Not sure if this should be in this forum or 'Tackle', but thought I'd try here first.
I'm an old git and so have had a Nash Power Barrow for about five years now. I have (still do) use a car for my trips and this means taking the barrow apart and doing a 'Tetris-type' packing job each time I go fishing. Also, because my car is our family car I have to load/unload/vacuum between each trip so we can use it for normal stuff in-between.
This is all getting a bit too much for my old bones now so I am about to invest in a van. My dream is that I just wheel my barrow in and out at the lake, and when I'm not fishing my barrow just lives in the van. It would make a massive difference to me. But I've just hit a potential snag. The battery on the barrow can only be accessed when the top of the barrow is empty. Silly design. But it means that I wouldn't be able to avoid unloading the barrow to re-charge it, which sort of defeats one of my main objectives.
The battery housing itself is sort of an EVA material which hangs below the frame, and I'm tempted to have a go and try to fashion some sort of additional entry into it. However before I start slashing around with knives and make a complete hash of it I thought I'd reach out and see if anyone on here has already figured out a way of doing this or, for any other Nash owners, whether you can come up with a practical way of achieving this?
Thanks in advance for any help.
David
I'm an old git and so have had a Nash Power Barrow for about five years now. I have (still do) use a car for my trips and this means taking the barrow apart and doing a 'Tetris-type' packing job each time I go fishing. Also, because my car is our family car I have to load/unload/vacuum between each trip so we can use it for normal stuff in-between.
This is all getting a bit too much for my old bones now so I am about to invest in a van. My dream is that I just wheel my barrow in and out at the lake, and when I'm not fishing my barrow just lives in the van. It would make a massive difference to me. But I've just hit a potential snag. The battery on the barrow can only be accessed when the top of the barrow is empty. Silly design. But it means that I wouldn't be able to avoid unloading the barrow to re-charge it, which sort of defeats one of my main objectives.
The battery housing itself is sort of an EVA material which hangs below the frame, and I'm tempted to have a go and try to fashion some sort of additional entry into it. However before I start slashing around with knives and make a complete hash of it I thought I'd reach out and see if anyone on here has already figured out a way of doing this or, for any other Nash owners, whether you can come up with a practical way of achieving this?
Thanks in advance for any help.
David
Hi,
I have a Nash barrow and wheel my barrow straight into the van as you want to do.
I just got a spare set of batteries and swap them over every now and then and put the spare set on charge.
But I’d be interested in any ideas or success you have with your idea.
Cheers
Mike
I have a Nash barrow and wheel my barrow straight into the van as you want to do.
I just got a spare set of batteries and swap them over every now and then and put the spare set on charge.
But I’d be interested in any ideas or success you have with your idea.
Cheers
Mike
Ive got the Nash Evo barrow with a conversion kit, I’m not sure how much play you have in the battery terminals but i store mine in one of the front pouches next to the wheel making it easy to unplug and recharge.
In reply to Post #1
I am totally with you on this and am also considering a dedicated van as the ultimate item of tackle . . .also running a Nash Power Barrow and it is an agg . . .first thing to do is to replace the batteries with LifeP04 as they last so much longer. This will mitigate the effort in the first instance and will improve your barrow anyway . . .they are also a lot lighter than lead acid batteries
In terms of the battery compartment itself I've had similar thoughts but not sure whether you can remove it in totality (beneath the water proof lid) without damaging it - the idea being that you could send it off to Andy Army to fit a waterproof access zip for example . . ? You'd still need to get on the floor to access etc which could be a bit tricky but could be one way to do it?
The other would be to extend the connection cables (from battery to control hub) and place the batteries in one of the small wheel pannier bags (akin to what you'd probs do with an aftermarket bolt on kit). This would then only mean cutting a small hole in the existing battery bag bay - maybe a small rubber disc type grommet would help? Only probs with this is potential water ingress / cables being exposed to moisture over time and the whole thing self destructing . . !
Alternatively, maybe just go full in - ie new van = new barrow! Don't like the reviews on either Solar or Fox / don't want a Korda Barrow with a heavy, outdated wheel motor) so I would def be going for a bolt on hub wheel kit with any new barrow purchase . . .
I am totally with you on this and am also considering a dedicated van as the ultimate item of tackle . . .also running a Nash Power Barrow and it is an agg . . .first thing to do is to replace the batteries with LifeP04 as they last so much longer. This will mitigate the effort in the first instance and will improve your barrow anyway . . .they are also a lot lighter than lead acid batteries
In terms of the battery compartment itself I've had similar thoughts but not sure whether you can remove it in totality (beneath the water proof lid) without damaging it - the idea being that you could send it off to Andy Army to fit a waterproof access zip for example . . ? You'd still need to get on the floor to access etc which could be a bit tricky but could be one way to do it?
The other would be to extend the connection cables (from battery to control hub) and place the batteries in one of the small wheel pannier bags (akin to what you'd probs do with an aftermarket bolt on kit). This would then only mean cutting a small hole in the existing battery bag bay - maybe a small rubber disc type grommet would help? Only probs with this is potential water ingress / cables being exposed to moisture over time and the whole thing self destructing . . !
