KMX[Cyclone] and Watt's up meter

[ballparkcy]

Hi all,

Forgot to mention I thought it a good idea to also visually mesaure the battery consumption, load etc.

Anyway, I have a watt's up meter arriving shortly. Can anyone confirm that it is a matter of simply connecting the source to the batteries + and - and then the load off to the motor + and - or /controller?

On the cyclone a hefty cable goes from the battery to the motor. The controller which is built within the motor then connects to the throttle. I guess the watt's up would connect between the hefty motor cable +/- and the battery +/-? I dont fancy splitting the controller cable as I have no idea what colour does what, etc...

Any confirmation appreciated,

Cheers,
Ballparkcy

 

[flecc]

The similar functions Cycle Analyst (formerly DrainBrain) wires into the main + - leads from the battery, so I'd think that would be the same, though the CycleAnalyst uses a shunt in the main leads and I don't know if yours does. You might want to put it on the downside of any switch though, so it doesn't drain the battery all the time.
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[Jeremy]

Flecc's right, the Watts Up wires in series with the power from the battery to the controller, preferably after the main power switch.

The Watts Up has an internal shunt in the negative lead internally. It has a pair of hefty input cables that connect to the battery side of the circuit and another pair of hefty cables on the load side that connect to the controller.

I have a modified Tornado power meter wired into the "dashboard" on my 'bent that seems internally to be very similar to the Watts Up. It's a useful way of keeping track of power consumption, but, unlike the Cycle Analyst, it unfortunately forgets the data recorded as soon as you turn the power off. This means you need to keep a manual record of the Ah used each ride, before you turn the master power switch off.

Jeremy

 

[Erik]

To save others wondering from googling:

Watt's Up Meter

Watt's Up Meter
Our Watt's Up DC Ammeter measures eight parameters: Amp hours (Ah), Watt hours (Wh), voltage, Watts and captures peak current (Amps), peak power (Watts) and voltage sag (minimum Volts).

Doc Wattson has higher capacity than Watt's Up. It acts as a "fuel gage" to monitor battery bank Amp hours, Kilo Watt Hours and the seven electrical values needed in RV and Marine applications.

 

[flecc]

Thanks for the extra information Erik, I wasn't aware of the Doc Wattson.
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[Tiberius]

It looks like those two have the shunt and the display combined. The Cycle analyst has them separate with a lead between them, so you can put the shunt near the battery/controller and the display on the handlebars without having to run the high current cables back and forth.

Nick

 

[ballparkcy]

Hi all,

Managed to fit Doc Watson yesterday. All looks good but have yet to go out due to the harsh weather here down in the South-West.

Out of interest with no real load apart from the drive chain using my homebrew KMX stand to keep the back wheel off the ground was averaging approx 95w consumption and approx 4.6A flat out on the throttle in top gear. I guess these figures relate to the loss due to the convoluted drive chain, chain tubes, tensioner, motor gear-box reduction, etc. I appreciate these will shoot up as soon as I get on and start giving it some work to do.....

As soon as the weather improves I shall get a video sorted out with some in-flight data inc top speed etc using my PDA-GPS.

Cheers,
Ballparkcy

 

[flecc]

Look forward to that ballparkcy. The weather is quite something at the moment, I've just been blown back the last mile by wind power after battling against it outward bound on a trip, and it's been nothing like as bad here in the South East as in your area. It's getting rough here now though, as they promised it would as it spread across.
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