p_1_12

Cats have sharp nails that can damage the pad.
The ones made for pets are "resistant" agains this.

Bertus

 

hi 989,
One option would be a low power infra red heater lamp mounted over the cat nap station.
Similar to the type of lamp used for chickens .

We use a higher powered version for piglets.

E

 

I'd separate the heat source from both the cat and the elements, for instance by putting it below a floor in the kitty condo. No claws, rain, etc.

The controller you have, does it have thermostatic control? I'm wondering if you could just use a lightbulb as a heater. Again, I'm picturing an incubator-type situation with the cat's bed on top of it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=heated+cat+bed&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

 

How about bringing the cat inside where it is warm? They're called housecats for a reason. I rescued a feral several years ago and trust me he much prefers the warmth of the house over the harsh Minnesota winter.

 

Downstairs, where there is no heater vent there's a bathroom where I put in a heated floor. The cats (two of them) LOVE sleeping down there all night. However, in the evenings they prefer either my lap or my wife's lap. There's also one of those heated beds that Midnight will spend a few hours in.

 

Would it be possible to make my own small heat pad that would work with a 120v Sunbeam electric blanket controller?

It'll be safer and more eco friendly to use something like a self heating pad.

ThermaNAP™ Faux Fur Self-Warming Pet Bed Mat - FurHaven Pet Products

Comes in two sizes and a variety of patterns.

 

At one time we lived with three cats and two dogs. I never worried about them. Often the cats snuggled up to the dogs (mostly the dumb one) and made it through the nights.

 

Y'know, they say "Dogs have owners. Cats have staff." I guess "staff" includes the dogs.

My little Tuxedo cat is old and having trouble walking. Barely walks flat footed. Have been considering the unthinkable. But it's kind. For now she will spend hours on my lap. Fortunately for her Covid has me sequestered in the house and she has a warm place to sleep for a few hours every evening while I watch the Boob Tube.

My long hair'd will sit on whomever's lap is available. If no one is available she can be found sleeping in the window on her top perch in the sun or in the heated bed after sunset.

Cats leave paw prints on your heart. And home is where the cat hair sticks to everything but the cat. When brushing my cats I can't figure out how I get 9 pounds of hair off of a 7 pound cat. I think she does that deliberately just to mess with my head.

 

The problem with making a heating pad is that there are safety considerations you probably are not aware of, and you can't count on strangers on the internet to know how to keep your grandmother's cat or you from being electrocuted or your house burnt down. I leave stuff like this to the pros who work for companies that can send these products off for proper safety testing, I advise you to do so as well.

D.C., it must be horrible to be chained to every possible fear about everything.

Now for keeping the cat warm, every cat that I have met would choose to sleep in an enclosure with only one side open. So I suggest building it such an enclosure out of the thick styrofoam insulation, so that the cat can have it's sleeping pad on an insulated surface out of all drafts. The beauty of that is that it requires no power and has no controls. A low-wattage light bulb could serve very well as a heat source, but that does require mains power, and while most folks can wire a light socket safely it seems that DC knows the ones unable to do that.

 

D.C., it must be horrible to be chained to every possible fear about everything.
A low-wattage light bulb could serve very well as a heat source, but that does require mains power, and while most folks can wire a light socket safely it seems that DC knows the ones unable to do that.

It could be you were the one he was talking about.

 

I'll suggest you to but from somewhere else with a certified company, If you want to make yourself then you have to very careful and remember all the required parameter like, control heating, technical data and many more things.

Things thing happens after a time of Research and development

 

D.C., it must be horrible to be chained to every possible fear about everything.

While opinions often differ - I don't see a need for this kind of response. It seems a bit snarky and somewhat denigrating to others.

 

While opinions often differ - I don't see a need for this kind of response. It seems a bit snarky and somewhat denigrating to others.

I spent about 5 seconds connected to mains power last summer. Root cause was, of course, stupidity mixed with hubris. I could have unplugged the dryer before working on it, but didn't bother.

Dismissing common and predictable hazards is the hubris of the inexperienced.

 

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While opinions often differ - I don't see a need for this kind of response. It seems a bit snarky and somewhat denigrating to others.

OK, but if you look at those warnings they rather imply that DC believes that the TS is a total moron unable to evaluate what they are doing. The rather blunt implication is that the TS should rather find somebody much smarter than them and buy whatever that party sells.
The flow of this thread could have gone towards a rational discussion of low powered heating systems and a rational discussion of requirements

 

Sometimes things like heating pads are just easier bought than put together from pieces and parts. A Google of pet heating pads will bring up some as low as $15 USD and I doubt I could make one that inexpensive. My neighbor uses an old IR lamp I gave him to keep his outside cats warm in their cat house.

Ron

 

if you look at those warnings they rather imply that DC believes that the TS is a total moron

Perhaps that's your perception. I didn't take it that way. I've been known to sound the warnings of danger too. Sometimes the person who starts a thread is the target of my warning, as may be others as well, but the warning also applies to others - newbies - who may come here to learn something. Not knowing or having the experience of 120VAC from wrist to elbow can benefit from such warnings. Like @wayneh just said, we've all been stung by our own competence. My last stinging was working on an amplifier with a shorted bridge rectifier. Inadvertently I touched mains while I had my arm resting on the frame. Got yet another lesson in why you unplug before you touch. And if I had to count the number of times I've had that lesson that I so stubbornly refuse to learn, it's probably well over 20 times.

In short, you never know who is going to read something posted here and not fully understand the implications of the hazards associated with AC power. We can never know how many people who might have joined this website because they failed to understand the dangers.

If someone says "Your shoe's untied" OK. Thank you. I'll have a look. If so - I'll tie it. It's better to hear something that can benefit you (or others) than to not hear it and have a trip and fall.

I'm trying, of course, to be diplomatic about this. Some are not so subtle. But I have felt that sometimes some here are overly critical of others when there's no need for it. In fact, I've made statements that inadvertently offended someone. Upon learning I came across like an arse I was quick to apologize and try and set the record straight. At the same time seeing others get into a pizzing contest over something that has no merit - I try to ignore it and let those people settle their issues between themselves. But sometimes I reach a saturation point and just feel the need to say something.

I hope I'm not coming across like an arse, but if I am - first, my apologies. Second, I don't mean to .