Alternatively, maybe just go full in - ie new van = new barrow! Don't like the reviews on either Solar or Fox / don't want a Korda Barrow with a heavy, outdated wheel motor) so I would def be going for a bolt on hub wheel kit with any new barrow purchase . . .
In reply to Post #4
Thanks for this. Coincidentally this morning I was in the garage with the barrow to see if a ‘revelation’ that occurred to me would work—it was the same one you’ve suggested, using one of the side panniers and I’m 99% certain it can be done. Right now a thick cable comes out of the frame on the front wheel which is threaded through a rubber grommet/hole into the battery box. It is then push connected into other half of the cable. I’ve checked and the other half of the cable is long enough to be pushed out of that hole (along with the battery connector cables) and it could all be connected outside of the box.
So all I think I need to do is create a hole in the side pannier and then I can house the battery there and access it for charging through the pannier’s existing zipped sides. I’ll see if I can find a waterproof EVA box that will fit the batteries and that will still fit in the pannier, and a waterproof rubber grommet for the new hole would also help I suspect. But definitely a viable solution which I’m pleased about because I didn’t want the hassle (and cost) of a new barrow when there’s nothing wrong with this one.
BTW I’m with you on LifeP04 batteries. Made that change a few years ago and it was a game changer.
Thanks for this. Coincidentally this morning I was in the garage with the barrow to see if a ‘revelation’ that occurred to me would work—it was the same one you’ve suggested, using one of the side panniers and I’m 99% certain it can be done. Right now a thick cable comes out of the frame on the front wheel which is threaded through a rubber grommet/hole into the battery box. It is then push connected into other half of the cable. I’ve checked and the other half of the cable is long enough to be pushed out of that hole (along with the battery connector cables) and it could all be connected outside of the box.
So all I think I need to do is create a hole in the side pannier and then I can house the battery there and access it for charging through the pannier’s existing zipped sides. I’ll see if I can find a waterproof EVA box that will fit the batteries and that will still fit in the pannier, and a waterproof rubber grommet for the new hole would also help I suspect. But definitely a viable solution which I’m pleased about because I didn’t want the hassle (and cost) of a new barrow when there’s nothing wrong with this one.
BTW I’m with you on LifeP04 batteries. Made that change a few years ago and it was a game changer.
In reply to Post #5
I’ve got a large Sonik Bank-Tek Accessory Pouch which houses my battery and module, but I’ve got the BCUK kit so the standard barrow may be different.
I’ve got a large Sonik Bank-Tek Accessory Pouch which houses my battery and module, but I’ve got the BCUK kit so the standard barrow may be different.
In reply to Post #5
Weirdly I've just had to charge my batteries so took the chance to have another look. The electronics compartment is secured / fixed with an inner flat metal 'ring' and several dome head screws with allen key recesses . . .so it can be removed. There is a grommet / hole with the main cable but this can be disconnected so I reckon you could remove the lot, get a zipped fixed somewhere sensible and then re-install everything. Still maybe a pain to get to but at least this way I reckon you could access more easily once the loaded barrow is in the back of the van and slightly higher etc. Lighter LifeP04s would mean they wouldn't be too difficult to remove . . ?
Let me know how you get on with the pannier method and what bits you've had to source to sort it if you go down this route as like you I've had zero issues with my barrow and cannot see the point of buying another (although I do like the look of the non-powered Korda Roamer . . 😱) unless I really have to . . .
Weirdly I've just had to charge my batteries so took the chance to have another look. The electronics compartment is secured / fixed with an inner flat metal 'ring' and several dome head screws with allen key recesses . . .so it can be removed. There is a grommet / hole with the main cable but this can be disconnected so I reckon you could remove the lot, get a zipped fixed somewhere sensible and then re-install everything. Still maybe a pain to get to but at least this way I reckon you could access more easily once the loaded barrow is in the back of the van and slightly higher etc. Lighter LifeP04s would mean they wouldn't be too difficult to remove . . ?
Let me know how you get on with the pannier method and what bits you've had to source to sort it if you go down this route as like you I've had zero issues with my barrow and cannot see the point of buying another (although I do like the look of the non-powered Korda Roamer . . 😱) unless I really have to . . .
In reply to Post #7
Well I ordered my van on Friday and it’s only a wait of two weeks for delivery so my ‘battery relocation project’ has become more urgent. I reckon next weekend is when I’ll be fully focussed on this. In the meantime I’m going to order some rubber hole grommet things off Amazon. They seem cheap as chips and whatever I end up doing there’ll be a hole into the pannier somewhere or other. Will keep you updated.
Well I ordered my van on Friday and it’s only a wait of two weeks for delivery so my ‘battery relocation project’ has become more urgent. I reckon next weekend is when I’ll be fully focussed on this. In the meantime I’m going to order some rubber hole grommet things off Amazon. They seem cheap as chips and whatever I end up doing there’ll be a hole into the pannier somewhere or other. Will keep you updated.