What to do with bottom of battery rack?

[JohnnieB]

Hot air rises and cold air falls, so the fan will move Hydrogen over the heating element, but it is a PTC Ceramic heating element, so it shouldn't get hot enough to ignite it.

I'd use the 12V-40W unit. It only draws 3.33A, so a 60AH deep-cycle battery would run it about 9 hours without going below 50% SoC.

[DaveTM]

Ok...I also look at it in a practical sense. If I'm ever actually "out there" in 12 degree weather for 9 hours, chances are pretty good that I've fallen asleep, and began to drool, and my tongue has flopped out.....and for sure gotten stuck to the roll cage....and I could not reach the on\off switch to get the cart to move.

Yeah.....that would be me.....the frozen dead guy....with the nice warm batteries.

Dave

[toddvy56]

Great thread. one add. I used the truck bed undercoat in a spray can on my battery compartment. I do not know how it will eventually work. I had a can and sprayed it. Setup nice. Never thought about protecting the bottom of the batteries.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by DaveTM

Ok...I also look at it in a practical sense. If I'm ever actually "out there" in 12 degree weather for 9 hours, chances are pretty good that I've fallen asleep, and began to drool, and my tongue has flopped out.....and for sure gotten stuck to the roll cage....and I could not reach the on\off switch to get the cart to move.

Yeah.....that would be me.....the frozen dead guy....with the nice warm batteries.

Dave

Not about the frozen dead guy part, the tongue stuck to the roll cage.

My first duty station in the Air Force was King Salmon, Alaska. In the winter, you didn't dare touch the doorknob on doors that opened to the outside with bare hands.

How long do you typically stay out?

[DaveTM]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

How long do you typically stay out?

Well, that's really a big variable. Wind is the biggest enemy no matter if it's 15 degrees or 35 degrees. Plus where I'm located. Just like deer, if it's windy, they like to find the places where they are away from the wind and so do I....but they are a lot smaller than my cart.

Also, I have Gerbling clothing, electric socks, vest and a Golf Caddy propane warmer that sits on my beverage warmer, or more likely on the ground beside my cart while I'm sitting on a chair.

But, I try to stay out at least in 2 hour "stints". Anything less is difficult to see game move by.

But remember, it takes me usually an hour to get to where I want to be, ten to twenty minutes to get the cart off the truck and drive the cart to my spot. So, the cart is out there for some time. Plus, I will come back to my vehicle for a rest....snooze...and back out again if I have the "feeling." So, I like the cart to have the juice.

Dave

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by DaveTM

...............
But remember, it takes me usually an hour to get to where I want to be, ten to twenty minutes to get the cart off the truck and drive the cart to my spot. So, the cart is out there for some time. Plus, I will come back to my vehicle for a rest....snooze...and back out again if I have the "feeling." So, I like the cart to have the juice.

Dave

That sheds a slightly different light on it. You have a "Cart Tender" (Truck) with you, so you can feed the battery heater(s) from an alternate power source while it is on, or close to the truck. Also, if you can lay your hands on a old 48V ferroresonant transformer type charger, you could bypass the relay in it so it wouldn't shut off and power it with a small gas generator while on the road. That would keep 5A or so flowing through the batteries and keep them warm in transit. And you could give them a boost charge when you can back to the truck to thaw out and grab a nap.

Some things to think about.