This is a device which I made many years ago as a student. I lived
in a student dormitory with stone floors and single glass pane windows. One would easily get
cold feet when studying at the desk.
The feet warmer became the talk of the dormitory. Everybody who
came into my room wanted to know what that thing is.
The feet warmer is a simple two speed heater made from an old metal pot and
an incandescent light bulb as a heating element. These days I don't use
it as often anymore but I still like it. It's a good way to keep your
feet warm on a cold winter day.
The DIY Electric Feet Warmer
Using the feet warmer
How to make an electric feet warmer
To build this device you will need a large pot or deep pan. Most pots are made
these days out of stainless steel and it is very hard to drill a hole into
stainless steel. I recommend therefore an old aluminum or copper pot. Teflon
coated pans are still made from aluminum. You drill holes into the sides to mount
a socket for a 40W incandescent light bulb and two switches. I spray painted
the inside of the pot with mat black paint to convert as much light into
heat as possible.
Inside the DIY Electric Feet Warmer
The 50% heating mode is achieved by running the AC current through a 1N4004 diode. The heater works with power directly out of the wall socket and you can use
the same circuit for both 120V and 230V depending on the rating of the light
bulb. I just had to change the light bulb after moving from Europe to Canada:
Circuit diagram
Make sure that the wires are properly insulated and that the metal pot
has an earth connection. You can build this heater from scrap parts. It's
an inexpensive and very useful device.
