Solar panels on ezgo txt 36 volt

[Roy Gurley]

Just a thought can you put solar panels on a ezgo txt 36 volt cart? How ?

[ClemsonWill]

I'm new to the forum so I'm sure there is a bunch of information out there. But I have been looking into this. There are several systems out on the market to add solar panels. Looks like $500-$1000 is about the range for a full kit. So far I like the PowerFilmSolar system for it's thin design. But I'm still looking into it.

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by Roy Gurley

Just a thought can you put solar panels on a ezgo txt 36 volt cart? How ?

You sure can. I did it by making an array that bolted on to the roof mounts in place of the factory roof. You would wire it to the batteries through a charge controller. Be sure to use a programmable charge controller, or one that is rated for your carts battery pack voltage. I never had to plug that carts charger in, I just left it parked out in the sun. When I sold that cart, I kept the solar panel array, re-installed the factory roof, and gave the buyer the charger with the cart.

There are threads on here about some carts with solar, use the search function to find them. Here are a few...

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...027-solar.html

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/intro...golf-cart.html

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/extre...wer-panel.html

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...lar-panel.html

Bob

[WalterM6]

You never realize how unreliable the sun is until you install solar panels. There is only a very small window for generating solar power, usually 4 to 5 hrs a day. Then it is either cloudy or raining most of the time.

Maybe the Southwest is exempt from my observations.

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by WalterM6

You never realize how unreliable the sun is until you install solar panels. There is only a very small window for generating solar power, usually 4 to 5 hrs a day. Then it is either cloudy or raining most of the time.

Yuppirs! And it seems like the more you need it, the less sun you'll get!

Originally Posted by WalterM6

Maybe the Southwest is exempt from my observations.

Nobody is exempt

I have 2 solar power systems here, and both suffered with cloudy weather today. A couple lives in an RV parked out front, and I have them plugged into the Solar Power system that I installed in my tow vehicle. They tried to do an extended cook with a 1600 Watt electric skillet today while the sun was obscured by clouds. The inverter shut down on them when the battery voltage reached a low volt setpoint I had set. I had repeatedly warned them about using that electric skillet for cooking. People don't listen when it's not convenient for them. They lost all power until the sun returns, if it returns, tommorow. This is the first time that they will be without 120 VAC power overnight. They do have their 12V interior lights. My tow vehicle has a 75 Amp onboard charger that prevents the batteries from remaining discharged, but the inverter will not resume operation until the charge controller closes the relay to indicate the batteries have reached a high volt setpoint that is above the onboard chargers cutoff. That charger is powered by my home solar power system. I'm not without power because I'm conservative with my power usage.

[WalterM6]

I use my solar for charging my cart but I have 1500w of solar panels mounted on my workshop roof. It's off grid so i charge 3 banks of 24v batteries. Most days it is hard for the sun to keep up with it. The biggest problem with solar is that people overestimate it. They buy one 100w panel from Harbor Freight and expect it to handle anything they plug into it. Just like this person expects a 80 watt panel to charge his golf cart. You couldn't even get 36v out of it. The only thing it will be good for is show and tell day at the country club.

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by WalterM6

I use my solar for charging my cart but I have 1500w of solar panels mounted on my workshop roof. It's off grid so i charge 3 banks of 24v batteries. Most days it is hard for the sun to keep up with it. The biggest problem with solar is that people overestimate it. They buy one 100w panel from Harbor Freight and expect it to handle anything they plug into it. Just like this person expects a 80 watt panel to charge his golf cart. You couldn't even get 48v out of it. The only thing it will be good for is a conversation piece down at the country club

I agree 100% I see "survival" companies offering portable inverter/battery/charge controller units that solar panels can be plugged into. They tout these as solutions for the grid going down, yet they don't have the capacity to run even 1/100th of the average households power needs. A totally false sense of security.

My tow vehicle (a retired ambulance) has 1230 watts of PV on its roof and 484 AH of 6V Golf Cart batteries in series/parallel, 12V nominal. I chose that to be compatible with the dual alternator setup on the engine. My old home power system is 1200 watts of PV on a polar mount feeding 8 series 435 AH L16H batteries, 48V nominal. Nearly 4 times the storage capacity of the tow vehicle. I have an additional 6500 watts of PV panels in storage. My house uses less energy than the couples RV out front. Everything here is energy efficient, and I've been living off-grid for decades.

[WalterM6]

Everything here is energy efficient, and I've been living off-grid for decades.

Do you have a gasoline generator for backup?

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by WalterM6

Do you have a gasoline generator for backup?

I have a Kawasaki gasoline electric start genset that I bought in 1988, it's still in storage. It was last used in Homestead after Hurricane Andrew. It powered the National Guard Armory then. I have not needed it since.

I picked up a factory refurbished propane Onan Emerald 4 KW generator in 2005. According to the paperwork, it was originally a 5 KW gasoline unit, converted by Onan to propane. They also replaced the 5 KW generator head with a new 10 KW generator head, and derated it to 4 KW continuous duty. The customer failed to pay for the conversion, so it was auctioned off for the price of the refurbish/conversion. It came with a new exhaust system. I bought it to use for a Class A motorhome that I had planned to live in, but never installed it or connected it to fuel. I had found a leak in the roof of the Class A that must be sealed before its roof gets covered with solar panels.

Bob