"Eric R Snow" <etpm@whidbey.com> wrote in message
news:rvgvq0hgrsmpr61bnb14sm25o4clg6adhb@4ax.com...
Quote:
Greetings All,
I know this is silly but here it goes:
My wife and I keep our bedroom un-heated so it gets cold in the
winter. An electric blanket warms the bed before we get in. My wife
would like to keep it on all night instead of using all the extra
covers but is concerned that the "electrical magnetic field" emanating
from the blanket will give us cancer or something. I mentioned that
it's low frequency AC that people are all worried about and we are
subjected to it all day from wires in the walls etc so why worry about
the blanket? I know it's closer so any effect AC might have would be
greater from the blanket but sheesh! Then, I foolishly said that if
the blanket were run on DC we wouldn't need to worry. Now she wants me
to fix the blanket to run on DC. I took apart the control and it seems
like the heat control is just a bi-metal switch and the light is a
little neon bulb. Is there any reason why it couldn't be run on DC? I
envision a full wave rectifier and a capacitor. And it looks like
there is enough room in the control for these extra parts. Is there
anything inside the blanket itself that precludes Dc operation?
Thanks,
Eric R Snow,
Machinist, electonics hobbiest
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It could be done but I wouldnt recommend it. The thermostat switch would
likely fail quickly and start a fire as it is much harder to interrupt DC.
What you would be doing is trading an insignificant (if present) hazard for
a much greater one. Much safer to leave it alone.
I suggest that you direct your wife to John Moulder's site.
http://www.mcw.edu/gcrc/cop.html
and to stop worrying. Either that or get a good down duvet.
Also :
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/healt...tent.0205.html
--
Don Kelly
dhky@peeshaw.ca
remove the urine to answer