Batteries: what is considered over taxing them?

interstate · 07-04-2011, 07:51 AM

I just converted a club car to solid state:

Plum Quick motor upgrade to stock 36v motor (now running on 48v)
400a controller
pot box
new 4 gauge wires throughout
added to 6v batteries to bagwell to achieve 48v ( U.S. Batteries)
Rear seat kit installed

My questions are about acceptable use and treatment of the batteries. I use the cart almost exclusively for pleasure riding with my wife and two young kids on city and country streets. Yesterday we enjoyed a long ride at dusk that was about 9 miles total. Can batteries handle 9 miles of continuous driving without a problem? Of course there are plenty of stop signs and red lights, but it is not uncommon to go 4 miles without stopping. Also, does it make a difference if I cover long stretches at full throttle or partial throttle?

My cart averages about 20 mph at full throttle. On slight down hill grades it may reach 25, going the other way it may max out at 19 uphill.

I don't want to over tax the batteries and ruin them.

shadowman · 07-04-2011, 08:28 AM

this is a question with a ton of varibles like age and condition of batteries......tempatures hills , inclines, ect, ect,........from what i know and i don,t know everything about batteries but a good well maintained set should get you approx 20 miles between charges.......now most members here who know the ins and outs of batteries say don,t run them past 50% discharged its bad for them ...........i can,t tell you what % your at after the 20 miles.....i plan on finding that out for myself after i upgrade a cart i have and break the new batteries in..............but if you really want to keep an eye on your voltage talk to scotty and pick up one of the digital voltage meters he sells for carts.........after a few weeks with it you,ll know by the #,s where your battery pack is.....................

interstate · 07-04-2011, 12:58 PM

The batteries are US Batteries, 6v. I added two batteries in the bag well for a total of 48v. The first six batteries were purchased last fall and cycled a few times gently to break them in. Each ride was progressively longer and I noticed the charge times became shorter. Recently I installed two new batteries to up the voltage. They are on their fifth charge as part of the entire battery bank.

I did install a 48v digital state of charge meter. This is the unit with little light bars that ramp up to show voltage. For the first couple of miles the highest light is illuminated. After about 3 miles it drops to the second light. After about 5 miles it drops to the third light and has never fallen below that mark. I believe light #4 or five would be about 50% on this meter.

I expect the peak voltage to drop off quickly. I just wonder how long I can keep the throttle mashed without hurting the batteries. Does it hurt the batteries to go full throttle for 20-30 minutes at a time? Under load the voltage never hits the 50% light.

One thing I did notice is that after the light hits the third led I can stop the cart, turn it off, put the key back in and the led will reset to the top voltage light. I do suspect that the voltage in the packs may refresh after a short break. Of course they meter drops quicker when under load after their refresh rest.

Perhaps I should have bought a voltage meter with actual numeration readout instead of a bar graph display. I may have another watt meter that I could install somewhere to show real time voltage if that is a better guide.

What voltage would be the safe cutoff/stop and charge target?

Again, can the batteries endure long sustained loads?

scottyb · 07-04-2011, 01:21 PM

This chart shows that the batteries can take deep discharges, but the number of times they can do the deep discharge is considerably less than the shallow discharges.

Golfdog · 07-04-2011, 03:05 PM

Interstate, check out the Trojan website there is some usefull info on maintenance and use

gornoman · 07-04-2011, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by interstate

Perhaps I should have bought a voltage meter with actual numeration readout instead of a bar graph display.

That would have been my recommendation. A true real-time digital readout meter is the best info you can have concerning the condition of the pack.

ajbrown · 07-05-2011, 10:50 AM

FWIW, I have two 2002 CC series carts that have very different ranges before reaching 48.4 volts (50%). It is very unusual for me to push the carts to 50%, but I have done some testing to know where that number is.

One goes about 25 miles, it has 6-8V T875, 3.5 year old batteries that came with cart which are slowly failing.

The second cart goes 50 miles before discharging to 50%. I converted this cart last year to hold 8-6v T105, 1.5 year old batteries.

Most of my driving is at 20-24 MPH in these carts.

