The info in this thread is similar to "kinda shot" but specific to the Eaton PowerStor XVM 16V 65F (EDLC) capacitor purchased from DigiKey and delivered to Edmonton for $229.00 including GST.
Install is very straight forward and takes about 1/2 hour the first time: remove the two battery cover screws and the one for the metal brace, remove the two battery terminal connections and remove the battery. The Eaton supercap is 9" long so it has to fit diagonally top left to bottom right in the compartment, reinstall the battery cables to the terminal strip and secure with the two screws provided. Mine is installed with the cap facing outwards and the terminal strip at the bottom right; this allows a decent fit under the brace that is installed over top the cap. I put a couple of strips of duct tape under the brace to provide a bit of a cushion between the cap and brace and prevent movement. If you have only Estart like my sled (no pull start) you will need to charge the cap before replacing the cover. I used an older style battery charger for the initial charge(very high inrush current at the beginning tapering off as voltage rises, approximately two minutes).
Replace the brace and the cover and you are done. The cap appears to be weather proof but not water proof so I put a Zip lock bag over the top of the cap and taped the terminal end before putting the brace and cover on to provide additional moisture protection.
Pros:
The charging system puts out 14.5v, 25 Amps at idle and 30 Amps above 2000 RPM. I did my tests with no accessories on and from about 9.4v to 14.5v recharge was approximately 30 secs. Note these caps will continue to charge at very low current for much longer but not like a battery does.
You can get 7 start/stops without a recharge. The voltage drop is about 0.74volts per start with no run time. Starting at 14.5 volts and ending at 9.32. You need more than 9.5 volts for a cold start.
The cap weighs 0.75 kg (1.65 lbs) net savings about 13 lbs cost per lb $17.60 Cdn.
If your sled has a "pull start" the first start in the morning just like "Shot" will be pull start; after that should be Capstart. In my case I don't have a pull start so I do an initial boost with a battery charger, battery or lithium booster pac that I always carry.(1.5 lbs) I added two wires that come from the terminals on the cap to the area near the fuel tank where I can do a boost without any tools or down time. Depending on the voltage of the boost your cold start should be better than a battery start if you are able to charge the cap higher than cold battery voltage. This cap is rated to -40C/F much colder than what I ride at.
Nothing was cut or added so changing back to battery is about 20 minutes. The cover fits for a stock look but would need a bit of trimming in the corners of the battery compartment to allow the cap to drop further down into the case. I put a strip of black Gorilla tape on the left side for now (1/4") higher to keep the snow out, until I decide to make the cap permanent?
Cons:
The self discharge rate is about 1 volt per hour, so you will drop from 14.5 volts to 9.5 volts in 5 hours and may or may not get a start. 4-4.5 hours shouldn't be a problem for a cold start.
I hope you find this info useful, should you decide to try something similar; I do not endorse the product or warranty the modification.
Thanks to the guys on "kinda shot" that provided info that got me interested. No pics for now too complicated for me???
Install is very straight forward and takes about 1/2 hour the first time: remove the two battery cover screws and the one for the metal brace, remove the two battery terminal connections and remove the battery. The Eaton supercap is 9" long so it has to fit diagonally top left to bottom right in the compartment, reinstall the battery cables to the terminal strip and secure with the two screws provided. Mine is installed with the cap facing outwards and the terminal strip at the bottom right; this allows a decent fit under the brace that is installed over top the cap. I put a couple of strips of duct tape under the brace to provide a bit of a cushion between the cap and brace and prevent movement. If you have only Estart like my sled (no pull start) you will need to charge the cap before replacing the cover. I used an older style battery charger for the initial charge(very high inrush current at the beginning tapering off as voltage rises, approximately two minutes).
Replace the brace and the cover and you are done. The cap appears to be weather proof but not water proof so I put a Zip lock bag over the top of the cap and taped the terminal end before putting the brace and cover on to provide additional moisture protection.
Pros:
The charging system puts out 14.5v, 25 Amps at idle and 30 Amps above 2000 RPM. I did my tests with no accessories on and from about 9.4v to 14.5v recharge was approximately 30 secs. Note these caps will continue to charge at very low current for much longer but not like a battery does.
You can get 7 start/stops without a recharge. The voltage drop is about 0.74volts per start with no run time. Starting at 14.5 volts and ending at 9.32. You need more than 9.5 volts for a cold start.
The cap weighs 0.75 kg (1.65 lbs) net savings about 13 lbs cost per lb $17.60 Cdn.
If your sled has a "pull start" the first start in the morning just like "Shot" will be pull start; after that should be Capstart. In my case I don't have a pull start so I do an initial boost with a battery charger, battery or lithium booster pac that I always carry.(1.5 lbs) I added two wires that come from the terminals on the cap to the area near the fuel tank where I can do a boost without any tools or down time. Depending on the voltage of the boost your cold start should be better than a battery start if you are able to charge the cap higher than cold battery voltage. This cap is rated to -40C/F much colder than what I ride at.
Nothing was cut or added so changing back to battery is about 20 minutes. The cover fits for a stock look but would need a bit of trimming in the corners of the battery compartment to allow the cap to drop further down into the case. I put a strip of black Gorilla tape on the left side for now (1/4") higher to keep the snow out, until I decide to make the cap permanent?
Cons:
The self discharge rate is about 1 volt per hour, so you will drop from 14.5 volts to 9.5 volts in 5 hours and may or may not get a start. 4-4.5 hours shouldn't be a problem for a cold start.
I hope you find this info useful, should you decide to try something similar; I do not endorse the product or warranty the modification.
Thanks to the guys on "kinda shot" that provided info that got me interested. No pics for now too complicated for me???
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