Until I read the description on this forum post I had assumed there was a fan for the cooling mode, but apparently there actually isn’t a cooling mode at all, only fabric with a ‘cooling’ effect. This is a heated seat cushion, not a heating and cooling one!
@OnionSoup@PooltoyWolf And considering that the “cooling gel” is a couple millimeters away from the heated layer, it’ll be “warm liquid goo phase” in a minute or so. My car’s cooling seats actually blow air-conditioning around my butt & back. This thing is the Sea-Monkeys of heated/cooled car seats.
I wonder whether the heating feature or the cushion design is the reason for the one-hour limit. I’m betting it’s the latter; stay parked on this ring too long, and you’ll probably find your legs getting numb. If that happened while on a stretch of rural Interstate with no place to pull over safely, it could be really bad.
I mean, I already have two “luxury” cars (at least on paper, the rust might make a different argument) so I don’t really need these. And to be honest, the “cheap” car (2021 Escape with the cold weather package) has way more features than a $15 butt warmer could bring to the table. I mean, a heated steering wheel in a just-above rental spec car? These things have come a long way since the last time I bought a car.
At work, though? I might have to think about this one. It makes a good argument for pulling up my chair to my standing desk in the winter.
@fuzzmanmatt If anything, these are way more interesting for use in-home than in a car. Even if you live in a cold climate but have a car without heated seats, aftermarket heated covers (that plug into the 12 V socket) are cheap and common. These cushions are more convenient for use on say an office chair due to the USB input.
@Atomizer@fuzzmanmatt I have a USB plug in my car, but my first thought was that it would be great for my desk chair, which is about 18 inches from my 50-year-old leaky front windows.
@lisagd I’m sure one of these would help (and you could power it from a cheap battery bank too) but replacing those windows with better insulated ones would be even more effective and save money in the long run.
Tempted…but I could see my kid forgetting to unplug it after getting out of the car.
Got a phone call last week from the school parking lot: “how do I use the portable battery jumper thing? My battery is dead.” (Got that from Meh last year and it worked perfectly.)
But….a phone call I do NOT want to get is “mom…I forgot to turn my seat warmer off and it burned up the drivers seat”
@k4evryng It depends on whether or not your car will output power when not running (and the key isn’t turned to one of the accessory positions.) If it doesn’t, then you’d be perfectly safe. You could easily test this out by plugging in a phone, turning off the ignition, and seeing if it stops recharging it.
@akashb1 - It could be up to 10 Watts if it’s standard USB. That can draw 2 Amps at 5 Volts. 10 Watts is a fair amount in an isolated/insulated place like between your butt and a seat.
The write up says not to make margaritas while driving using this cushion. But I have the solution for you. You can go to a drive though and buy this instead.
Specs
Product: Cool & Heat USB-Powered Memory Foam Seat Cushion
Model: 761496233000, 761496001000, 761496019000, 761496790000
Condition: New
What’s Included?
Price Comparison
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, Nov 2 - Monday, Nov 6
USB-powered bun warmer
My cat would love this!
@lonocat
Your kitty cat, that is!
@lonocat Glad I’m not the only one who thought feline thoughts about this.
@gertiestn @lonocat the only one hour thing worries me though. No self respecting cat sits for only an hour at a time.
@gertiestn @lonocat @OnionSoup Buy two for kitty to alternate?
So, is there no power switch?
Until I read the description on this forum post I had assumed there was a fan for the cooling mode, but apparently there actually isn’t a cooling mode at all, only fabric with a ‘cooling’ effect. This is a heated seat cushion, not a heating and cooling one!
@PooltoyWolf “cooling gel” is common with memory foam… It’s less “cooling” than it is “not warming up quickly from you sitting on it”.
@OnionSoup Yep!
@OnionSoup @PooltoyWolf And considering that the “cooling gel” is a couple millimeters away from the heated layer, it’ll be “warm liquid goo phase” in a minute or so. My car’s cooling seats actually blow air-conditioning around my butt & back. This thing is the Sea-Monkeys of heated/cooled car seats.
Do not use for more than one hour…
I assume they’re talking about the heating part and not that your butt will fall off if you sit on it too long.
@OnionSoup Why risk it?
@blaineg @OnionSoup Overly zealous use of a bun warmer has been known to char said buns.
(Examine the ashes still in my microwave…)
@OnionSoup butt falling off is only an issue of Opus the penguin buys it.
@Fodder650
God I miss those strips!
@chienfou He’s been doing new ones on Facebook for some years now and has compiled some into a new book.
I wonder whether the heating feature or the cushion design is the reason for the one-hour limit. I’m betting it’s the latter; stay parked on this ring too long, and you’ll probably find your legs getting numb. If that happened while on a stretch of rural Interstate with no place to pull over safely, it could be really bad.
@werehatrack Nah, it’s probably because of the former. You’re supposed to get up and stretch periodically anyway.
I mean, I already have two “luxury” cars (at least on paper, the rust might make a different argument) so I don’t really need these. And to be honest, the “cheap” car (2021 Escape with the cold weather package) has way more features than a $15 butt warmer could bring to the table. I mean, a heated steering wheel in a just-above rental spec car? These things have come a long way since the last time I bought a car.
At work, though? I might have to think about this one. It makes a good argument for pulling up my chair to my standing desk in the winter.
@fuzzmanmatt If anything, these are way more interesting for use in-home than in a car. Even if you live in a cold climate but have a car without heated seats, aftermarket heated covers (that plug into the 12 V socket) are cheap and common. These cushions are more convenient for use on say an office chair due to the USB input.
@Atomizer @fuzzmanmatt I have a USB plug in my car, but my first thought was that it would be great for my desk chair, which is about 18 inches from my 50-year-old leaky front windows.
@lisagd I’m sure one of these would help (and you could power it from a cheap battery bank too) but replacing those windows with better insulated ones would be even more effective and save money in the long run.
Tempted…but I could see my kid forgetting to unplug it after getting out of the car.
Got a phone call last week from the school parking lot: “how do I use the portable battery jumper thing? My battery is dead.” (Got that from Meh last year and it worked perfectly.)
But….a phone call I do NOT want to get is “mom…I forgot to turn my seat warmer off and it burned up the drivers seat”
I think I just talked myself out of it…
@k4evryng It depends on whether or not your car will output power when not running (and the key isn’t turned to one of the accessory positions.) If it doesn’t, then you’d be perfectly safe. You could easily test this out by plugging in a phone, turning off the ignition, and seeing if it stops recharging it.
Could be useful for watching high school football games while siting on cold concrete bleachers.
can i shove it down my sweats and use a battery pack to keep my butt warm?
There’s no way a 5v USB heater provides any amount of noticeable heat…
@akashb1 that’s exactly what I was thinking…
@akashb1 - It could be up to 10 Watts if it’s standard USB. That can draw 2 Amps at 5 Volts. 10 Watts is a fair amount in an isolated/insulated place like between your butt and a seat.
@akashb1 @BarnacleBobbie
Given that my wife LOVES her (USB) heated coat I would beg to differ.
@akashb1 Depends. My friend is practically inside the 55°F server closet and any amount of heat helps.
The write up says not to make margaritas while driving using this cushion. But I have the solution for you. You can go to a drive though and buy this instead.
I’m tempted to use this as a plant warmer; anyone know if there’s a timer that prevents it from staying on longer?
HSN Sales Pitch
This seems like a warm bum deal.