lifted club cars - lifted ezgo
Home FAQDonate Who's Online
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Golf Cart Repair and Troubleshooting > Electric Club Car
Electric Club Car Electric DS, and Precedent golf cars



Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-03-2013, 12:50 PM   #1
erocs
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 12
Default Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

Folks,

I have a 1995 club car and original power drive charger. I have brand new Trojan batteries, which have already been charged approx 20 times, after use.

We are leaving to go home, and the cart will not be used from April until the beginning of December. I will charge it fully before we leave, but here is what I am wondering about.

In the manual, it says that during storage the charger will kick in every 7 days to determine if the batteries need charging. In that case I am thinking of leaving an outside outlet on, and leave the charger plugged in to the cart.
I am thinking there will be views both pro and con on this, as the folks I know, I don't think any of them do that.

It gets very hot here, but the cart will be under a carport. I am wondering if I have to worry about water levels if I leave the charger to keep the charge up in the batteries during those months.

I would appreciate input, as the decision is really a simple one, plug in and rely on the charger or don't plug in at all.

Thanks in advance

Jim
erocs is offline   Reply With Quote
Alt Today
BGW

Golf car forum Sponsored Links

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum
   
Old 04-03-2013, 04:49 PM   #2
jakesnake27
Gone Wild
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 14,245
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

Quote:
Originally Posted by erocs View Post
Folks,

I have a 1995 club car and original power drive charger. I have brand new Trojan batteries, which have already been charged approx 20 times, after use.

We are leaving to go home, and the cart will not be used from April until the beginning of December. I will charge it fully before we leave, but here is what I am wondering about.

In the manual, it says that during storage the charger will kick in every 7 days to determine if the batteries need charging. In that case I am thinking of leaving an outside outlet on, and leave the charger plugged in to the cart.
I am thinking there will be views both pro and con on this, as the folks I know, I don't think any of them do that.

It gets very hot here, but the cart will be under a carport. I am wondering if I have to worry about water levels if I leave the charger to keep the charge up in the batteries during those months.

I would appreciate input, as the decision is really a simple one, plug in and rely on the charger or don't plug in at all.

Thanks in advance

Jim
I would definitely leave the charger plugged in all summer. It is an automatic charger that keeps the batteries topped off. As for water levels, I wouldn't worry about it because the batteries will not be getting deeply discharged like when you are driving it, therefore very little water, if any, will be lost...

Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum!
jakesnake27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2013, 05:23 PM   #3
gornoman
Stay thirsty my friends!
 
gornoman's Avatar
Mixed Breed
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Suburban Chicago
Posts: 24,283
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

erocs, Welcome to BGW!

Quote:
Originally Posted by jakesnake27 View Post
I would definitely leave the charger plugged in all summer. It is an automatic charger that keeps the batteries topped off. As for water levels, I wouldn't worry about it because the batteries will not be getting deeply discharged like when you are driving it, therefore very little water, if any, will be lost...

Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum!
Jake, I gotta point out a flaw here. If the OP lives in Florida, Texas, Arizona, or any other hot spot his cells will lose water much faster than us northerners simply from evaporation. The dryer the environment the worse it gets. The best bet is to partner up with a neighbor and have him monitor the water levels while the charger remains plugged in doing it's thing. Buy him a bottle when you get back.
gornoman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2013, 05:25 PM   #4
Stevegrmich
Medicare Recipient
E-Z-GO
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 3,541
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

Quote:
Originally Posted by gornoman View Post
Jake, I gotta point out a flaw here. If the OP lives in Florida, Texas, Arizona, or any other hot spot his cells will lose water much faster than us northerners simply from evaporation. The dryer the environment the worse it gets. The best bet is to partner up with a neighbor and have him monitor the water levels while the charger remains plugged in doing it's thing. Buy him a bottle when you get back.
. . . won't you be, won't you be, won't you be my neighbor . . . ? (as Mr. Roger's always sang) . . . .
Stevegrmich is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2013, 05:25 PM   #5
gornoman
Stay thirsty my friends!
 
gornoman's Avatar
Mixed Breed
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Suburban Chicago
Posts: 24,283
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

Booze, the Ultimate Currency!
gornoman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2013, 06:05 PM   #6
erocs
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 12
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

Thanks guys for the welcome

jakesnake27, thanks for the feedback, that's the way I was leaning...but gornoman you make a good point.

Most of the time here in the Valley in Texas, the humidity is pretty high, even though so are the temperatures.

There is really no one here that I can rely on to check the batteries and ensure the water levels are maintained properly. I would be happy to buy someone a bottle to do that.

Most Winter Texans, just leave their carts after charging them up, I really think hardly any of them realize the charger in this case has the ability to come on every 7 days and check the charge level. My friend has a Yamaha and his charger comes on every 14 days.

I know I am still on the fence here...just trying to do the best thing for the batteries and longevity.

more discussion...experiences...would be great!
erocs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2013, 02:37 AM   #7
Fishing Dude
Gone Wild
 
Fishing Dude's Avatar
Club Car
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Slums of Lake Erie
Posts: 3,721
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

For winter months up here I disconnect my batteries with a full charge and then charge first thing when taking out of hybernation never had a problem. Would think the same thing would work in Texas.
Fishing Dude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2013, 05:20 AM   #8
rib33024
......................
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: FT Lauderdale FL.
Posts: 16,416
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

Take them with you, if you don't have some one to take care of them while your gone, because it is not good for a new set of batteries to sit for 8 months with out being charged.
rib33024 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2013, 09:18 AM   #9
erocs
Not Yet Wild
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 12
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

Quote:
Originally Posted by rib33024 View Post
Take them with you, if you don't have some one to take care of them while your gone, because it is not good for a new set of batteries to sit for 8 months with out being charged.
Thanks for the reply but that is not really an option, first they are very heavy and we do not have a lot of room in the car when we are travelling. Second, I do not have a cart at home to put them into so they get used. I would be in the same situation except for the fact I could keep an eye on the water levels.

Just not an option.
erocs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2013, 09:23 AM   #10
kgsc
Gone Wild
 
kgsc's Avatar
Mixed Breed
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Aiken, SC
Posts: 12,997
Default Re: Battery charging Winter Texan away several months

You could look into one of those battery filling systems that auto stop when they reach the correct level in the battery and maybe put a couple gallon reservoir on it ?? Not sure if it would work but a thought
kgsc is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply
Go Back   Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum > Golf Cart Repair and Troubleshooting > Electric Club Car


Thread Tools
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Forum
8V winter storage charging question Electric Club Car
Batteries During Winter Months Question? Electric Club Car
Winter storage Battery charging Electric Club Car
Precedent Winter charging Electric Club Car


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:30 AM.


Club Car Electric | EZGO Electric | Lifted Golf Carts | Gas EZGO | Used Golf Carts and Parts

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This Website and forum is the property of Buggiesgonewild.com. No material may be taken or duplicated in part or full without prior written consent of the owners of buggiesgonewild.com. © 2006-2017 Buggiesgonewild.com. All rights reserved.