Replacement of 48 v lead acid batteries with litiunm

[TerryH]

I agree with the others about the lithium. Between the initial cost and the battery management systems and chargers, it's just not an option that I would choose even for our dragster much less a regular cart. I'm sure that there will be a time that the lithium makes sense but for me anyway, the cost is just over the top right now.

[Solenoids]

Thanks to "Rbuggies" for the Lithium lead, I will pursue it with him over the phone. So far no one I talked to really knows much. And, Thanks to Andy who has helped me before. here are the answers to his questions:

1 Stated amps for the motor, level hard surface, max speed= 150 Amps.

2 Battery volts after charging: 8.53 8.51 8.52 8.51 8.57 8.57

3 Battery volts at full discharge: 7.62 7.45 7.40 7.49 7.44 7.49

4 Discharge time using a Club Car discharger: 98.0 minutes

5 I don't know how to measure the amp input when charging.

6 Water levels are very constant, I faithfully use a single point watering system every month.

Thanks for your thoughts. Jerry

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by Solenoids

And, Thanks to Andy who has helped me before. here are the answers to his questions:

1 Stated amps for the motor, level hard surface, max speed= 150 Amps.

That there is a problem if the motor is really pulling 150 at max flat cruise in your cart. Golf cart batteries like to see no more then 60 amps continuous draw. Exceeding 100 amps will absolutely shorten the life of any FLA battery. This info came right from D&D when they custom build motors for high performance carts.

There are only a couple of ways to measure the high current in a golf cart. Either a shunt ammeter or a DC clamp-on ammeter.

Shunt type:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Blue-LED-D...item2c70cfed42

DC clamp-on type:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Clam...item3cd84fd9b5

[Andy4639]

The cart running full speed on flat surfice shouldn't be anywhere near 150 amps. Once the cart gets moving it should drop off pretty good. The only time the motor should see high amps is on starting off, climbing a hill are with a heavy load on it.

What kind of amps does the charger show when it gets near the end of the charge cycle? It should be less than 3-5 amps on a good set of batteries

sportcoupe hit it on the nail I think.

[Solenoids]

The Yamaha charger does not incorporate an amp meter so I don't know the answer to your question. The 150 number comes from the engineer that designed it at GE, so the source is solid.

Looks like I'll just continue to buy batteries...or swap out the motor.

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by Solenoids

The 150 number comes from the engineer that designed it at GE, so the source is solid.

I would be very upset if a motor engineer specified a motor for my application that far exceeds the capacity of my batteries. Call D&D, Eric or Vic will spec you a motor that will only draw 60 amps. The benefits are twofold, first you would see greatly increased run time, second you won't kill expensive batteries every 18 months.

Just think if you installed $3000 worth of lithium batteries and they were dead in 18 months also.

[Andy4639]

Originally Posted by Solenoids

The Yamaha charger does not incorporate an amp meter so I don't know the answer to your question. The 150 number comes from the engineer that designed it at GE, so the source is solid.

Looks like I'll just continue to buy batteries...or swap out the motor.

I would be calling him up and finding out what the heck they did to this motor to get that high of amps at max speed. U will never get that cart to keep from eating up batteries like it is.