Run time on new batteries

[ADSFR075]

Originally Posted by rib33024

Was the charger still running/charging when you took the volt reading and got 51 volts??

Charger was still connected, but i assumed it was "off" since it was showing fully charged. I did also check it a "full charge" with it not connected and got the same reading.

[ADSFR075]

Originally Posted by Mooncarter

12 X 15 = 180. So, if you ran the cart at 15 mph for 12 hours you would have a range of 180 miles. This is impossible. You need to understand how these things work.

"Run time" is a relative term. On a golf course, cruising a campground, a neighborhood, stopping etc. as a golf cart is intended to do is what "run time" means here.

Mooncrater, I'm trying to "understand how these thing work" by asking questions on here and comparing those answers from "knowledgeable" people to those answers the Battery Source is giving me.

[JohnnieB]

A couple pertinent questions yet to be asked:
Do you have a 4 x 12V or a 6 x 8V battery pack?
What make/model are the batteries?

Also:
How tall are the tires? (Stock is 18" tall)
What is the max inflation pressure stamped on the tire's sidewalls.

--------
A DVM is a Digital Volt Meter.
A DMM is a Digital Multi Meter, which has Voltmeter, Ammeter, Ohmmeter and may have other functions.

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Technically, "Fully Charged" is when the On-Charge voltage ceases to increase while a charging current is passing through battery. More commonly used on this forum is when the At-Rest voltage is 50.9V for Trojan brand batteries (48V pack) up to 51.3V for US Battery brand batteries.

At-Rest means about 12 hours after charger shuts off or about an hour after the cart stops moving if it has been driven. The SoC charts are based on At-Rest voltages.

----------

Asking questions is how to learn how these things work.

The thing to remember about battery vendors is that they sell batteries for a living rather than understanding them.

[Mooncarter]

Originally Posted by ADSFR075

Mooncrater, I'm trying to "understand how these thing work" by asking questions on here and comparing those answers from "knowledgeable" people to those answers the Battery Source is giving me.

And that's what we are trying to do here. Their description of "run time" needed explanation.

[ADSFR075]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

A couple pertinent questions yet to be asked:
Do you have a 4 x 12V or a 6 x 8V battery pack?
What make/model are the batteries?

Also:
How tall are the tires? (Stock is 18" tall)
What is the max inflation pressure stamped on the tire's sidewalls.

--------
A DVM is a Digital Volt Meter.
A DMM is a Digital Multi Meter, which has Voltmeter, Ammeter, Ohmmeter and may have other functions.

--------

Technically, "Fully Charged" is when the On-Charge voltage ceases to increase while a charging current is passing through battery. More commonly used on this forum is when the At-Rest voltage is 50.9V for Trojan brand batteries (48V pack) up to 51.3V for US Battery brand batteries.

At-Rest means about 12 hours after charger shuts off or about an hour after the cart stops moving if it has been driven. The SoC charts are based on At-Rest voltages.

----------

Asking questions is how to learn how these things work.

The thing to remember about battery vendors is that they sell batteries for a living rather than understanding them.

4 X 12V system
Batteries are Battery Source brand 12V-GC Electric Vehicle Deep Cycle

Tires are 23" tall on a 5" lift. Max pressure is 30 psi


i have a DMM i'm using to check.

I usually check the batteries after letting the cart charge overnight and while we're gone all day, so i'm confident it's being checked after the charger has been off for 12 hours.

The main reason i'm asking is i've preached to my 13 year old not to let the battery meter get below "half" or the batteries can get damaged. The cart is driven only on the roads like a normal teenage driver; stop and go, so its not continuous use. If an hour to a hour and a half is normal, that's fine. I just thought it would be longer run time for new batteries.

thanks for your time

[JohnnieB]

New batteries (deep-cycle, lead-acid type) only have about 75% of their rated storage capacity when you get them and it takes a couple dozen charge cycles for them to come up to their rated capacity. This thread was started in May, so I suspect the batteries are broken in by now and are at their maximum storage capacity.

That means the runtime you are now getting is about all there is to get out of that set of batteries and that cart set up as it is.

Runtime is a poor yardstick since its meaning is somewhat ambiguous. It can be just pedal-time (time cart is actively being driven) or pedal-time plus stopped time. In addition, the more aggressively the cart is driven, the shorter the pedal-time and the more weight being carried, the shorter the pedal-time.

Range (Distance traveled on single charge) is a better yardstick, but the way the cart is driven and number of people onboard are again variables. Plus the cart probably doesn't have an odometer.

[ADSFR075]

With the amount of time my 13 year old, and her friends, spend driving the cart from house to house and around the neighborhoods, would a good option be for me to install an on board charger? Thinking is, they could charge the cart for however long they stop at a house to hangout during their time running the roads.

Also, would changing the controller from a Curtis 235 to a Curtis 350 make a difference? Bob has suggested that change since i'm running 23" tires, but i'm not yet ready to pay that much for a new controller. Didn't know if the bigger controller would be less stress, therefore less power consumption.

[JohnnieB]

If there are outlets available at her friend's places and she will remember to plug it in, an onboard charger might be a good idea.

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I suspect the larger controller would give you better acceleration, but the same, or less range.

[Buggieman18]

When I had my 4 x 12V still in good shape, I and the daughter drove it about 10 miles on flat ground and still had plenty left. I did not have a volt meter hooked up at that time, so I do not know what the final voltage was. Your best bet is to install the volt meter, and drive it till you get close to the 50% voltage of @48V at rest, then you'll know.