Batteries

[jontz]

Quick question JohnnieB. When you say you have a 30+ mile range, I'm assuming this is stop and go so you get some regen action, but what about throttle? Are you running at full speed when you are moving or are you at partial throttle, like 18 MPH instead of your max 28?

[richieap]

I am running 205/50/10 dot street tires with aluminum rims , alltrax 400 controller , stock ezgo motor , Royal purple synthetic gear lube in rear end , been running with regen off but thinking of turning it back on , when i first got the cart 7 or so years ago I had installed Trojan T860 8 volts in it , bought them used ,was happy with them , then traded cart for a snowmobile , I aquired my cart back this past fall, my buddy that had it put 6 volt T105s in it , i can only get about 85% charge out of them now after a week straight of charging ,I have a 36 volt powerwise charger that i will sell when i do the battery upgrade ,5 years ago when i ran the 8 volts i borrowed the 48 volt lester from work to charge my cart , My cart is a 95 medalist and will be installing a newer plastic body on it this spring to shave some weight off as well

[random bolts]

Black box batteries work fine for the first year or two and then just crap out after that. These looked the same but didn't have any label but that's just what I've seen from people using them.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by jontz

Quick question JohnnieB. When you say you have a 30+ mile range, I'm assuming this is stop and go so you get some regen action, but what about throttle? Are you running at full speed when you are moving or are you at partial throttle, like 18 MPH instead of your max 28?

My test runs are a diverse mixture of terrain and driving conditions. Paved roads, gravel roads, city streets, back alleys and grass fields. Very little level ground and some hills over 20% Grade, but most are 15% Grade or less since my test routes are more or less limited to the flood plane of the Ohio and Kanawa rivers due to travel restrictions on roads whose speed limits are over 35MPH.

Speed limit on city streets is mostly 25MPH, but 15MPH in places and stop signs every two or three blocks. To get into town, I travel about half a mile on a paved back road, about half a mile on a gravel road, across about half a mile of grass field, climb a flood wall (about 100' of ~30% Grade) across another quarter mile of grass field, back on some paved streets and then take a back alley to bypass a one way street.

On the far side of town, there is a stretch of paved road that is straight and level for nearly a mile that I use for measuring my top speed and there is a back road that is straight with only one steep hill, which is good for checking speed loss on hills. Both of those are included in my test runs for range estimates.

My typical test run is about 12 miles long. About five miles getting to and from town, about three miles where I can run wide open and about four miles of stop and go on city streets.

Driving the cart as hard as I can, my range estimate is only 28.3 miles, but driving sedately due to SWMBO being in the passenger seat, it is 34.0 miles. (Attached)

The average of all the range estimate tests I've done so far with my current setup, not corrected for temperature because I didn't note the temperature on the earlier tests, is 31.3, so I just say 30+ for the time being.

I've got bad bearings on the differential input shaft that will be replaced when the weather warms up and hopefully, if the city ever finishes a drainage project that keeps closing streets in my test route, I might be able to refine the numbers a bit.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by richieap

I am running 205/50/10 dot street tires with aluminum rims , alltrax 400 controller , stock ezgo motor , Royal purple synthetic gear lube in rear end , been running with regen off but thinking of turning it back on , when i first got the cart 7 or so years ago I had installed Trojan T860 8 volts in it , bought them used ,was happy with them , then traded cart for a snowmobile , I aquired my cart back this past fall, my buddy that had it put 6 volt T105s in it , i can only get about 85% charge out of them now after a week straight of charging ,I have a 36 volt powerwise charger that i will sell when i do the battery upgrade ,5 years ago when i ran the 8 volts i borrowed the 48 volt lester from work to charge my cart , My cart is a 95 medalist and will be installing a newer plastic body on it this spring to shave some weight off as well

Your tire height is about 18" and they're street tires, so the rolling resistance will be about the same as what I have. That means, with 48V you might be able to spin the motor in excess of 6500 RPM on level ground. That is why I'm staying with 42V.

You probably should measure your tires, the numbers on the side walls are iffy at best.

With a DCX400, stock PDS motor and 42V, I got 28MPH (<6500 RPM) on 18.3" tires.
With regen, I could get an estimated range of 35.7 miles with 245AH 6V batteries. (Attached)
Using seven 232AH 6V batteries, the range ought to be about 5% less, or about 33.8 miles.

[richieap]

thanks jOHNNIEb , I will measure side walls when i get home , But i think ive made my mind up to go with the 8 6volt 235 ah USbatteries , yes alittle extra weight , but if i went other route with 6 8volts i would have had a aux bat anyway , so alittle extra weight doesnt bother me , Im looking for range plus some speed, this will be my answer

[richieap]

ok so i did some research , the Ultrastart batteries I have been inquiring about are Trojan Black Boxs , not a bad price

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by richieap

ok so i did some research , the Ultrastart batteries I have been inquiring about are Trojan Black Boxs , not a bad price

I had said that back in post #8

[richieap]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

I had said that back in post #8

oh snap , sorry didnt see that , well just spent 1 hour dinking around online to find this out ,lol , tommorow ill be buying 8 6 volt 210 ah ultra starts , 77 bucks apiece , worth a try at that price , i guess

[Edarien]

So what do you mean 'Trojan black box'? Are they they the same as say a T105?

Edarien