Still yet...another charging question...of sorts

[DaveTM]

Now, I think I ask this question before. But....I couldn't find it. And I can't remember the response. Or perhaps I got to many to my previous questions. But yet.....I continue to persist!!

So, you can read about my EZ-GO 48-V below. Now, this spring a buddy of mine want's to go up to his camp in the mountains, with out wives and do some ATV riding. Easy stuff as we are all around 60. My cart only does 7mph....so you get my drift. Now, this is mountains. It's a steep climb to the top that takes some juice to get up. I go there in the winter when it's cold (anywhere from 15 to 20) but this will be warmer which will help the battery longevity. However, I have a Honda EU2000i portable generator that I've used in the past to charge my cart while hunting when I park it on top of mountains. This time I'm thinking of just strapping said generator to the back (I have no back seat...just a flat, plywood platform with tie down's screwed into it) along with my DPI charger, firing up the generator, hooking up the charger...and driving while it charges at the same time.

I can't see where this will harm anything.

Thoughts?

Dave

[JohnnieB]

The pack voltage will be bouncing around as the motor draws more and fewer amps, which might confuse the DPI as to what charge phase it ought to be in, so I'd drop DPI a line and ask if that would take out the control board.

[scottyb]

Grabbing an opportunity charge at the top of the mountain while you take in the view, eat, rest etc. might be a better plan.

[rib33024]

Well the cart shouldn't run with the charger plugged in. And the charger is only putting out 20 or so amps charging the batteries, and the motor is using alot more amps than the charger is putting out

[scottyb]

Oh no - now you done it Dave! ... not the perpetual motion discussion again

[DaveTM]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Oh no - now you done it Dave! ... not the perpetual motion discussion again

Oh ****!! You have seen thru my back door question!! And.....to further complicate it.....we will be on gas well pipe lines. Thus....I will be able (with my double secret probation leaky gas super sucker) to absorb all of the "unused" natural gas into my converted NG generator. So....since the supply of NG is never-ending (according to the NG industry) I will in fact be the first person ever to have discovered perp motion.

Well.....I have read where Chicago cops always chase perp motion....but I think that's a different kind.

But.....the idea of calling DPI is a good one. I will call 'em and let you know. Of....if you hear of an ATV fire in northern PA in a month or so......guess who?

[JohnnieB]

If the reed switch is bypassed, the cart will run while the charger is plugged in.

The net result is longer run time. The concept is basically a home-brew version of the EZGO Exceed hybrid.

If a single stage charger was being used, I'd say go for it.

However with a multistage charge like the DPI, I'd check with the charger manufacturer to make sure the fluctuations in pack voltage that always occur while driving wouldn't harm the charger. I'm pretty sure it won't, but a replacement board costs about $120, so I'd want to be 100% sure.

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FWIW: I built my cart to have sufficient range (run-time) to get SWMBO and me to our favorite shooting range and back with a bit left over for a small side trip, but we've discovered we usually go by car since it is quicker and more comfortable, so most of the time, the cart is hauling around a lot of storage capacity (weight) that is seldom used.

The existing setup does okay on the WV hills at 42V, but would do better at 48V, however with the final drive ratio I'm running, 48V will spin the motor well beyond the motor's recommended max RPM and make the cart faster than I'm comfortable with.

Now along comes the Alltrax XCT controller (supposed to be available for EZGO later this month) that has a user programmable max RPM, which solves the excessive RPM and speed issue at 48V, so when it is time to replace my 7 x 6V - 245AH pack I can go to a 6 x 8V - 170AH battery pack, which will give me about the same range I originally had with a 6 X 6V - 225AH pack and drop the current weight by about 110 pounds.

Then on the rare occasion SWAMBO and I take the cart to the range, I'll just take the DPI charger and a generator along with us. Probably just an opportunity charge while we are at the range will suffice, but knowing if we could charge while underway would be nice.

[DaveTM]

JohnnieB, My 48-V is set up on the "run" side of things to just push the cart when I hit the peddle. However, when I'm going downhill the cart is just freewheeling. There is no motor-braking that is occurring so if the hill is, in theory long enough and steep enough....then anything is possible. But, OTOH, that's another reason why I have 4-wheel brakes. Fast is fine...up to a point.

Even if I determine that charging while running is not going to be good, I know there will be a time when we stop for a break to eat, so I'll charge it up at that point. A 45 min to one hour charge is better than nothing.

But I will post what I find out from DPI.

Dave