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04-08-2013, 08:57 AM | #1 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: The hills of WV...
Posts: 330
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Good Idea or Bad??
I have a friend who bought a 48v club car pres. last yr. he would usually get 48 hole of play out of it. It has 4 12v batts in it. After a long winter in the cart shed he pulled the cart out and noticed that a lot of the water in his batteries had evaporated over the winter. he filled the batts and charged the cart. When he came back the following day to use the cart he noticed the cart would only get about 27 to 35 hole of golf then he started seeing the battery light on the dash of the cart to blink. he put on charge and said he was going to get some battery acid and put in the batts to help them!!! My question is.. is it a good Idea to add battery acid to the batts on his cart? or will it damge them? TIA...
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04-08-2013, 09:01 AM | #2 |
Happy Carting
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 73,358
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Re: Good Idea or Bad??
Battery acid does not need replenishing unless it has been spilled out . It does not evaporate or wear out. It won't do any harm, may help slightly but it will not 'save' the batteries.
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04-08-2013, 09:11 AM | #3 | |
Flat Out Hooked on Carts
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 1,115
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Quote:
Configuring a cart for 8 6volt batteries usually requires some modification and fabrication for them all to fit, but 8v batteries typically have the same footprint and can be put into place with little to no fabrication or modification. As for putting acid in the batteries, I have heard many mixed results. Google it and you will find a ton of videos on how to do it, but unfortunately even if the batteries were brand new I'm afraid his range goals are out of sight. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD |
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04-08-2013, 09:16 AM | #4 |
Techno-Nerd
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 19,654
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Re: Good Idea or Bad??
Were the batteries charged periodically during the winter?
It might help to recharge the batteries several time without discharging them, or not discharging them much. |
04-08-2013, 10:05 AM | #5 | |
Techno-Nerd
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 19,654
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Re: Good Idea or Bad??
Quote:
When you connect batteries in series, the voltage increases, but the AH stays the same. When comparing battery packs made up of batteries of the same voltage, comparing AH works, but when comparing packs made up for different voltage batteries, you have to use Watt-Hours (Volts X Amp-Hours). Here is a comparison of 48V packs made up from various Voltage and AH Trojan batteries. Highest kWh 48V pack at the top of the list. You are correct that most anything has a better run-time that a 4 X 12V battery pack. Several people with RXV carts, which also comes with a 4 X 12V battery pack, modify the battery rack to hold six 8V to get better run-time. I'm not sure if the CC guys can do it or not. |
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04-08-2013, 11:19 AM | #6 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: The hills of WV...
Posts: 330
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Re: Good Idea or Bad??
Thanks for the input. Johnnieb, I am not sure if the batts were charged periodically or not. Would the factory club car charger do that? he was assuming it was because he topped off the batts before the winter lockup at the course. thinking that is why the batts were low on water when he first pulled the cart out for the spring and checked it. I know from the input from this site that 4 12vs really suck.. no pun intended.. lol
I was wanting to make sure he was not going to hurt the cart. would it be best to do several charges on the cart? before adding the acid since it really will not help doing that? |
04-08-2013, 03:29 PM | #7 |
Techno-Nerd
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 19,654
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Re: Good Idea or Bad??
I don't know much of anything about Club Cars or their chargers, other than it is hard to find much technical info about them on-line, but batteries is batteries.
Here is the way it works. All the sulfate ions the were added to the battery originally (in the form of sulfuric acid), are still in the battery unless some electrolyte was spilled out somehow. Some of the sulfate ions will be bonded to the lead and lead dioxide plates, in the form of lead sulfate, which is part of the normal charge/discharge process , AND part of the natural aging process. Recharging isn't 100% efficient and some of the lead sulfate does not revert back to sulfuric acid and stays bonded to the plates. (This is aging) There are two forms of lead sulfate soft (amorphous)and hard (crystalline). Most of the soft lead sulfate reverts back to sulfuric acid and lead or lead dioxide during charging, however crystalline lead sulfate does not and if a battery sit in a partially discharged state for any appreciable length of time, the soft lead sulfate turns into hard lead sulfate, reducing the battery's storage capacity. Adding acid to a battery with sulfated plates may increase the voltage, and might increase capacity in some instances, but it will soon cause the batteries to completely fail. Repeatedly charging a battery with sulfated plates will cause some of the lead sulfate in the transition between soft and hard to revert back to acid, recovering a portion of the original storage capacity. ------------- I'm not sure if the CC charger will allow repeated charges without an intervening discharge. |
04-08-2013, 05:42 PM | #8 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Central Delaware
Posts: 859
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Re: Good Idea or Bad??
A word or two of caution. As old school photographers used to say, "never pour acid into water", "always pour water into acid". That's because what you are pouring in is what splashes back out. If your friend decides to add the acid, do so very, very slowly. Sulfuric acid can be very dangerous and burns are extremely painful. Never put your face directly over the fill hole.
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04-09-2013, 04:16 AM | #9 | |
Techno-Nerd
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 19,654
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Re: Good Idea or Bad??
Quote:
I don't think it matters too much when working with diluted acids, but if it is concentrated acid, you pour the acid into the water. When acid and water mix, heat is generated. When a drop of water is added to a beaker of concentrated acid it flashes to steam and launches acid out of the beaker. When a drop of concentrated acid is added to a beaker of water, the heat generated by the exothermic reaction is disbursed over a higher volume of water and the net result is warmer water rather than steam. However, most of us don't handle concentrated acids. ----------- Other than that I agree with everything said and would like to add: Wear goggles or a face shield when working with batteries. |
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04-09-2013, 05:47 PM | #10 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Central Delaware
Posts: 859
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Re: Good Idea or Bad??
It's not about the chemical reaction Johnnie. It's about the splash. Whatever you are pouring is what splashes back. Have you ever poured milk or cream into coffee and wound up with a splash of milk coming back at you?
I'm not arguing the reaction, just saying that was not my point. But, the reaction is indeed another reason to choose water to top off. Obviously, since black & white photography is done by hand, the acid isn't straight and it's not sulfuric acid. |
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