Considering Kelly 24-48 V 400 A Controller

[Gale Hawkins]

Originally Posted by fishb8

Wow, thats good to know. I have 2 that appear to be dying, full charge is 6.1 after driving for 1 mile it is at 5.95.
The others seem fine. But you are saying I need to replace all of them.

I am just saying do it understanding the odds are not in your favor. I would use the bank as long as you are not pushing the cart home.

From my experience I expect the non golfer (not an 18 holer) can get two more years out of cart batteries by using the Desulf Mode like on the WM line of B&D chargers every few months. If one enjoys things more than playing with batteries then the 36v BatteryMINDer options would be worth their price because they work 24/7. The $60 option does not do charge and it works full time where the power is on or off. The $150 option does the same but keeps the batteries at 100% charged too.

For users who maybe put 5 minutes of use on their cart at a time will not need to use the cart automatic charger (which is not truly automatic because they will let your batteries die, freeze and burst if you do nothing but plug it in and come back a year later).

The golfer/power user will need to use the cart charger until it cuts off then move to the battery minder charger but then it will manage the battery health for years to come even if you are dead as long as someone keeps the electric bill paid.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by fishb8

Thanks Scotty, you are a great help.
It sucks that I need to replace all the batteries because 2 are going bad.

IN some cases ~ If the 4 are truly good and not more than 2 or 3 yrs old max. I will try to find 2 used batteries to add to the pack or 2 cheap import batteries to sacrifice into the pack .... those are your options

[scottyb]

There are chargers available that will charge your cart and then maintain them or cycle on every 28 days.... these work well as long as somebody is ALIVE enough to keep water in them.....

[fishb8]

1 hour after full charge, the 2nd number is after a 1 mile ride.
1- 6.3 6.37
2- 6.3 6.34
3- 6.1 5.95
4- 6.2 6.14
5- 6.1 5.97
6- 6.2 6.20

pack- 37.7 36.8


Sorry not trying to hyjack. I like the idea of a cheap import for a while

[Gale Hawkins]

Originally Posted by wizardket

No, I did not. I just walked out and checked the pack. The old one is @ 6.19 and the new are @ 6.39 to 6.4. Looks like I will just have to replace it before I get the rebuild done. I was going to see if a desulfator could return it to 6.4.

I just pulled the trigger and bought the following from Scottyb:

• 480 amp 36-48v Controller
• HD 36v 200 amp Solenoid Kit
• HD Switch Cam
• LED in dash Battery Meter

That is an awesome upgrade wizard.

What is the voltage reading of the entire battery pack? See if it is closer to 6.4 or 6.2.

While you are having fun and going for the high numbers like others for most of us just running a desulf device can add years of useful battery life. Get you one more new one AND the the Battery MINDer for your voltage and the build up will not even occur.

As scottb and others noted avoid deep discharging of your battery bank. If one can get 4 years discharging to 50% SOC each time where as if another with the bank might get 8 years of service if he never went below 75% state of charge.

There is a lot of great info on that I noticed on this site already. www.rv.net is heavy into long life high amp deep cycle battery bank info too and all of the solar forums.

[scottyb]

Yes Lots of great battery info here.. I brought lots of it here over time... I think you are referring to this gem of a chart the techs at Trojan Battery sent me... I share here and on the cartsunlimited website battery usage and charging tutorials.
By the way I have seen some golf carts with 8 and 9 year old batteries in them still running. They didn't have any special treatment just a lack of abuse and in all cases they were maintained well.

[wizardket]

Originally Posted by Gale Hawkins

What is the voltage reading of the entire battery pack? See if it is closer to 6.4 or 6.2.

Only the old is at 6.19. The pack is @ 38.16 right now with the temp of 50 outside and they have not been broken in.

Originally Posted by Gale Hawkins

While you are having fun and going for the high numbers like others for most of us just running a desulf device can add years of useful battery life. Get you one more new one AND the the Battery MINDer for your voltage and the build up will not even occur.

Desulfator will wait until I settle on a voltage. But it is a sure thing to me.

Originally Posted by Gale Hawkins

As scottb and others noted avoid deep discharging of your battery bank. If one can get 4 years discharging to 50% SOC each time where as if another with the bank might get 8 years of service if he never went below 75% state of charge.

That is why I wanted a digital readout gauge instead of those LED ones, hard to know without good data.

[Gale Hawkins]

scottyb that is the chart. The 07 EZGO PDS we are picking up in a couple days has the OEM shipped batteries and I have no idea how well the golf course did with keeping them charged over the winter but I am guessing they are forced to charge them after 18 holes but there is no way to know if they were at 100% SOC by the next day or not at least once a week or not. I hope for our use they will make it for years to come.

The BatteryMINDer charger should give them the best shot at a long life if they are not seriously damaged at this point.

[scottyb]

Typically golf courses only get 3 to 4 years out of their batteries because they are so darn hard on em, an 07 PDS is a nice cart, Good luck.