As it is getting colder, I am reminded how cold my fingers and toes get (I'm slightly anemic). I'm sure everyone was happy about getting a new "recipe" for home made hand warmers, but I'm sorry I have no such insight. How ever I was wondering the same thing. Does anyone know if it is possible to make the hand warmers, and has anyone ever done it?

I know this is probably a shot in the dark and may not be possible, it just sounded like a potentially fun project.

;)

You're probably right steve. That would be more practical, but it just sounded like a fun "seasonal" project. Although not very practical i guess.

I'm not too sure what you were thinking of making, but some down booties would be a great (and I think easy) project. I don't own a pair, but friends that do love putting them on when they get to camp (obviously winter only). plus, you could make them ultralight!
Just a thought.

Just wondering if anyone knew the chemical reaction to the hand warmers. Maybe tried a few experiments at home. Guess not. The down booties might be good though.

I haven't tried them yet but the Jon-E and Zippo hand warmers both look promising. The Jon-E runs $25-40 and the Zippo is $35 at Amazon. I want to get (or make) a hand pouch that looks much like what the football players use in really cold weather and put the hand warmer inside that. I should get enough oxygen to keep it from going out.

Pat,

There is actually a hand warmer like what you are talking about getting. It has a built in pocket for a hand warmer. It works awesome, I have one. You can actually find them at a local wally world around the beginning of hunting season (now!) in the hunting asile of the sporting goods department.

Edited by dufus934 on 10/30/2007 17:38:15 MDT.

we just had to make handwarmers in my chemistry class. you take 25 grams of iron filings or powder and you mix it with one gram of sodium chloride (table salt) in a ziplock bag then shake it to mix it. then you add a tablespoon of charcoal or sawdust and shake to mix again. seal this in an airtight jar or else the iron will oxidize. to activate, put the amount you want in a ziplock bag and ad about a teaspoon of water. squeeze and shake the mixture until it gets hot. ours got extremely hot and if you get the amounts of chemicals perfectly right, it'll last a few hours.

smithy,

thats what i'm looking for, thanks smithy. Awesome chem lab project too!

TO MAKE YOUR OWN HAND WARMER YOU WILL NEED:
2 sealable plastic bags (approximately 4 inches square)
1/2 ounce (14 grams) powdered lime (calcium oxide)
2 tsp. (10 cc's) of tap water
a teaspoon
a plastic pipette or eye dropper
a bucket of cold water
Before you try the following experiment, make sure that you are wearing protective glasses and latex or rubber gloves. Do NOT handle these chemicals with your bare hands. Don't use a nylon apron or gloves.
NOTE: Be careful! When mixing the contents you may find they become so hot that they can cause serious burns.
Take a small, self-sealing plastic bag and put it inside another bag of the same type and size. Using the teaspoon, carefully add the half ounce (14 grams) of powdered lime to the inner bag, and use the pipette or eye-dropper to add about 2 teaspoons (10 cc's) of tap water. Seal both bags securely, and mix the contents together by carefully manipulating the powder and the water with your fingers. After a few seconds, you will notice that the temperature of the hand warmer starts to rise dramatically.
When we took our slaked-lime hand warmers to the rest of the team on the Franz Josef Glacier, we found that so much heat was generated that some of the plastic bags actually melted. If this happens when you try the experiment, drop the bags into a bucket of cold water and dispose of the resulting solution by flushing it down the toilet. Be sure to wash your hands immediately and thoroughly in lots of cold running water.

http://www.pbs.org/weta/roughscience/series3/ice/handwarmers.html#hand5

It's certainly possible, but maybe you should consider more clothing on your body, arms and legs? Keep your circulating blood warm, and it will warm your extremities.
Anaemia has little to do with it.

Cheers

Recently I purchased the Zippo hand warmer, also sold as the Peacock hand warmer (the makers of the Zippo).
I tried it a few times using Shellite (white spirit). It lasts about 6 hours with 1/4 oz of fuel.
For your own circulation try ginko biloba.
Franco

All: I live in Canada's far North West, so this comes up a lot...my best dodge so far is to carry a stainless steel thermos bottle and some 100ml Nalgene bottles, put them on the ground and pour hot water into them, warm your hands, then drink the water...

We have had problems with people suffering from Carbon Monoxide poisoning when they put lighter-fuel burning hand warmers inside their sleeping bags, so I would be wary of that!

The re-usable commercial handwarmers are almost all made from a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate trihydrate:

You will need (scale up for more or bigger warmers)

50 Grams of NaOAc 3H2O
5-6ml water
A piece of copper wire

Melt the NaOAc and water until all the salt is dissolved. Pour into a boil-proof bag and add a small piece of copper wire. Seal bag, then double seal everything in another boil-proof bag to prevent accidental leaks. The solution may precipitate while pouring it into the bag, but don't worry about this. If it does, just put bag into some boiling water to re-dissolve. Let cool to room temp, then flex the wire through the bags to cause the exothermic reaction. Warmers can be re-dissolved again and again...

These rechargeable warmers that rely on the phase change have a wow factor, but they don't produce anywhere near as much heat (read last as long) as the single use iron oxidation warmers do.

The single use heaters use a mixture of iron, cellulose, water, vermiculite, activated carbon and salt. Sorry, I don't know the proportions, but if you can wait for a sale, it may be more fun just to buy a few dozen.

Edited by herman666 on 11/23/2009 11:05:48 MST.

I like Foot Warmers...

The chemical ones are really good...