What Pack Voltage do I Need

[B-Dubya]

Ignorance WAS Bliss until I found this forum!
First of all I would like to thank those who regularly answers questions for those of us that are new to carts.
I bought a used cart for my wife to use at our land and I have zero knowledge of golf carts or their inner workings. The cart is in good shape but the batteries need to be replaced ( I may have hastened this due to ignorance).*
What pack voltage do I need if I want to get 5-10 miles of run time, and maintain torque performance, in a weekend with charging available if needed? There are some long drawn out rises on our land of 6-10% grade but generally ranch roads. We will encounter mud from time to time. *It may have to pull a trailer carrying fire wood or the occasional calf but mainly putting around. **

1993 EZGO
36v (for now)
Motor: D&D 170-004-0001 (hi torque, low speed)
Controller: D&D 4855?
25" Tires

Thanks,
BW

[kojo]

B-Dubya, with a new set of good batteries you should get more than 5-10 miles of range. Batteries with at least 225 AH rating should give you alot more than 5-10. Trojan or US Battery are good starting choices along with Exide or Crown. If your only getting 5-10 then you definitely need new batteries. How old are your batteries you have now? What kind of batteries are they and what AH rating do they have? But answering your question, 36v with a good pack will give you more than 5-10, but 48v will give you more than 36v especially if you go with 8 6v batteries instead of 6 8v batteries. It comes down to how much you want to spend, 6 6v or 6 8v are cheaper than 8 6v batteries. Some of the more knowledgeable guys will give you more info than I can, but I hoped I helped some.

[JohnnieB]

You are loosing about 30% of the stock torque due to the 25" tall tires, but gaining all of it back and then some with the high torque motor and 500A controller.

For maximum battery lifespan (time until they have to be replaced), the battery pack needs to be charged after each use, or placed on charge each night when cart is used during that day.

A standard (225AH) 36V battery pack should give you over a 10 mile range on a single charge, but you can get more range with a higher AH 36V battery pack.

A higher voltage battery pack will give you more torque and speed, and if the right combination of batteries is used, more range also. However, upping the pack voltage means buying a new charger and may require a new solenoid. (The motor and controller you have will run on 36V, 42V or 48V - some solenoids will work on multiple voltages, others won't)

Also, at 42V or 48V, the high current cables, F/R switch, controller and motor will run cooler because the higher the voltage, the fewer Amps needed to transfer the same amount of electrical energy.

[Sir Nuke]

B-Dubya, the guys have actually answered the question already.....but it really all boils down to what you want. I will add that whether you are going to stick with 36v or 48v, seeing as you are going to be buying new batteries either way.....do yourself a favor and get the highest AH rated batteries you can. The higher the AH rating....the farther the range your cart will have, and in the big picture, the difference in price between a standard and a higher AH batteries isn't all that much. the fact that you want to have at least 5 to 10 miles range it doable, with either 36v or 48v.....I'm running 36v, I'm lifted (23" tires), Altrax SPM 48500 controller, SD Solenoid, HD F&R Switch, 2 ga. cables, High Speed Raptor motor.....it will run 27 mph.....and has a 30 mile range.

oh and with all that said.....CONGRATS on the ride, and Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to BGW. There is a BIG fridge on the back porch with anything you can think of in it...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have. Make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom's, wive's, husbands, girlfirends and boyfriends here don't care....and take it easy.



oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

[B-Dubya]

Thanks for the responses. How do you know the controller is 500a? I did not see a model 4855 on D&D's web page?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by B-Dubya

Thanks for the responses. How do you know the controller is 500a? I did not see a model 4855 on D&D's web page?

D&D builds motors, not controllers, they just relabel those.
I'm about 99.999% sure they sold you an Alltrax AXE4855.

You can look-up the specs and programming stuff on the Alltrax website: http://www.alltraxinc.com/Products_AXE.html

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by B-Dubya

Thanks for the responses. How do you know the controller is 500a? I did not see a model 4855 on D&D's web page?

I bought all my stuff from ScottyB at cartsunlimited.com

[B-Dubya]

Thanks JohnnieB. Now I have become a little more confused regarding the controller so I'm going to start a new thread. By the way, per your advise, I have been charging daily the pack of interstate GC2-XHD I thought was bad and they are slowly coming around. I don't plan on using the cart much for the next 6 months so I am going to hold off on new batts until then. Should the batts start to boil seconds after the charger is turned on?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by B-Dubya

Thanks JohnnieB. Now I have become a little more confused regarding the controller so I'm going to start a new thread. By the way, per your advise, I have been charging daily the pack of interstate GC2-XHD I thought was bad and they are slowly coming around. I don't plan on using the cart much for the next 6 months so I am going to hold off on new batts until then. Should the batts start to boil seconds after the charger is turned on?

The "boiling" is called gassing. The bubbles are hydrogen and oxygen gases that are generated by the electrolysis of the water in the electrolyte.

Gassing occurs whenever current flows through the electrolyte, but becomes very noticeable when the On-Charge voltage climbs above 2.35VPC (Volts per Cell) or about 42.3V for a 36V battery pack.

When gassing starts shortly after the charging begins, it simply means the batteries weren't discharge very much. A lot of gassing will help those old batteries.

Keep an eye on the fluid levels. Add distilled water after charge is complete, unless plates are exposed, the only add enough to cover plates, then charge and fill to correct level.