Thinking about going Lithium soon

[grtskydog]

Originally Posted by Dieselnut

The specs on the website are correct. The BMS was upgraded but the battery decals didn’t get made in time to reflect the upgrades. It can handle anything you throw at it.

Thanks. I just got an email back from EB essentially confirming this. Actually, they said the website data sheet is even conservative. The rep said you could set the Navitas (not sure which model) to max setttings and the battery won't shut off.

That being the case, I'd go out on a limb and say these batteries are a vaild alternative to the "P" batteries from RoyPow. My initial runs went well, but you could tell the controller was holding it back due to my initial settings. Time to go crank up the Alltrax settings and give this thing a real test run!

[mycamel]

Originally Posted by grtskydog

I purchased the ECObattery (48V 72AH) bundle. I'm finishing up my install this week, so stay tuned. It's a 2003 TXT and the battery drops right in the stock mounting brackets. Overall I'm impressed with the "48V TXT bundle"...comes with battery pack, on-board charger, SOC meter, mounting strap (a basic rachet-strap with hooks) and a 48-12V reducer for the lights. It's paired to an Alltrax 400 that I'm limiting to about 5500 rpm. Looking forward to seeing what the actual range will be, but this isn't a golf car, it gets us around our little beach town. Longest round-trip anywhere is about 7 miles. The main goal was to replace the 6 year-old 36v Duracells with a 48v conversion for more speed to keep up around town. The (alleged) pack life, low maintenance, lighter weight are all just icing on the cake. It does also reduce the weight of your wallet, but you already knew that.

That all sounds great. I have a 2003 TXT, 36V. I've already replaced the stock controller with an Alltrax controller. I've got a 2 year old "stock motor".

Will my set-up handle 48V?

[bronsonj]

Originally Posted by mycamel

I have a 2003 TXT, 36V. I've already replaced the stock controller with an Alltrax controller. I've got a 2 year old "stock motor".

Will my set-up handle 48V?

For 48v you need:
* Controller (you already have that)
* 48v charger
* batteries/cables
* 48v compatible solenoid (if you've upgraded your controller did you upgrade the solenoid at that time?)

The stock motor will handle 42v or 48v just fine. The part that the stock motor has difficulty with is increased amps (more amps = more heat). Most stock motors can handle 400 amps. If you have a 500 amp controller, turn it back to 400 amps.

The other thing motors can't handle is too much RPM. Everyone says 6,000 rpm is the max if you want your motor to have a long life. If you go faster than that you risk the motor coming apart internally and locking up. So while 40mph sounds cool, it isn't cool to be sliding at 40mph because the motor locked up.

----- edit -----
https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/speed-calculator.php

6000 rpm, 12:1 gear ratio (I think the real ratio is 11.44:1 but I've always just used 12:1), 18" diameter tires (you should measure your diameter and use that instead) = 26.8mph max. Anything over that and you're over revving the motor. But measure your tire diameter first to get an accurate speed threshold.

[grtskydog]

Camel, I have the same cart as you...kept the stock motor. If you've already got the Alltrax, and you're getting new batteries anyway, I'd just go 48V. You might save a few hundred getting the 36V, but the 48 will pull harder (hills/passenger loads) and cruise with less effort. Tough to say about getting your 27 holes in with the pack I have, since I'm still testing on my first charge. I've been almost 4 miles and I'm at 83% SOC...but I've been wringing her out with different speeds and profiles. Plus, you'll be tackling more inclines at a golf course than I am on a beach island. That said, ECO battery claims you can do over 30 miles on a charge with the 48/72AH pack. I imagine you'd just have to dial your Alltrax back to "stock" golf cart specs to make that happen. I'd like to be of more help with the EcoBatt, but It's gonna take a few charge cycles and some record-keeping to give you any reliable numbers. Stay tuned.

All I can say at this point is the cart will MOVE now...scared the wife when we took the laptop and did our first test run. That was just 26mph/5500rpm.

[Steveweree]

I decided on the Ecobattery 144Ah 36V for my EZGO TXT with lift kit and offroad tires, standard controller.
The 144Ah kit is two 72Ah batteries in parallel. I paid $2700 plus tax through local Michigan dealer. One week later the package was listed on the Ecobattery website for $2500

Chose ECObattery because of specs and their kit was well thought out with everything, including tie down straps and even lift handle to pullout the old Trojan lead acids.

I tried to charge the batteries out of the box, but the charger ran for 5 seconds and error coded. ECO said the charger thinks the batteries are fully charged, although they were at 39.5V and to try again when everything connected. So I continued on.

Install went well enough. Took a day and half, but a lot of cleanup from the old lead acids.

Plugged in charger, still got the same error code. ECO said charger still thinks one of the batteries is fully charged. Ran the cart for 8 miles or so, voltage now at 38.5V. Still charger will not charge. Tried charging batteries individually, same error.

