Storage/winter Chargers?

[greenhalghm]

When storing a cart for the winter, unheated garage in CT, what the best way to maintain the batteries? In the past I've just left it plugged in with an PowerWise charger, that automatically kicks on when the batteries are low.

I was wonder if would be better to invest in a float charger? If so, any recommendations?


Kind Regards,
Mark

[JohnnieB]

I'm not sure how low the PW charger lets the batteries discharge before it initiates a charge, but any State of Charge below fully charged allows some sulfation of the plates to occur.

If the charger cycles on at about 37.5V or higher (80% SoC) the sulfation probably isn't any worse than what happens during normal cart use.
If it allows the voltage top drop below about 37.1V (70%), they are getting into the range that heavier sulfation occurs.

I use the 36V version of the DPI charger shown here: http://www.cartsunlimited.net/48v_Battery_Charger.html

After the normal charge cycle, it goes into a float charge mode and keeps my batteries at a constant 39.8V.
That voltage is high enough to maintain a "Full" charge, but low enough not to gas excessively.

Basically, I leave it connected to my cart when I'm not driving it and I get an additional benefit of starting out my trip with a fully charged battery rather than one that is several hours away from a full charge.