# Platinum 30 Hand Warmers



## GreatCanadian (Feb 20, 2013)

Hi all,
I am on the second year with my 2013 Platinum 30. It's only recently that I realized that my hand warmers are not working properly. I used my neighbors Deluxe 28, and his warmers are a LOT warmer than mine. So to confirm, I tried my other neighbor's Platinum 30, and my other neighbor's Amiens ?? (Deluxe 28 I think). Those 3 machines have hand warmers that get almost hot. Mine are barely warm. It's the first snowblower I've had with hand warmers so I just assumed they were fine. They are somewhat warm, so there is a connection. If they were not warm at all I would have realized there was something wrong. Any ideas why mine might not be working properly? Thank you.

GC


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

I would check all of the connections to make sure that they are tight, and rust free. Are both sides the same temperature ? It could also be a problem with diodes in your alternator. Is it too late to go back to the dealer, and let them fix/diagnose it ?


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## GreatCanadian (Feb 20, 2013)

Yes, both sides are same temp. Just barely warm. It's a year old, so I probably could take it back to the dealer, but that would be a PITA. I will check the connections as you suggest, and if that isn't the issue I will take it back to the dealer after the snow is gone (if still under warranty) and see what they have to say. Thanks.


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## Snowmann (Dec 24, 2012)

GreatCanadian said:


> Hi all,
> I am on the second year with my 2013 Platinum 30. It's only recently that I realized that my hand warmers are not working properly. I used my neighbors Deluxe 28, and his warmers are a LOT warmer than mine. So to confirm, I tried my other neighbor's Platinum 30, and my other neighbor's Amiens ?? (Deluxe 28 I think). Those 3 machines have hand warmers that get almost hot. Mine are barely warm. It's the first snowblower I've had with hand warmers so I just assumed they were fine. They are somewhat warm, so there is a connection. If they were not warm at all I would have realized there was something wrong. Any ideas why mine might not be working properly? Thank you.
> 
> GC


Check to make sure you have the correct headlight bulb. The bulb on that model is 20W. It is a special order bulb. If it were replaced with a higher wattage off-the-shelf bulb from a hardware store than you'll lose some juice to the grips. Also, check your operating RPM. This is unregulated power. If you're running on the low side RPM-wise your alternator will runny skinny on voltage. The engine is spec'd for 3600 +/- 100 RPM. Shoot for 3700 if you want a healthier dose of voltage. Which engine do you have? Check all the connections for sure.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

RIT333 said:


> I would check all of the connections to make sure that they are tight, and rust free. Are both sides the same temperature ? It could also be a problem with diodes in your alternator. Is it too late to go back to the dealer, and let them fix/diagnose it ?


It's an AC alternator, no diodes.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

GreatCanadian said:


> Hi all,
> I am on the second year with my 2013 Platinum 30. It's only recently that I realized that my hand warmers are not working properly. I used my neighbors Deluxe 28, and his warmers are a LOT warmer than mine. So to confirm, I tried my other neighbor's Platinum 30, and my other neighbor's Amiens ?? (Deluxe 28 I think). Those 3 machines have hand warmers that get almost hot. Mine are barely warm. It's the first snowblower I've had with hand warmers so I just assumed they were fine. They are somewhat warm, so there is a connection. If they were not warm at all I would have realized there was something wrong. Any ideas why mine might not be working properly? Thank you.
> GC


I have a brand new Platinum 24 with the same problem. I suspect Ariens put on the 20 watt grips instead of 30 watt grips.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

enigma-2 said:


> I have a brand new Platinum 24 with the same problem. I suspect Ariens put on the 20 watt grips instead of 30 watt grips.


Easy to check. Ohm's Law is Watts=Voltage * Voltage / Resistance

Assuming that you have 12 volts, then the resistance for the 30 watt grips should be about 5 ohms, and the the 20 watt grips would be about 7 ohms.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Measure the voltage before the heaters to ground (heaters ON) and see if you do have 12+ volts with the engine near full throttle. That checks that the stator has the capacity to run them.
Then check after the heaters to ground. That will check the voltage drop of the ground connection. If I remember it should be .1 or .2 volts on the ground side. If you have a bad connection it will be robbing you of some of the current necessary for the grips to heat up and that would show up as a higher voltage reading.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

RIT333 said:


> Easy to check. Ohm's Law is Watts=Voltage * Voltage / Resistance
> 
> Assuming that you have 12 volts, then the resistance for the 30 watt grips should be about 5 ohms, and the the 20 watt grips would be about 7 ohms.


Thanks, will need to wait until I can get back & measure it.
Thanks again, hadn't throught of doing this.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Measure the voltage before the heaters to ground (heaters ON) and see if you do have 12+ volts with the engine near full throttle. That checks that the stator has the capacity to run them.
> Then check after the heaters to ground. That will check the voltage drop of the ground connection. If I remember it should be .1 or .2 volts on the ground side. If you have a bad connection it will be robbing you of some of the current necessary for the grips to heat up and that would show up as a higher voltage reading.


Excellent suggestions, never thought of doing this. Along with the suggestion from rit333 I should be able to determine what's going on with the grips. Thanks again.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

enigma-2 said:


> Excellent suggestions, never thought of doing this. Along with the suggestion from rit333 I should be able to determine what's going on with the grips. Thanks again.


"should" ! not "will" !!!

Make sure that your meter is accurate, and has a "relative" Ohms measurement ! 

Or, can you call Ariens and they might be able to tell you how the 20 watt grips differ from the 30 watt ones visually - or maybe they'll say - yeah, we screwed up and installed quite a few of the wrong ones - and they'll send you a new/extra set ! Just a thought...


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

RIT333 said:


> Easy to check. Ohm's Law is Watts=Voltage * Voltage / Resistance
> 
> Assuming that you have 12 volts, then the resistance for the 30 watt grips should be about 5 ohms, and the the 20 watt grips would be about 7 ohms.



The thing to remember is you have to calculate your way to the resistance of the heaters. Like a light bulb you can't measure it's "working" resistance unless you have current flowing through it. Same with a heater. You can't take an accurate measurement of it's resistance (Ohms) unless it's under power as the resistance changes as it reaches it operating temperature. But you can only read Ohms when the circuit is dead. So you have to measure voltage just before the heater and then current (Amps) and calculate resistance, Ohms.
If you read the voltage and the current you can calculate the resistance. With that you can calculate the Watts and know what the wattage is of both hand warmers if you take the Amp reading after they both join back together going to ground.

And remember you are likely dealing with AC voltage and not DC. But that isn't always true. The stator produces AC and it needs to be converted to DC and that takes more parts so if it isn't necessary for something like battery charging the manufacturer usually isn't going to spend the $$$ on the rectifier to convert to DC.

It's harder to discuss it than it is to do but in the real world all you need to find out is if you have 12V or more before the heater. If you do you have all the power you need to power whatever you have in the circuit.
It also means that if the circuit is holding over 12 volts that the warmers are getting as warm as they'll get.
If the voltage drops below 12V with the engine near full throttle than either the hand warmers (load) are too big (too many watts) and or the stator can't produce enough current to support it.


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## GreatCanadian (Feb 20, 2013)

*Hijack!!*

Hey enigma. You hijacked my thread!! But that's perfect because in my absence you've managed to wrangle some great answers from the awesome members on this forum!! I thank you, and the other posters as well. I will try theses suggestions.


GC


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## SnowGuy69 (Feb 12, 2014)

GreatCanadian said:


> Hi all,
> I am on the second year with my 2013 Platinum 30. It's only recently that I realized that my hand warmers are not working properly. I used my neighbors Deluxe 28, and his warmers are a LOT warmer than mine. So to confirm, I tried my other neighbor's Platinum 30, and my other neighbor's Amiens ?? (Deluxe 28 I think). Those 3 machines have hand warmers that get almost hot. Mine are barely warm. It's the first snowblower I've had with hand warmers so I just assumed they were fine. They are somewhat warm, so there is a connection. If they were not warm at all I would have realized there was something wrong. Any ideas why mine might not be working properly? Thank you.
> 
> GC


 
2nd year? Isn't the unit under warrantee for 3 years? Have the local Ariens dealer pick it up and fix it under the 3 year warrantee. That way, if they are broken, they can install new ones for you. Just saying….that why they warrantee the units.


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