inflating kayak using the 12 v electrcal air pump??????????

[rudramdas]

hi all,
i dont know if anyone of u have done this......i just got myself a inflatable kayak :oops: for a single person so that i can carry it on my vstrom.....but the problem is the air pump..i have a electrical air pump which requires a 12 volt supply :roll: ...so i have the following questions...
1)can i use the battery for this device...
2)if yes then do i have to run the engine in neutral when i use the electrical air pump...how does the alternatoor work...whether it charges the battery when it is running on gear or just in neutral also...
3)the air pump has a connection like that of a ciggaratte lighter in the cars..i mean the jack looks that way...so i need a convertor which can connect it to the air pump to the battery.....
thanks in advance for the help.....
rudram

[BradM]

It is not difficult to wire a 12 volt cig outlet on the bike so you have power for various accessories. The best type for a bike can be found at marine supply store for well under $10.00, they will have a spring loaded cover to keep the elements out of the outlet. Then the tough part is where to mount it, but the bike has a lot of places to set it up.

A bikes alternator usually doesn't produce enough energy to recharge a drawn down battery until it is ~3000 rpms and usually peaks output ~6-7000 rpms. The stator aka alternator is a large magentic piece directly attached to your crankshaft and spins within a set of coils mounted to an engine case to produce the electricity. It works regardless of being in gear or neutral, whenever the motor is spinning you get some juice produced. If your battery is in good shape and even if the bike isn't running you should have no problem letting a pump run for a few minutes.

You can get a few more minutes by starting the bike and being sure your not drawing any additional load from the battery like having the high beams on but understand the battery is not being recharged at idle. And running a bike at idle or even higher rpms for extended periods is not a good thing.

[subagon]

I took my $10 Walmart 12v air pump and cut off the 12v power plug and replaced it with a couple of mini battery clips like these;

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F011%5F002%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=270%2D344

Simple and cheap. To use the pump just remove the seat and attach the clips like a pair of mini jumper cables.

Mike
Tampa, FL
DL650K5

[GetFuzzy]

The problem with these little pumps is that they do not move the volume of air required to fill anything bigger than a bicycle tire. Even a motorcycle tire may take more than 15 mins to fill (from empty) following their recommendations to stop to allow the pump to cool down. I think you'd be better off with a foot pump of some sort.