I would be riding all through winter since it will be my only mode of transport and my heating gear draws about 200w...VS800 has only about 30w excess output to spare.The battery I have on is a AGM heavy duty battery,I am concerned cause AGM battery require relatively higher voltage than lead acid to perform well and goes bad if charge drops less than 50%.

I am planning to install top case/trunk and put in an additional battery which I could connect my heating gear and fog light.If I have issue starting with stock battery or charge goes too low I could start from the additional battery using jumper cable and leave it battery tender overnight.

need suggestion regarding what rating battery(lead acid /AGM) I need to get and minimum AH rating battery  which would be able to fire up the bike.would 12AH battery hold sufficient charge to support about 150W draw for 2 hours

I was thinking of using 50caliber ammo box on luggage rack to house the battery ,any suggestion for economical housing and any precaution I need to take for this set up


Manoj

150W = 12V x 12.5A

12Ah batt would last you about an hour. but thats completely killing the battery. you should never discharge a batt below 25%.

another problem is the charging capabilities of the bike. you can run your equipment off the extra batt's but then how will they get charged?
im not sure what the output of the alternator on the bike is myself.

If you are going to add a 2nd battery, I would use it to power your accessories, not emergency start the bike.  That way you leave the stock electrical system alone. Charge the 2nd battery every night.  If you are just using it for commuting it should have plenty of power for a day's worth of usage.

I would also suggest cutting back on the heated gear - 200w is a LOT to try to power, it would also be very very warm!  I've found 100w to be plenty but maybe you are riding in Alaska or something.

100w of gear for 1 hour is 8.3 amp hours.  Hook up a volt meter and put it on the dash so you can make sure you aren't running the battery down too far.

You could even get some kind of isolator that would charge the 2nd battery from your bike, without draining the main battery, but it sounds like you don't have much extra power anyway?

What about a deep-cycle "marine" battery, designed for deep discharge cycles?

Quote from: Paulcet on September 08, 2010, 12:58:11 PM
What about a deep-cycle "marine" battery, designed for deep discharge cycles?

That would power his electrics great, but they usually weigh 60-80lbs.  Way too much for a luggage rack, not to mention how it would impact the handling of the bike.

http://store.solar-electric.com/sunxtenagmse.html
Deep cycle, smallish, not cheap....

does anybody else make dry-cell batteries other than Odyssey...are they really as good as manufacturer claim..(hold charge for 6 months/can withstand deep discharge)

http://www.odysseybattery.com/powersports.html

Manoj

Dude ... you dont need no heated gear, just get big fat gear and a windsheild.
200watt draw from a second battery wihtout charging it will go kaput in just about 15 mins.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: zirconx on September 08, 2010, 01:42:02 PM

Quote from: Paulcet on September 08, 2010, 12:58:11 PM
What about a deep-cycle "marine" battery, designed for deep discharge cycles?

That would power his electrics great, but they usually weigh 60-80lbs.  Way too much for a luggage rack, not to mention how it would impact the handling of the bike.

So do overweight riders, but the bikes manage. might be worht looking into if set up properly set up high WILL affect handling though would give it a higher centre of gravity. if you go through with it, be ready for that