Backup Generator while driving?

[Jvelella]

Again, I thank you for the input on why you don't think I should do it. But This question is not if I should or should not, its is it possible and how would I make it happen. I have a home shop with any tool I would need pretty much, and time on my hands this winter. So I would like to make this a project to make it a hybrid.

My standard day driving it I do 5 miles ish, but every once and a while I want to have the ability to not care about plugging it in and can just enjoy it, so id like to have a back up generator on the unit built in at some point.

So again, how would I accomplish the charging. Maybe a solar charge controller added onto the system? I know some of them can work while you are using the batteries.

[bronsonj]

I have done this! I put a generator on my Christmas Float and use it to also power a small 5 amp charger on the cart as well as all the Christmas lights on the cart and all the lights on the float.

I know, 5 amps?... Not enough! Won't do anything! Bah Humbug! Won't work! Can't work! I thought so too...

Well, the parade route is stop and go, I'm pulling a heavy float with 8 to 12 people (more kids than adults) and 2 people on the cart all while going slow. I pull a LOT of amps to do this.

Buuut, yes. The charger ABSOLUTELY makes a difference. Every year I pass dead cart after dead cart and those carts aren't pulling floats. The routes get longer and longer and last year (after passing 3 or 4 dead 4 passenger carts) I passed a modified (but dead) 6 person cart near the end and he looked at me with big eyes as I went past and exclaimed HOW ARE YOU STILL GOING!!! The parade is stop and go so there are times when no motive power is being drawn and it is charging. At the end of the night I completed the parade and when I got home I still had power! I don't know how much power I had left since I left the generator running to power the float lights while the party went on and drinking began.

I would have bet $$ that the 5 amp charger wouldn't have done much but before the parade I knew that my cart would die on the route without it... Instead I got home with power to spare.

Some technical notes. My cart is lithium so 5 amps can charge it (slowly) where a 5 amp charger won't sufficiently charge a lead acid. I had to connect the charger *directly to the batteries* so the interlock wouldn't trigger. You normally can't run your cart when connected to the charger. You have to bypass that. If you use regen braking then know you can overvolt yourself if you have a nearly full pack while regen braking and charging. If I were to do this (it sounds like something I would do) I'd set up a switch and relay so I could cut power to the charger or cut the connection from the charger to the pack. If I wanted unlimited range or had lead acid, I'd pick a larger charger than 5 amps. A 15 amp charger is 20% of the current I normally pull (75 amps) when cruising at 24mph. I think a 10 or 15 amp charger would do wonders for you considering all the stops you do for golfing.

Your mileage WILL vary. But this was my experience and I will not do the parade without that little charger...

*Side Note: I do not recommend pulling stuff with carts. I know the risks and I've made modifications to reduce them but this is not what carts were made for.

[rib33024]

No it won't work or there would be hundreds of threads around here about people doing it .you're pulling 50 to 60 amps while your cart is running, and changing to 12 volt batteries would make it worse than having the 6-8 volt batteries you have now. the eight volt batteries put out more amp hours than the 12 volt batteries. Your generator and your charger is only putting out 25 amps for the largest charger that you can get. so your charger won't keep up with the amount of amps that you're pulling out of the batteries. the only time it would work/charge is when you're sitting still and not going nowhere. then it would be charging your batteries. it might extend your miles a little bit but not what you're thinking. you'll need to get a gas card if you want to go that far. the only way to get 50 or 60 miles out of electric cart is to have a big lithium pack battery

[Pupi305]

Originally Posted by Cartmaster

I dont see why not, take a look at this post.

https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/show...postcount=9794

Well it amused me

what I love about this picture is he is from California he would probably go to jail for that as ridiculous as they are over there.