Melex with SIX 12 volt batteries

[dans8555]

Well my Melex model 212 does have six 12 volt batteries. These are Dynasty UPS(Uninterupted Power Supply) batteries, High Rate Series from C&D Technologies, they are sealed/no caps. I called their technical dept and apparently these batteries must be lined up parallel, which is like having two 36 volt systems, which they said just increases the capacity. They are supposed to be a 10 year design, three of them were made in Oct 2002 and three in Oct 2003. I tested them with a new voltage meetere and each had a reading of between 12.1 and 12.5, before charging. Apparently the 36 volt Clarke charger that came with the cart is charging these.

the cart run fast on the level, however does slow down a lot going up a hill. the accellerator seems to have only one range, fast, not graduated, and occassionally when you step on the pedal nothing happens. What would cause this?

MY QUESTIONS and concerns are: am I doing any harm to any of the other components in the system(motor, solinoid, control pannel, etc) by continuing to run these batteries? Would I gain better "hill climbing" power by going to all new SIX 6 volt batteries?

[dans8555]

wow, 12 hits and not one has responded, I thought for sure I could count on ScottyB, Rusty or PGroves. I find it impossible for you guys to be stumped on any issues.

[ogre'sdad]

Real quick, batteries in parallel will give you constant voltage but could posssibly be "hogging" current from each other ( I'm considering each 36 volt circuit as a separate battery for simplicity sake). Some RV, Tour bus and boat builders will, with redundant battery systems. install a "blocking diode" between the circuits (batteries) in order to electrically isolated them from each other and avoid the "hogging" phenomenon. The charger will charge two circuits but will take twice as long and not nesessarily charge to completion as the charger sees the current decrase as a state of complete charge. Try charging one of batteries (36volt) set at a time to see if the voltage increases on the individual batteries(cells). Just a shot in the dark.