ECO sent me another charger, get the same error code. ECO still saying charger thinks battery is full. Ran the cart for about 20 miles total and cart died out ion the road. Voltage fell off quickly form 37V to 30V when BMS cut in. Batteries now at 33V, charger will still not charge. So now dead cart. Still waiting on a resolution.

Cart ran great when it was running. I really want to like the ECO battery, support has been super responsive, but not resolving anything.

[Tom47]

Originally Posted by Steveweree

I decided on the Ecobattery 144Ah 36V for my EZGO TXT with lift kit and offroad tires, standard controller.
The 144Ah kit is two 72Ah batteries in parallel. I paid $2700 plus tax through local Michigan dealer. One week later the package was listed on the Ecobattery website for $2500

Chose ECObattery because of specs and their kit was well thought out with everything, including tie down straps and even lift handle to pullout the old Trojan lead acids.

I tried to charge the batteries out of the box, but the charger ran for 5 seconds and error coded. ECO said the charger thinks the batteries are fully charged, although they were at 39.5V and to try again when everything connected. So I continued on.

Install went well enough. Took a day and half, but a lot of cleanup from the old lead acids.

Plugged in charger, still got the same error code. ECO said charger still thinks one of the batteries is fully charged. Ran the cart for 8 miles or so, voltage now at 38.5V. Still charger will not charge. Tried charging batteries individually, same error.

ECO sent me another charger, get the same error code. ECO still saying charger thinks battery is full. Ran the cart for about 20 miles total and cart died out ion the road. Voltage fell off quickly form 37V to 30V when BMS cut in. Batteries now at 33V, charger will still not charge. So now dead cart. Still waiting on a resolution.

Cart ran great when it was running. I really want to like the ECO battery, support has been super responsive, but not resolving anything.

I am interested in following your ECO Battery problem and future correction. I hope all goes well for you. You may want to start a new thread so I and others can follow this.

[mycamel]

Originally Posted by Steveweree

I decided on the Ecobattery 144Ah 36V for my EZGO TXT with lift kit and offroad tires, standard controller.
The 144Ah kit is two 72Ah batteries in parallel. I paid $2700 plus tax through local Michigan dealer. One week later the package was listed on the Ecobattery website for $2500

Chose ECObattery because of specs and their kit was well thought out with everything, including tie down straps and even lift handle to pullout the old Trojan lead acids.

I tried to charge the batteries out of the box, but the charger ran for 5 seconds and error coded. ECO said the charger thinks the batteries are fully charged, although they were at 39.5V and to try again when everything connected. So I continued on.

Install went well enough. Took a day and half, but a lot of cleanup from the old lead acids.

Plugged in charger, still got the same error code. ECO said charger still thinks one of the batteries is fully charged. Ran the cart for 8 miles or so, voltage now at 38.5V. Still charger will not charge. Tried charging batteries individually, same error.

ECO sent me another charger, get the same error code. ECO still saying charger thinks battery is full. Ran the cart for about 20 miles total and cart died out ion the road. Voltage fell off quickly form 37V to 30V when BMS cut in. Batteries now at 33V, charger will still not charge. So now dead cart. Still waiting on a resolution.

Cart ran great when it was running. I really want to like the ECO battery, support has been super responsive, but not resolving anything.

Man that's too bad...

Did they give you a wiring diagram on how to hook everything up. I've looked on their site and find nothing.

I'd be interested in seeing whatever they sent with the kit.

[Steveweree]

The kit items are shown on the ECO Battery website under "36V Bundle includes:" They do not include any cables.

After I contacted them about the charging problem, they sent me the attached wiring diagram, which was a little different than I originally had it. I had the red & black controller and charger cables coming off the same battery. I have updated now.

I get why their wiring diagram is preferred - small differences in the cable and terminal resistances cause unequal loads on the batteries over time and at higher currents. ECO tried to tell me that could be why charger was not charging. Not so.

[Tom47]

Originally Posted by Steveweree

The kit items are shown on the ECO Battery website under "36V Bundle includes:" They do not include any cables.

After I contacted them about the charging problem, they sent me the attached wiring diagram, which was a little different than I originally had it. I had the red & black controller and charger cables coming off the same battery. I have updated now.

I get why their wiring diagram is preferred - small differences in the cable and terminal resistances cause unequal loads on the batteries over time and at higher currents. ECO tried to tell me that could be why charger was not charging. Not so.

I agree with making sure the positives are on the first battery and the negatives are on the last battery, just like in any other multi-battery configuration. Your "not so" is correct, however.

As far as charging the way you did, I can't see why that would prevent charging since they are in parallel. It sure seems like you have a bad BMS in one of them. Have you tried operating the cart and charger using one battery only? Then connect the other and try it.

I feel sure they will make this right for you. If not, they just lost me as a customer.

[mycamel]

Have you tried putting the neg charger cable directly on the battery post without going through the shunt.

I agree, if they don't get you taken care of quickly, I'll look elsewhere for new packs.