This is one of those projects that shouts out, "What took you so long?". I can remember a multitude of days that, for one reason or other, I had to face the elements in boots that were damp or wet from either leaking or water splashing in over the uppers. An extremely unpleasant situation to say the least which is what made the concept of a boot dryer so appealing but, that is not the only benefit.
How many pairs of boots have been thrown to the side because of excessive odor? This unit can provide continuous ventilation inside those boots until those bad odors become unpleasant memories. How many frosty mornings would a pair of heated boots have started you out on the right foot so to speak? Warm from the inside out sure sounds good to me! Well, this simple project can make it all happen.
This boot dryer is basically a mini forced air heating system just like the furnace in your home only a lot, lot, smaller. The boot dryer utilizes a small 40 watt (maximum) light bulb as the heat source. The blower motor is a 12 volt DC 80 mm computer fan. I'm thinking any small low velocity fan will work as long as the circulation doesn't defeat the light bulb. In other words, if the air moving through the unit is too fast, the air will not get heated sufficiently to dry the boots or shoes in a reasonable amount of time.
The ducting for the boot dryer is constructed from PVC pipe and PVC fittings that can either be glued rigid or left press fitted for easy setup and disassembly. The internal components consist of a 2 x 4 electrical box that holds a duplex receptical that the 12 volt DC cube transformer will be permanently plugged in to and will be used to power the computer fan. The entire circuit is fed through the On / Off switch mounted in the housing.
This schematic shows the layout for this simple circuit and the relative ease of construction it symbolizes In fact, the construction of this unit is so simple that I will not insult your inteligence by telling you how to assemble it. You'd probably have it done before I finished anyway.
This is a good depiction of the compactness and simplicity of the boot dryer. Every hard working roughneck and every outdoor enthusiast would do well to have one on hand, "Just-In-Case" !!
Randy Gross