Mixed Up Batteries

[dongray]

I just brought home a 2001 Yamaha G19EW today. This is my first cart, and plan to only use it to run around the farm on. The batteries are a mix of one Trojan, four Workaholic, and one Duralast. The batteries are all old, with the exception of the Duralast which is less than one year old. They are also all 8 volt, with the exception of the Duralast which is 6 volts. To make matters worse, the Duralast was installed backwards and is now reverse charged (positive is now negative and negative is now positive). The previous owner said that he could easily get 36 holes of golf on a single charge, so the batteries apparently are working good the way they are connected, and even with just 46 volts, the cart goes fast enough for me. I know that, if I had the money, I should simply purchase a new matched set of batteries, however, buying a new set of batteries is not in my financial near future. What I hope to do is to use the existing batteries until they start to fail, while I budget for a new set. Not wanting to damage my controller or the charger (MAC SCR481717 10 amp unit), will continuing to run the cart with the one 6 volt battery and five 8 volt batteries do any harm? If not, should I discharge and then re-reverse charge the battery for proper polarity? Or would I be better off getting just one 8 volt battery, whether new or used, to replace the 6 volt battery? Thanks for any input on this.

[scottyb]

Replace the 6v battery immediately, you could damage the controller and motor due to low voltage/high amperage draw.
Not to mention the over charging that is happening as you are reaching the same cut off voltage but have one less cell to distribute the voltage to.

[dongray]

Thanks for the input scottyb. I took your advice and found a nearly new Trojan T-875 for $40. So now at least I have a matching voltage set of only two brands of batteries, and I don't have to worry about damaging anything.

[scottyb]

A pack of different brands is okay as long as they are all in about the same condition...... actually if they aren't, they soon will be. Such is the case when you toss 1 new one into a pack. It gets over charged until it gets as unresponsive as the rest of the pack within a few months time usually.
Well, good luck!