Another battery question

[skipsmith521]

In attempting to take a best care of your battery pack.

I understand the the battery chart and never discharge below 50 percent... I never discharge below 70 percent.

Is it best practice to charge pack even after a short drive?

Or wait until the end of the day and throw it back on the charger?

Thx

Skip


Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[yamahaguy97]

I was once told to always plug it back in when not in use no matter the duration you rode it

[SouthCo]

My understating was the same... always plug it back in even after a short drive...

[skipsmith521]

I have typically put it on the charger even after short rides.

Seems like I remember hearing that if you do a lot of short rides...It is good idea to discharge batteries further.

Does this sound right?

Thx

Skip

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[scottyb]

The wet cell batteries have no memory so there is no need to deep discharge them.
By nature wet cell batteries do best if kept fully charged when not in use. Sulfation (freezing critical elements to the lead plates) begins when the pack sits with as little as 10-15% discharge)
Sulfation is what kills all wet cell batteries eventually. So keep them charged. And yes some exercise (deeper discharge) is good because the heavy recharge 'boils' the heavy sediments off the bottom.

I hope this helps

[JohnnieB]

Because I have a 42V pack made up of 245AH batteries and my cart is about as efficient as I can make it, it has significantly more range than a stock PDS cart, so I have to drive over 15 Miles to take the pack below about 80% SoC unless I'm intentionally driving it hard.

Most of my trips are 5 miles or less and I often make more than one trip per day, so I usually leave it parked near the house for convenience if I suspect I'll be using it again that day, but it is always parked in the garage (detached) and put on charge every night.

If I make a longer trip (10 miles or more) I put it on charge after the trip.

If I use it in cold weather to jump-start a car or drag a fallen tree limb to the burn pile, I usually drive it for an addition mile or two afterwards to take the pack down a bit so I'm not doing back-to-back charging. (My charger float charges, so my pack is always 100% Soc when I unplug the charger.)

Basically, the most important part is not to let your cart sit overnight with partially discharged batteries. Otherwise it is keeping the batteries as fully charged as practical.

In golf terms, it isn't practical to charge between each hole, but a half-hour to an hour opportunity charge between rounds isn't a bad idea.

[slashpine]

I have a 36V Power Wise charger for a DCS cart...The charger instructions say to unplug the AC cord to stop the charger...so...does this mean I should not just unplug the charger from the cart if the charger is still charging?

If so it's a PITA to get to the plug and I'll need to run a switch leg to the receptacle...OR is it OK to just plug and unplug the charger into the cart regardless of the state of charge?

[JohnnieB]

It is best to unplug the charger from AC power before unplugging it from the cart while amps are showing on ammeter, otherwise there will be some arcing at the cart's charge receptacle when the electrical contact is broken.

How much arcing depends on how many amps are flowing at the time. My charger goes into float charge after the normal charging cycle finishes, so there are a few amps flowing and I routinely unplug it from the cart while it is still plugged into AC power.

If the charger is pumping out 10A or more, I'd unplug it from AC power first.

Plugging the charger into AC power before plugging it into cart isn't an issue since the charger doesn't power up until it detects the battery pack.

[slashpine]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

It is best to unplug the charger from AC power before unplugging it from the cart while amps are showing on ammeter, otherwise there will be some arcing at the cart's charge receptacle when the electrical contact is broken.

How much arcing depends on how many amps are flowing at the time. My charger goes into float charge after the normal charging cycle finishes, so there are a few amps flowing and I routinely unplug it from the cart while it is still plugged into AC power.

If the charger is pumping out 10A or more, I'd unplug it from AC power first.

Plugging the charger into AC power before plugging it into cart isn't an issue since the charger doesn't power up until it detects the battery pack.

OK, thanks for the clarification...I guess I'll do something to make it easier to unplug the charger AC plug or the power to it...

[skipsmith521]

I don't have a float charger...On my 36 volt cart.

If I run a charge...mine shuts off around 45.5 volts. If I don't drive it for a couple of days, it settles in at 39.9 or so and on downward over time.

Would it be best after a couple of days if no one drives it to restart the charger and top off again?

Most days it gets driven if weather is not raining, but someone in the family seems to always drive it before it gets down to 38.3 which I understand is 100% charged.



Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk