I always find the need for power inside the protected area of my tank bag, so I always end up installing a Powerlet Products Powermate Tank Bag Power System into all of my tank bags. There are many ways to complete the installation, but this is the way I have found to work the best for me. 

You’ll need your Powermate Kit, a soldering iron, a phillips screwdriver, and a small adjustable wrench (or appropriate sized ratchet.) 

First, align the steel ring on the outside of the bag, making sure to check the inside of the bag for clearance. (Note: The steel ring is installed on the inside of the bag, but it makes a great template for the soldering iron on the outside.)

Once you have it lined up, use the soldering iron to melt a hole straight through all layers of the bag.

Repeat for the other three holes, and also the center hole. I usually push the bolts through the holes as I make them, just to hold the ring in place.  For the center hole I melt small holes all around the edge, then use the soldering iron in a circular motion to completely remove the bag material.  Remember, it doesn’t have to look neat since it will all be covered by the kit.

Feed the plug side of the kit through the hole from the outside, line up the holes, push the bolts through from the outside, place the steel ring on the inside of the bag, and install the nuts.

That’s all there is to it. I use a dual cigarette-type adapter for the inside of the bag, so I can use my standard cell phone, ipod, etc charging cables.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 12:22 am and is filed under Bagster, Powerlet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.