Adding a 12 volt battery to an 6-8 volt Pack

[rbuggies48IN]

JohnnieB

I have a 7 battery holder and am using 6 spots now. I don't want to find a separate spot for an 8th battery, but most convenient area would be the built-in ice chest on my Western cart just behind and above existing pack. I would prefer adding just another 8 volt battery, but not sure how to charge this pack or if a 8 volt battery maintainer would work here (only 8 volt charger I could find on-line). Is there a 56 volt charger on the market if I can sell my 48 volt charger? If lithium price drops in 5 years I would do this.

Thanks again for your time and expertise!

[JohnnieB]

The cart turnaround time using an 8V Battery Maintainer, might be a little long.

Contact with DPI and Quick-Charge for 56V or 64V chargers. Lester and others might have them also.

I've never given much thought to anything above 48V, in fact I'll probably not go above 42V since that voltage maxes out my motor's RPM with my setup. Of course, 48V would give me more torque and I could keep an eye on a tachometer to keep from over-revving the motor, but my cart's hill climbing abilities are traction limited rather than torque limited, so I can't use more torque unless I installed taller tires, or the same sized tires with a more aggressive tread pattern.

[rbuggies48IN]

Thank you JohnnieB. I will look at DPI & Lester for 56 volt charger and see where I go from there. My cart was 42 volt and when batteries died, a couple months ago, I went to 48 volt. Prior to new bats I upgraded motor, solenoid and controller to handle the 48 volts.