36v to 48v conversion

[CamoCart]

Thinking about upgrading to 48V on my 2005 TXT cart. I have Curtis 400 amp controller, heavy duty 36v solenoid, heavy duty f/r switch, 4 gauge wires all around and 8 hp 1600 rpm beast motor.

The cart has great torque now and runs about 12 to 14 mph but I would like more range. Can I upgrade the batteries only or do I have to upgrade the solenoid, controller and F/R switch as well? Have a feeling all these will need to be changed.

[roady89]

It would be nice if that 400 amp controller would handle 48 volts. Look at it and see if it says 24-36 or maybe 36-46....the later would be ideal. Although entirely possible its unlikely and worth a look. Find any numbers and post them.

To do the conversion you need a controller that operates on 48 volts, a solenoid capable of handling 48 volts and a way to charge. You Do NOT have to change the F/R switch. SOME solenoids will handle the extra 12 volts no problem while others will cook after a few minutes.

[scottyb]

For more range you can just add 2 6v batteries to reach the 48v. That will give the most amperage storage and the longest run time

[CamoCart]

Checked my curtis controller and it is a 36v job. Looks like I am going to have to put off the conversion as the cost is too much to absorb right now. However, my set-up now is really good for torque just wish I had a little more range.

[kdeerman]

Originally Posted by scottyb

For more range you can just add 2 6v batteries to reach the 48v. That will give the most amperage storage and the longest run time

Scotty,
How much more runtime (percentage wise) do you think 8-6'2 would get over 6-8's?
Thanks

[scottyb]

Every cart gets a slightly different run time. You know that depends upon tire size and vehicle/load weight terrain and driver's habits..... All that being said the only solid info we have is that 6 batts vs 8 batts is a 30% increase in amp storage capacity ....... Soooo, you should go 30% further ?


What does anybody else think?

[kdeerman]

Scotty,
I'm kinda new to the forum, but is your avatar you as a child, or are you a 'baby genius'?

[sunking]

Originally Posted by CamoCart

The cart has great torque now and runs about 12 to 14 mph but I would like more range.

OK there is only one real way to do that. Just like a car you need a bigger gas tank. For an electric vehicle that means more battery capacity.

So do not let anyone fool you going from say 6 volt to 8 volt batteries is going to increase your mileage as the exact opposite is true.

Batteries have 2 key numbers you need to pay attention to:

• Voltage
• Amp Hours

Here is the deal. Battery capacity or electrical energy is expressed in Watt Hours. To get a rough idea of how much energy a battery contains, multiply the rated battery Voltage by the rated Amp Hours.
So let's look at 2 examples a Trojan T-105 (6 volt battery) and T-875 (8 volt battery.

A T-105 is rated 6 volts @ 225 Amp Hours. It takes 8 batteries to get 48 volts @ 225 Amp Hours. Use the formula of Volts x Amp Hours and you get 48 volts x 225 AH = 10,800 watt hours

OK now let's use T-875's in a 48 volt cart. It takes 6 8 volt batteries to get 48 volts. A T-875 is rated 8 volts @ 175 AH. So 48 volts x 175 AH = 8400 watt hours.

So which has more energy? 10,800 or 8400?

Simple huh?

[dougmcp]

The only way to get more run time and move to 48v is to add more 6v batteries and end up with an 8x6v configuration.
To do this you will likely need to utilize the bag well for the extra batteries.
As sunking mentioned above, there's an exchange of power vs run time if you use 8v batteries.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by sunking

OK there is only one real way to do that. Just like a car you need a bigger gas tank. For an electric vehicle that means more battery capacity.

So do not let anyone fool you going from say 6 volt to 8 volt batteries is going to increase your mileage as the exact opposite is true.

Batteries have 2 key numbers you need to pay attention to:

• Voltage
• Amp Hours

Here is the deal. Battery capacity or electrical energy is expressed in Watt Hours. To get a rough idea of how much energy a battery contains, multiply the rated battery Voltage by the rated Amp Hours.
So let's look at 2 examples a Trojan T-105 (6 volt battery) and T-875 (8 volt battery.

A T-105 is rated 6 volts @ 225 Amp Hours. It takes 8 batteries to get 48 volts @ 225 Amp Hours. Use the formula of Volts x Amp Hours and you get 48 volts x 225 AH = 10,800 watt hours

OK now let's use T-875's in a 48 volt cart. It takes 6 8 volt batteries to get 48 volts. A T-875 is rated 8 volts @ 175 AH. So 48 volts x 175 AH = 8400 watt hours.

So which has more energy? 10,800 or 8400?

Simple huh?

Simple on paper but how long will a golf cart run on a watt hour?