Battery reminder

skipsmith521

I Have a new 36 volt battery pack that has 20 or so charges on it now...

What is the lowest you can take the pack down to before charging?

Trying to give my kids a Volt meter number to remember and know when they need to head to the house to put cart on the charger.

I have been telling them 37.5, but I think they can probably go further on a charge.

Thx

Skip

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BGW

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crash test dummy

50% is lowest you can go with out hurting the batteries

scottyb

They need to get the pack on the charger by 36.3 volts so anything below 37v and they should be heading home (assuming they are not so far away as to run the pack down 1v coming home).

Rickochet

I thought I read that the 50% figure is a never exceed limit but trying not to go below 80% particularly during the first dozen or so cycles will greatly extend the life of the pack. I have the ScottyB volt meter and have a SOC chart mounted next to it for reference.

Attached Images

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skipsmith521

Is it correct to say on 36 Volt cart that upgrading the controller from stock to a dcx400 or anything that is larger than stock, you will go through a battery charge quicker?



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cgtech

If you are always "trying out" that extra power, then yes. If you drove it exactly the same as you did with other controller (dont accelerate any faster than it could before, keep to same speed), it would use the same amount of juice.

JohnnieB

I've done range estimates for my cart as I've upgraded it, starting with a PDS cart that was stock except for 2Ga cables and 17" tall tires. The tests were all 10 to 13 miles long over a mix of the same trails through fields, gravel roads, paved roads and city streets that included steep hills and stop signs. The cart was driven as hard and fast as the terrain and conditions allowed, giving me the worst case scenario for the range estimates.

Here are the average Amp-Hours used per mile for various setups:
36V - PDS motor - PDS controller in Mild Hill Mode = 3.4 AH/mi (14MPH + Reg Braking)
36V - PDS motor - PDS controller in Freedom Mode = 4.5 AH/mi (18MPH - No Regen)
36V - PDS motor - Alltrax DCX400 controller = 3.8 AH/mi (24MPH + Regen Braking)
42V - PDS motor - Alltrax DCX400 controller = 3.5 AH/mi (28MPH + Regen Braking)

How long a battery charge lasts actually boils down to how hard the cart can be driven more than what controller is used.

In a nutshell a PDS controller will only pass 300A to the motor while a DCX400 will pass 400A, but the higher amp usage only occurs in during the first few yards off the starting line. From that point on, the motor dictates how many amps are drawn. (There are other factors involved also)

Change the "will" to "can" and the statement is correct.

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Cgtech hit the nail on the head.

skipsmith521

So this information spurs on other thoughts...

If your DCX controller is programmed or dialed back on the throttle, in theory it would seem the charge would last longer?

I am pretty sure my teenage kid knows one speed and that is the pedal all the way down.

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cgtech

Just like mashing the gas at the stop light uses more gas, hot-rodding your electric cart uses more juice. Dialing back the throttle rate would benefit the longevity of a charge.