Chromatic Warmer

[SlideMeister]

Holy smoke! This one actually works!

I just got a Chromatic warmer from a man in Japan who claims these are being used a lot over there. (sometimes it's good to be king )

Anyway, I just connected my new gizmo to an EastTop 16 holer and for almost an hour and a half, the Chromatic stayed nice and warm till my three re-chargeable AA batteries finally died. Re-Chargeables are definitely the way to go with this little guy. I was impressed; it actually worked very well. It was too warm outside today to give it a real cold weather test, but from what I can gather, one could probably strap on a portable amp, crank up the volume and play in cold weather with a marching band!

Okay, pros and cons:

It warms the harmonica well (I used three batteries- you can also use two)
It warms up within about ten minutes with batteries
The reed plate gets warm from end to end
Warms up faster when plugged into the wall with the power supply. (wall-Wart)
It seems to attach tight enough. (fits snugly)
While it may work best for players who like to use a microphone on a stand
it also works quite well with a hand held mic (just takes some getting used to)

Suggestions:
My guess is that most players might prefer not to have the power wire on the button end. (I just put it on up-side-down) and the indicator LED on the opposite side from where it is now. (unless you wanna put it on up-side-down too )
While maybe not necessary, a lower profile would make it more attractive to players who hold a microphone against the back of the harmonica.

@ge

[fgbrault]

Thanks for the review. 

Frank B

[Gnarly He Man]

Is the wire optional, or required?

[SlideMeister]

The warmer itself is a clamp-on heating element which won't work without the wire which goes either to a battery pack OR a wall wart. I think the wall wart warms a bit faster but both Both worked very well for me.

[Mick]

Thanks AJ. looks interesting. Do you have any info on where to purchase and how much? Does it have a brand and or model name?

[SlideMeister]

Hopefully I'll have that info tomorrow.

[Mick]

thanks mate 

[Gnarly He Man]

Warm is good . . . 

[smojoe]

It's a catriccola
s.j.

[Giuliano]

Yeah… It is looking to me as the electrical version of the popular  japanese portable charcoal  grill, the SICHIRIN. It scares me…

[streetlegal]

That certainly looks like a good solution. So well done to whoever put this together. I've used a little usb heating element strip, but it has to be plugged in to the wall. So this battery unit may permit chromatic players to go outside and play Christmas carols in the snow .

One thing I'm interested in is the contact point. I'm assuming that the heat is transferred directly from the element to the exposed back edges of the reedplate  ( that the reedplates would in fact become part of the electrical circuit) so it would be important that this connection is firmly held in place.

 

[SlideMeister]

One thing I'm interested in is the contact point. I'm assuming that the heat is transferred directly from the element to the exposed back edges of the reedplate  ( that the reedplates would in fact become part of the electrical circuit) so it would be important that this connection is firmly held in place.

Actually, since the reed plates do in fact, get warm all the way to the ends of the instrument, I too I thought about that same thing; but a voltage reading on the two copper contacts (pictured below) showed no voltage present.

I tried the thing again today with some cooler temperatures outside and once again, it worked well again.

[SlideMeister]

But the "firmly in place" you mentioned is still important, and the screws seem to do a pretty good job.

[Gnarly He Man]

If you Google "harmonica warmer" Japan, a handful of pdfs show up . . .
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22harmonica+warmer%22+Japan&oq=%22harmonica+warmer%22+Japan&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
I like it!
15,000 yen, how much is that in Red Dirt dollars?
I looked it up, $132 and change . . .

[SlideMeister]

Yep! That's the one!
15,000 yen is about 130 Yankee bucks (I just looked it up )

[Gnarly He Man]

If I were a full time chromatic player (as opposed to one who plays the chromatic in addition to other instruments, or makes huge money when I do play), I would consider that to be a modest investment.

[SlideMeister]

I'm playing at the nursing home tomorrow. I'm gunna leave it on my axe, even though its plenty warm in there, just to get a feel for how much I mind it for extended playing.

[Gnarly He Man]

I am keeping the chrom warm at Suzuki--I have the heating pad going in the warehouse (where I do repairs) and a USB coffee warmer attached to the computer (where I do the admin stuff), so I can keep it hot. I find that if you put the chrom inside the folded heating pad gets it too hot to play--but not hot enough to do damage to the valves.
How hot does this unit get the harp--is it "just right"?

[SlideMeister]

With the batteries, there are two settings: two batteries for low and three batteries for higher. I don't think I gave it much of a try on low, so I'll try it again and let you know. The high (three batteries) gets plenty warm, maybe even warmer than necessary, but not what I'd call hot, or anything that would do any kind of damage to the wind savers in any way. 

[streetlegal]

Thanks for that photo of the inside of the box AJ. I think I can see how it works - the two copper strips will be held securely in contact with the exposed edges of the reedplates _ copper is of course a very good conductor of heat.

I thought it was running off four batteries - that would be about 6 volts. But to run it on just three is even more impressive - probably less than 4 volts with rechargeables. Anyway to do this they had to get just the right resistance in the element (that means specialised nichrome wire for the element) - so that enough heat would be produced by this low voltage and supply. So although it doesn't look like much, you can be sure that a lot of work went into its development.

[williamgoelz]

My armpit still does the trick and its free.

BillG

[Edward Brock]

My armpit still does the trick and its free.

BillG

How many batteries does the armpit take?

[Balcom]

Armpit can be very bad idea. If you use deodorant or didnt use any, smell or taste might bother you. 😷

[Grizzly]

Armpit can be very bad idea. If you use deodorant or didnt use any, smell or taste might bother you. 😷

The trick is to not put the mouthplate against the antiperspirant. Put it facing down. Problem avoided. You want to warm the back of the harmonica anyway. And put it over the shirtsleeve, not under, fercryinoutloud.

Tom

[Jp]

I find that if you put the chrom inside the folded heating pad gets it too hot to play

I have that same problem. Have to be careful with it. one with a timer might work better, I think... (so that it cuts off before it gets too hot)

[SlimHeilpern]

I find that if you put the chrom inside the folded heating pad gets it too hot to play

I have that same problem. Have to be careful with it. one with a timer might work better, I think... (so that it cuts off before it gets too hot)

I think the trick is to find the right heating pad. The one I bought recently, on its lowest setting, seems to be perfect:

Sunbeam 2014-915 Xpressheat Heating Pad, Large (12" x 15")

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008744QM4/ref=sr_rp_1_s_it?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ie=UTF8&qid=1458335809&sr=sr-1&keywords=Sunbeam+2014-915+Xpressheat+Heating+Pad%2C+Large+%2812%22+x+15%22%29

It does have an auto-shutoff (which you can disable), but it's fixed at 2 hours.

- Slim.

[Gnarly He Man]

I find the trick is not to make a burrito, but simply create a tostada.
Hmmm, lunch time . . .

[SlideMeister]

Okay, I just tried this thing on "low" (two batteries) and it lasted over two hours. Not bad!   Not as warm (to the touch) as on the high setting (three batteries) but warm enough to keep any moisture from forming.

[Doug]

I think the trick is to find the right heating pad. The one I bought recently, on its lowest setting, seems to be perfect:

Sunbeam 2014-915 Xpressheat Heating Pad, Large (12" x 15")

Thanks for this recommendation, Slim. My heating pad works well, but it does get too hot after a while even on the low setting. I think I'll upgrade to this Sunbeam, because Happiness is a warm.....harmonica.

[SlideMeister]

I have no financial affiliation with the company, but I do think its a pretty neat product. Prices should be coming shortly.