My point has been proven!

[Tom47]

I have been harping for 6 months now about how great the Eco Battery kits were. I felt a bit alone out there with only a handful of other members concurring with me.

Well, in steps Scotty B, you know, the guy from Carts Unlimited. He has become a dealer for Eco Battery (a BGW sponsor, by the way) after eliminating other less perfect drop-in battery choices.

Scotty wouldn't sell junk. Always the best stuff. And if it is good enough for Scotty, it's good enough for me.

So my point has been proven!


(Disclaimer: I have no financial relationship with Eco Battery, Inc or Carts Unlimited, and will only accept gifts from them if they are sent free.)

[LakePlacidGolfer]

Originally Posted by Tom47

I have been harping for 6 months now about how great the Eco Battery kits were. I felt a bit alone out there with only a handful of other members concurring with me.

Well, in steps Scotty B, you know, the guy from Carts Unlimited. He has become a dealer for Eco Battery (a BGW sponsor, by the way) after eliminating other less perfect drop-in battery choices.

Scotty wouldn't sell junk. Always the best stuff. And if it is good enough for Scotty, it's good enough for me.

So my point has been proven!


(Disclaimer: I have no financial relationship with Eco Battery, Inc or Carts Unlimited, and will only accept gifts from them if they are sent free.)

I used videos from Palmetto Battery Pros to figure out how to install a Lithium Battery in a Club Car Precedent. They used Eco Battery, but I purchased an Extreme Team.

Eco Battery seems like a quality choice.

In their most recent video there was a spark when they connected the negative terminal. Apparently, there is no on/off switch on the Eco Battery, which was surprising.

You have to buy via a dealer now with Eco Battery, no more direct purchases. The nearest dealer is over 100 miles from my location.

Based on the prices they have on their website, the Eco Battery kit ($2,599) is about $240 more than Extreme Team ($2,360).

[scottyb]

There are many choices out there. I was glad to read Tom47s real world results. And those results sound pretty darn good. I'm not gonna say one battery is better than the other. We were looking for a reliable manufacturer with a quality product and support. Seems like we made a good choice.
Can't wait for delivery

[dundeebarnbuggy]

Congrats Scotty! Question. Since the Eco setup is 2 batteries wired in parallel, if one battery is slightly warmer or cooler than the other, will that effect the discharge rate of one vs the other?

[Tom47]

Originally Posted by dundeebarnbuggy

Congrats Scotty! Question. Since the Eco setup is 2 batteries wired in parallel, if one battery is slightly warmer or cooler than the other, will that effect the discharge rate of one vs the other?

This and some other questions are waiting to be answered formally by Eco Battery. Another question is battery tag and website ampere rating discrepancies. This has been answered by Eco to my personal satisfaction but needs to be clarified to forum members directly.

The 72 and 105Ah batteries are singles. The 144Ah is two 72's in parallel. This is the only configuration that has had any problems on this forum that I know of.

https://buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=177695

Posts #15 and up

I'm not sure about the 144Ah for this reason. I'm sure Scotty will research this since he will likely be installing this size in his EZGOs.

[Tom47]

Originally Posted by LakePlacidGolfer

In their most recent video there was a spark when they connected the negative terminal. Apparently, there is no on/off switch on the Eco Battery, which was surprising.

I saw that spark video and it concerned me. Maybe that spark was due to the precharge resistor. However, I have connected and disconnected mine probably 20 times since the installation and never saw a spark, but I don't have the precharge resistor on mine.

I always disconnect the positive first, unlike in negative frame grounded vehicles that must have the negative disconnected first for safety from an accidental ground.

See the attached post photo. I have the 200 amp fuse on the positive terminal and since it has a fork type connector, I just loosen the screw with a 1/2" nutdriver and slide the fuse out. Then I remove the nut on the negative terminal and slide the shunt off the stud. I always lay an old rubber car floor mat across the battery terminals just in case!

https://buggiesgonewild.com/showthre...=178404&page=5

[Volt_Ampere]

My cart sparks when I connect and it is caused by my voltage reducer. Normal. Doesn't hurt anything - just scares the SH$T out of you the first time. I now connect it separately - it has an inline fuse. No spark from the precharge resistor - it's current is fairly low and it's purpose is to reduce surges.

[Tom47]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

My cart sparks when I connect and it is caused by my voltage reducer. Normal. Doesn't hurt anything - just scares the SH$T out of you the first time. I now connect it separately - it has an inline fuse. No spark from the precharge resistor - it's current is fairly low and it's purpose is to reduce surges.

I have my voltage reducer on a separate switch. I only turn it on when I need lights. A second switch provides 48 volts to my dash volt meter and strobe light.

[Volt_Ampere]

My reducer has a trigger wire that goes to the ignition switch so it's not on all the time but it still sparks once when the 48V is connected to it. If the capacitors have not discharged, then it doesn't spark. Both of my Yamaha carts have the same reducer - that was installed long before I got the carts.

[cascader]

Originally Posted by scottyb

There are many choices out there. I was glad to read Tom47s real world results. And those results sound pretty darn good. I'm not gonna say one battery is better than the other. We were looking for a reliable manufacturer with a quality product and support. Seems like we made a good choice.
Can't wait for delivery

I have been looking at lithium batteries for a while and am very keen to get a high discharge lithium setup. Eco looks like a good choice, with their custom BMS, but what gives me pause is the warranty. When I looked at the warranty details, it appeared less competitive. I love their packaging solution, using thru holes for existing tie downs for a club car etc.

The large print says 8 year warranty.

The medium print says 8 year pro-rated limited warranty.

The way I read the fine print, the buyer pays shipping back to Utah for evaluation, and solely at Eco discretion, any time after 3 years (but within eight) if they deem it not worthy of repair they will offer the buyer a new battery at a 30% discount from current MSRP prices. Not knowing if the cells they use are standard enough to have identical matched replacements in, say 5 years, it makes the product less appealing. Perhaps when they get some time in the field without incident they can go to better terms.

As it stands, depending on unknown internal factors, it seems like it could be a 3 year warranty, or an 8 year warranty, or something in between. It seems possible at times there could be some incentive to sell a new battery over repair towards the end of the 8 year battery warranty. Hopefully not, of course.

I could envision a gray area such as there one bad cell and some degraded, but still quite serviceable cells, such that the pack capacity originally rated at 105ah measured 98ah with the one new cell after repar, which I would have happily accepted, if doing the repair myself, but perhaps would trigger the “non rebuildable” clause at Eco and result in me having to buy a new battery. In that scenario a 30% discount would not be appealing.