DIY Pannier Power

[edkinsorama]

I've been wondering how to get power in to my top box so I can charge camera etc on an upcoming trip. In the end I decided that it couldn't be too hard to cobble something together myself. About £20 worth of parts and a couple of hours work and I'm sorted. I thought you might be interested in what it looks like so I've attached a few photos below. Cheers. Simon

 

[wayne]

Where did you get the parts

 

[Deleted account W]

Is the feed off the bike going via the plug which then feeds the socket on the top box?

If so be careful you don't let the centre terminal of the plug touch any of the bikes frame or you'll be changing a lot of fuses.

 

[edkinsorama]

Maplins

Parts

From Maplins:
Black ABS Project Box - £2.50 ish
Ciggy lighter thingy socket - £2 ish
Wire - 10amp figure 8 - £1 per m
Rocker switch - £2.50 ish
Heat shrink tube - £2 ish

From eBay:
Hella style truck socket and plug x2 - £3 each. It would appear that the BMW DIN connectors are widely used in lorries and are called Hella plugs - cheap!
12v to 240v inverter - about £8 - do a search

I think that's about it...

Cheers

Simon

 

[edkinsorama]

good point

yes that's true. I'll have to remember to plug in to the top box first and then the bike.

I guess it would be better to use a connector on the top box that has a shielded positive. There is a high tech piece of bicycle inner tube between the socket and the top box. Do top boxes conduct?

I must admit, I thought that because the lead is plugged in to the bike via the socket on the engine - which I though was fused - that it would just be that fuse that blew if anything shorted??

Happy to be educated otherwise though!

S