Home automation for long term charging

[CrazyDad]

I live in a automated home that includes lights, thermostat, music, video distribution, etc. I have some acreage in another state and want to build a second cart for like a txt 48 hunting buggie perhaps. The cart will sit in a unheated detached metal building/garage for a few months up to 6 months at a time unattended. I know from early reports lithium would be best for a set it and forget it solution but want big tires and big power first.

Now a charger like my yewy float will keep the batts full but I still smell the sulfur when I lift the seat so I’m worried about drying out the unattended batts.

So with a 20 amp relay like THIS or THIS and a smart hub I can set a timer for weekly or whenever. Also I can get a camera system with a dvr that has cloud viewing and aim one camera at the dash meter and charge when the volts go below X volts. For those of you with rural property at&t has $50 160 gig service now perfect for this.

So will the batts dry up the same either way. Should I take a chance just charge them when I get there. It would be fun to automate it though.

[orangeman6]

There was recently another guy with a second home that was trying to do something similar. He was in Arizona, where heat makes it even worse, but I don’t think you’re going to be able to not water your batteries for 3-6 months.

[VanillaXtract]

Assuming your build will require new batteries and a charger, you can get 48V 94AH LiOn with a charger for $1,025 on eBay. This is fairly close to the cost of lead acid. It might be worth exploring lithium before going the automated route.

[BobBoyce]

I don't know the seller but they always have these Leaf modules in lots of 7 for a decent price. Once or twice a month I've seen them go on sale for $520 to $530ish for the same lot of 7 deal...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/113048415727

This BMS that I linked to in another thread, is only about $40...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/302623423033

I included a wiring diagram for the BMS hookup, it's much better than the one on the sellers site. Thier hookup will not work for a golf cart due to the output current limit of 130 Amps on the BMS PCB. We use a relay for charger control and interlock of the solenoid.

[CrazyDad]

So with lithium I would disconnect the pack from the cart with a full charge. Then reconnect when I get back and charge.

[orangeman6]

Yes, there’s a guy on the forum that leaves his cart for months. That was his motivation for going to lithium. I can’t remember his handle right now, but he replies to quite a few of the lithium threads. He recently went back to his cart after being away from it for a long time and all was good with the pack.

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by CrazyDad

So with lithium I would disconnect the pack from the cart with a full charge. Then reconnect when I get back and charge.

No need to charge it, it'll only lose a fraction of a volt. In the aforementioned reference, when he returned I think he said it had only lost a tenth of a volt in 3 months. The most important part is, no water maintenance, and no wasted power maintaining charge on the Lead/Acid cells.

[rib33024]

And the timer with the charger your thinking about, I don't think it will work. You never said what cart you have ?. Most carts when you plug the charger in to the cart, and then the charger in to the wall and the charge finishes and the charger turns off. The charger will not come back on until you unplug the charger cord from the cart and plug it back in before it will charge again.

[CrazyDad]

It will be a yewy float charger so it’s always on. Sounds like only way to go is kill the old batteries that come with it, then get lithium.

I tried to get to a dealer today to look at a 2010ish txt 48 but it’s raining and don’t want to lay in the mud to check the frame.