How do you charge 8 volt batteries individually?

[mikec35]

I have older batteries in my 97 cart. I drive it about once a week during the summer working on my property so each time I plug it back in I know the batteries are being charged. Problem is during the winter when I may not drive it but once every few weeks. I know keeping batteries topped off will extend their life and I don't think my Powerdrive charger has a maintenance mode. Short of driving my cart every week and plugging the Powerdrive back in is there something that I can get that will keep my batteries topped off? All these new chargers state the recondition/desulfate batteries. Is something like this worth it to periodically condition each battery to extend their life? Says it works on 8 volt batteries.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...k_ql_qh_dp_hza

[jamoore]

Curious to see what the experts say about this. Of course you would need to move it from battery to battery or buy 6 of them for all of your batteries. I am sure there is a better way to accomplish what you want. Someone will help you with the right charger or confirm what yours will or will not do. I chimed in because I found it interesting you found a charger that said it would do 8v. I have not seen that before. I have been playing around with a couple of project carts I picked up and have been using a 12v charger on the individual 8v batteries that were very low to try and get them charged enough so the 48v battery charger would kick in. I have had some success this way in getting them back up and holding a charge. Of course this is completely different from your issue. Joe

[mikec35]

I have never seen a charger that says it will charge 8 volt batteries. I thought it would be good to use this to charge each battery individually maybe once yearly to make sure all batteries stay the same, I'm sure the factory charger does not keep all batteries equally charged.

[LukeL]

If they are completely dead they can be brought up with a 12v charger for a short amount of time. Otherwise just use the 48v charger.

[fsu1tm]

You could get a Save-A-Battery for 48V. Disconnect your regular charger after a full charge and then connect the Save-A-Battery. It's a good maintainer and desulfator. I used one prior to going lithium.

[Nickelpede]

Battery Tender makes a small 8 volt charger they are about $25 on Amazon.. But you would need 6 of them and unwire your batteries. Not a realistic method to maintain a charge.

[yawood]

I agree with fsu1tm. I use the save-a-battery all the time (see the photo). Over an extended period without supervision though, there is a chance that the water may evaporate too much.

The PowerDrive charger (or the ERIC charger) is designed to be left connected with the power on. They will recharge the batteries regularly. Again it is best if the water levels can be checked.

If the water levels cannot be checked, the recommended way is to charge the batteries fully then disconnect them and just let them sit (disconnect the lead from the B6 negative and secure it so that it cannot touch the terminal accidentally). The tops of the batteries must be cleaned first to ensure that they cannot disharge across the top of the battery. Also put the cart in TOW.

The maintenance book says:

When storing batteries during the off-season or when maintaining a replacement stock, follow these guidelines:
1. Keep the batteries clean and free of corrosion.
2. Batteries that are in vehicles for winter storage should be left disconnected in the vehicles if the batteries are not going to be connected to a charger.
3. Fully charge the batteries prior to storage.
4. Store in a cool area. The colder the area in which the batteries are stored, the less the batteries will self-discharge. Batteries stored at 0F (-17.8C) will discharge very little over a four-month period. Batteries stored at 80F (26.7C) will have to be recharged every few weeks.
5. 48-volt electric vehicles and compatible battery chargers are designed to be left connected, with AC power to the charger ON, during off-season storage. The storage charge feature will automatically charge the batteries as needed throughout the storage period.