Adding a second battery to a Giant Twist Lite.

[nigel]

Nigel

BY grandad
I’ll bet you wished that you hadn't asked now! I think what you are doing is brillant as a ex twistlite owner i am very intrested in your new mods and wish you all the best you never know you might start a new trend for twistlite owners any double the distance cant be bad

 

[Grandad]

I have now started on the rack.
It would be wise not to copy me at the moment as i am not 100% sure that the modification will work.
But.........nothing tried = nothing acheived.
Feel free to chortle.

 

[Grandad]

Feeling chuffed!!

The modification is almost finished now, ready for another test ride. The strapping and wiring are still to be tidied up. Note that the second battery now sits below the pannier bag.
Any constructive comments are welcome.​

 

[Ian]

Nice job Grandad, the weight nice and low and hardly visible with the panniers in place. No doubt you've considered adding another on the right to get unbelievable range. You've good reason to be chuffed.

Ian.

 

[flecc]

Echoing Ian's comments, a great job Grandad, neat and professional. You've every reason to feel chuffed.
.

 

[nigel]

Nigel

Yes well done grandad nice job PS you cant stop now whats next how about a secondhand torq for £500 it would be very intresting to see what you could do with that MPH NIGEL

 

[Grandad]

Thanks to all for your remarks, but too much praise can be counter productive ie: bigger bonnet may be required.
The bike rides better with the lower c of g and the 'wings' of the rack are useful for leaning the bike against walls.

The weight nice and low and hardly visible with the panniers in place. No doubt you've considered adding another on the right to get unbelievable range.
Ian.

I do have a nagging idea that, when the Giant battery goes kaput, that another battery could be rear mounted and a different use be found for the unused space. flecc's idea of re-celling is obiously the best but other ideas spring to mind. Toolcase? Water container? Confectionary box? Collapsible unbrella with a secondary use as a sail? Fold up solar panel? Cool box? Any more ideas?

PS you cant stop now whats next how about a secondhand torq for £500 it would be very intresting to see what you could do with that MPH NIGEL

I'm happy just to play around with the Giant at the moment ta.
Jeff

 

[flecc]

I do have a nagging idea that, when the Giant battery goes kaput, that another battery could be rear mounted and a different use be found for the unused space. - - - - - - - - Toolcase? Water container? Confectionary box? Collapsible unbrella with a secondary use as a sail? Fold up solar panel? Cool box? Any more ideas?

Jeff

Rocket Booster?

Nigel would like that!

 

[nigel]

Nigel

Rocket Booster?

Nigel would like that!
Quite right flecc if it was safe i give it a go not sure how it would look with wings though oh well back to 22mph.NIGEL

 

[Grandad]

Finis.

Job done, site updated

Now to finish off connecting the drain from the conservatory roof to the pond, must keep the tadpoles happy.

 

[nigel]

Nigel

Job well done grandad very professional those lucky tadpoles NIGEL

 

[JohnInStockie]

Additional power

The reason I decided on an isolating, changeover relay is because I am using two very dissimilar batteries.

On the Twist:
NIMH 24V 6.5 Ah, Panasonic 15 months old.

The Salisibury battery:
MIMH 24v 8Ah, Brand new, unknown make.

In my humble opinion it would be dodgy to connect these two batteries in parallel as I feel that the differences would induce a circulating current when off load.

Is there any sort of diode that can be used to restrict any circulating current? I am interested in having an additional parrallel power socket. The purposes of which are 2 fold:-

1) To be able to not use the Twist battery but use a smaller lighter battery for occasions when I am cycling 'au naturele' and just need the odd occasion of power.

2) To be able to connect another batttery supply in parrallel to the Twists for a much longer range.

Any ideas anyone??

John

 

[JohnInStockie]

Any clues anyone?

 

[flecc]

Yes John, I missed this when you posted it.

A Schottky barrier diode could be used in series with each battery. You need a high power type, and the 16 amp rating of the National Rectifier MBR1635 is ok for you. You'll see it on the following RS Components webpage, from where you can also download the Data Sheet showing the connections.

Even with a low loss diode like this, you do lose the best part of a volt through it, so it's better to do a battery swap or use a switch for changeover for best range and performance.
.

 

[JohnInStockie]

Thanks very much for that Flecc. Can I ask, losing that volt, could I go for a 25.2V battery instead then, would that solve the problem?

 

[flecc]

Adding another cell to do that would be ok John, as long as you only fed it through the diode. If you fed it direct when fully charged there'd by a slight risk of blowing the electronics. No room for the cell in the standard case either.
.

 

[Pageant]

Hi Grandad,

I had to make connections for my Windsor Powabyke battery to use with my kit.

I found that the pins from a standard caravan plug were exactly right for the Windsor - The neutral pin is exact fit, the positive pin is same thickness (perfect) but a bit too narrow making it possible for it to move sideways if not taped securely. Fortunately I had two of these plugs spare and was able to use the Neg pins from each, I did have to saw off a few millimetres as they were a tad too long. Heres some pics.

The plugs would be available from any uk caravan dealer.

Richard