Upgrade decision - need help.

[gornoman]

Solenoid should be watertight, I rinse mine all the time.

[scottyb]

I don't know if it is waterproof... some look to be. You have to remember that water conducts electricity so while a stream of water is contacting two posts so is their potential current... I think therein lies the problem as well Pic of the Solenoid Lizardlegs is getting.

[gornoman]

If the cart is OFF, and the key is OUT, I would trust it. But that's me. I have no experience with that model solenoid.

[scottyb]

I use the Plastic bag method on customers carts. I feel comfortable with telling people to do the same ... it is an old habit

[LizardLeg]

When it's time to wash the buggie down, to do the under seat/battery tray area I take the seat off, pressure wash the mud off the frame, tops of the batteries, controller cover, etc. This is a low pressure electric pressure washer. Once everything is cleaned off, I dry off the battery, controller and FNR covers, check the bolts on the battery terminals and about every second wash reapply the spray on terminal protect ant.

I have taken the controller cover off after washing and everything is dry - but with the new setup there will be no cover. I'm leery of making a metal cover but have access to thermaform plastic through my prosthetic guy. I may grab a scrap piece of this off of him and heat it in the oven and then drape it over the installed motor controller. Once dry, trim and sand the edges, drill the attachment holes and mount. It will be a royal PIA but might give it a shot.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by LizardLeg

When it's time to wash the buggie down, to do the under seat/battery tray area I take the seat off, pressure wash the mud off the frame, tops of the batteries, controller cover, etc. This is a low pressure electric pressure washer. Once everything is cleaned off, I dry off the battery, controller and FNR covers, check the bolts on the battery terminals and about every second wash reapply the spray on terminal protect ant.

I have taken the controller cover off after washing and everything is dry - but with the new setup there will be no cover. I'm leery of making a metal cover but have access to thermaform plastic through my prosthetic guy. I may grab a scrap piece of this off of him and heat it in the oven and then drape it over the installed motor controller. Once dry, trim and sand the edges, drill the attachment holes and mount. It will be a royal PIA but might give it a shot.

That sounds cool ... post up some pics for sure on that!

[Lets_go_ride]

Originally Posted by madoc1

i put my batts in the well. used two wally batt. boxes and cut down the sides to accomidate the wires. batts were held down with h.d. tie wraps.

madoc1 - Thanks for providing the pic of your 48v upgrade. What kind of run-time do you get out of your ride. I know that's a loaded question, but on general terms, just imagine normal sidewalks or terrain and standing on the pedal.... how long would it last?

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by Lets_go_ride

madoc1 - Thanks for providing the pic of your 48v upgrade. What kind of run-time do you get out of your ride. I know that's a loaded question, but on general terms, just imagine normal sidewalks or terrain and standing on the pedal.... how long would it last?

Welcome to BGW ~ Thant is a loaded question... So, I'll give you a loaded answer

Actual run Time?
not possible to say the actual drive time. When we dealers test batteries, we use a discharge machine that takes the batteries from a full charge down to the shutdown voltage of the cart (for example, on a 36 volt system, the cart is considered in "shut down" at 32.5 volts on the pack under load). The length of time it takes do do this, coupled with the ambient temperature, gives us a rough idea of the life of the battery pack (as well as points out any bad batteries in the pack). As a general rule of thumb, any discharge time above 80 minutes is considered fair, above 90 is considered good, and above 100 is considered very good. A brand new set, properly charged and broken in should discharge at approximately 110 minutes.

The reason I gave all that information is that during "normal" operation, you are not actually running with the pedal down for 5 hours. If you were to start out and run full pedal down without let-up, the batteries should last roughly the same as a "discharge test"

Thank you, Rabbit!

[Lets_go_ride]

Thanks for the info... Hind sight is 20/20, but I have a elec cart that is used for security patrols in 4 hour shifts per day. Knowing what I know now, I would have definitely went with a gas cart, but I have what I have and really like it and got a great deal on it. I'm trying to see if it's worth the $$ spend on the 36v upgrade or just try to sell it and go w/ a gas. Again... if I had only known then.... Thanks.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by Lets_go_ride

Thanks for the info... Hind sight is 20/20, but I have a elec cart that is used for security patrols in 4 hour shifts per day. Knowing what I know now, I would have definitely went with a gas cart, but I have what I have and really like it and got a great deal on it. I'm trying to see if it's worth the $$ spend on the 36v upgrade or just try to sell it and go w/ a gas. Again... if I had only known then.... Thanks.

Is it a 24/7 patrol? If so when did you think you were going to recharge ?

If you had 2 carts you run one while the other recharged. 4 hours is not a full charge but should be enough to keep you going for a few more hours. The carts would need a full charge once a day minimum,....