Extending driving distance

[Clubcarguy34]

Hi guys, new guy here, just purchased a 2006 club car precedence.
I’ve got a lot of experience with deep cycle batteries, solar, and inverters.

So.. I’ve had this generator it is basically a Honda eu3000 modified to output 36vdc or 48vdc with a 1% voltage regulation.

My thought here is to mount the generator on the back of the cart, and wire it directly to battery pack - and battery pack +

The generator will output a consistent 3000 watts, and can surge to 3500 watts.
It even has eco mode.

From what I’ve been reading here is after take off, and cart hits it’s max speed, it is about an 80 amp load. My cart is stock with the Curtis 250 amp controller and adc motor.

If my thinking is correct, I should be able to connect this up and basically be able to go very long distances.

The generator is an alphagen dcx3000 and was built for the telecom industry for Verizon and T-Mobile to supply power to their battery banks during power outages.

So what do you guys think? I won’t be able to set it all up and test it until next year around April.

[mrgolf]

How big is it, where would you mount it. Pictures?

[Sergio]

A generator with 48v output may help with voltage drop during acceleration (or trigger its internal protection) but it will not charge the batteries as you will need at least 52v.

You also need to make sure the generator has some kind of reverse current protection.

If You run the generator at a higher output voltage, it will take a good contactor to switch the generator to the battery load.

[Clubcarguy34]

It actually outputs 52.5 volts, I know I said 48v just to keep it generic.

Here is a link to the picture and the specs.
I’m not sure why would need to do anything else other than hook it up to the batteries.

tools.alpha.ca/webdocs/Manuals/Generators/041028B0003__C__W.pdf

Just put http in front of that, because I am new I cannot put a link in a post until 7 days
Or just google alphagen dcx3000

[Sergio]

The word "modified" made me think of a DIY solution....

It looks like that unit is designed to float a battery bank so it should work just connected to the batteries as You said.

I could not get from the manual if the overload protection automatically resets or it needs manual intervention.

They are not specifically designed to work in a moving vehicle, so please report back on how well it works when mounted on the cart.

[Clubcarguy34]

Thank you.
Will do. I agree that the generator wasn’t designed to be in any moving cart.
Since I will only be on flat ground there should be no oil starvation.

I won’t be able to report back until the spring, but since I had this generator for a while, I thought wouldn’t it be cool if I can mount it on the back where the back seat flips , and I might be able to go rather long distances with it.
I realize it will look a little redneck, but what the heck.

I read over the OBC a few times and did not think I would have any issues if I just wired this in to the pack + and pack -.

I do realize I would have to also plug into the charger a few times so to tell the OBC not to lock up, because it may think my batteries are dead because of not using the cart charger but instead the generator.

Speaking of the OBC , do you know if it just senses the voltage and amperage to determine when it normally be out of juice on an extended run?

[Sergio]

The OBC will not play well with the generator directly on the batteries.

The OBC measures current in and out of the pack as it travels through the negative wire that goes through the OBC.

It uses a "Coulomb Counting" method similar to how all phones and laptops work to determine how much energy was removed from the batteries.

It uses that information during the charge to make sure the batteries receive the proper charge.

If You connect the generator to the pack negative, the OBC will see more discharge current from the batteries than it actually took place since some came from the generator and will overcharge the batteries.

The best would be to connect the generator negative to the Controller B- so the OBC still sees only current in/out of the batteries.

[Clubcarguy34]

That makes perfect sense.
Thank you, I will wire it that way.

[CjSalzano]

Curious to add onto this question about using an onboard portable generator to recharge batteries to extend drive distance. Yes certainly redneck and would never do this, but just curious about the concept. If this was a 3000w generator this will extend range but not completely correct? If the golf cart electric motor is drawing, lets say 10,000w, this portable generator is only putting back about a third of the power the motor is drawing? Lets say a 48v cart with 220 amp battery pack produces around 10,000 watts for motor to draw, correct? So if all of this is true, if we mounted a 10,000 watt portable generator onto the backseat and hooked to the battery pack would we never have to recharge the batteries? I am on the right track or is my math way off?

[mrgolf]

They already figured it out. It's call a gas cart.