07-04-2011, 07:51 AM	#1
interstate Gone Wild Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 161	Batteries: what is considered over taxing them? I just converted a club car to solid state: Plum Quick motor upgrade to stock 36v motor (now running on 48v) 400a controller pot box new 4 gauge wires throughout added to 6v batteries to bagwell to achieve 48v ( U.S. Batteries) Rear seat kit installed My questions are about acceptable use and treatment of the batteries. I use the cart almost exclusively for pleasure riding with my wife and two young kids on city and country streets. Yesterday we enjoyed a long ride at dusk that was about 9 miles total. Can batteries handle 9 miles of continuous driving without a problem? Of course there are plenty of stop signs and red lights, but it is not uncommon to go 4 miles without stopping. Also, does it make a difference if I cover long stretches at full throttle or partial throttle? My cart averages about 20 mph at full throttle. On slight down hill grades it may reach 25, going the other way it may max out at 19 uphill. I don't want to over tax the batteries and ruin them.
interstate Gone Wild Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 161

07-04-2011, 08:28 AM	#2
shadowman The Last Moja Morani Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: jumping from cart to cart Posts: 8,975	Re: Batteries: what is considered over taxing them? this is a question with a ton of varibles like age and condition of batteries......tempatures hills , inclines, ect, ect,........from what i know and i don,t know everything about batteries but a good well maintained set should get you approx 20 miles between charges.......now most members here who know the ins and outs of batteries say don,t run them past 50% discharged its bad for them ...........i can,t tell you what % your at after the 20 miles.....i plan on finding that out for myself after i upgrade a cart i have and break the new batteries in..............but if you really want to keep an eye on your voltage talk to scotty and pick up one of the digital voltage meters he sells for carts.........after a few weeks with it you,ll know by the #,s where your battery pack is.....................

07-04-2011, 12:58 PM	#3
interstate Gone Wild Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 161	Re: Batteries: what is considered over taxing them? The batteries are US Batteries, 6v. I added two batteries in the bag well for a total of 48v. The first six batteries were purchased last fall and cycled a few times gently to break them in. Each ride was progressively longer and I noticed the charge times became shorter. Recently I installed two new batteries to up the voltage. They are on their fifth charge as part of the entire battery bank. I did install a 48v digital state of charge meter. This is the unit with little light bars that ramp up to show voltage. For the first couple of miles the highest light is illuminated. After about 3 miles it drops to the second light. After about 5 miles it drops to the third light and has never fallen below that mark. I believe light #4 or five would be about 50% on this meter. I expect the peak voltage to drop off quickly. I just wonder how long I can keep the throttle mashed without hurting the batteries. Does it hurt the batteries to go full throttle for 20-30 minutes at a time? Under load the voltage never hits the 50% light. One thing I did notice is that after the light hits the third led I can stop the cart, turn it off, put the key back in and the led will reset to the top voltage light. I do suspect that the voltage in the packs may refresh after a short break. Of course they meter drops quicker when under load after their refresh rest. Perhaps I should have bought a voltage meter with actual numeration readout instead of a bar graph display. I may have another watt meter that I could install somewhere to show real time voltage if that is a better guide. What voltage would be the safe cutoff/stop and charge target? Again, can the batteries endure long sustained loads?
interstate Gone Wild Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 161

07-04-2011, 03:05 PM	#5
Golfdog Gone Wild Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 488	Re: Batteries: what is considered over taxing them? Interstate, check out the Trojan website there is some usefull info on maintenance and use
Golfdog Gone Wild Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 488

07-05-2011, 10:50 AM	#7
ajbrown Getting Wild Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The Villages, FL Posts: 144	Re: Batteries: what is considered over taxing them? FWIW, I have two 2002 CC series carts that have very different ranges before reaching 48.4 volts (50%). It is very unusual for me to push the carts to 50%, but I have done some testing to know where that number is. One goes about 25 miles, it has 6-8V T875, 3.5 year old batteries that came with cart which are slowly failing. The second cart goes 50 miles before discharging to 50%. I converted this cart last year to hold 8-6v T105, 1.5 year old batteries. Most of my driving is at 20-24 MPH in these carts.

Today
BGW	Sponsored Links __________________ This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members. Register your free account today and become a member on Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum

Similar Threads
Thread	Forum
Recharging Batteries---so charge recognizes batteries!!	Electric EZGO
2009 Batteries versus New Batteries	Electric Club Car
charger reads, check batteries, and limit use with new batteries!	Electric Club Car