When we were looking for a golf cart about 3 years ago, I asked several dealers about the lifespan of a set of batteries, for an electric cart, in terms of miles. I received some vague answers. One dealer did say 8K miles. Based on our anticipated usage (4k miles per year), this would equate to 2 years. I accepted that this estimate could be either low or high.
A gas cart would cost about $160 per year for fuel for 4k miles and I estimated the engine would be good for about 4k hours or about 60k miles (that is 15 years). By the way, the electricity for electric carts would be about $80 per year for the same number of miles. We bought a gas cart.
While I anticipated lower cost of ownership for a gas cart, that was only part of the equation; I expected the gas cart to be less overall effort and worries to own. The maintenance for a gas cart is minimal and I do it myself - about 1 hour per year for gas cart specific maintenance - oil changes and air filter and spark plug replacement. The battery (for starting the engine) is essentially a no-maintenance "car class" battery and should last about as long as car batteries last in hot climates; 4-5 years. The gas carts do have 2 belts but they are easy to replace and low cost and should last several years.
When factoring in the price of fuel (gasoline for gas carts and electricity for electric cart), maintenance costs, and battery replacement costs, I estimated the cost per mile for a gas cart at approximately 6 cents per mile and the cost per mile for an electric cart at approximately 14 cents per mile. Most of the cost per mile for an electric cart is the battery replacement. Batteries that are reputed to last longer won't necessarily change the numbers as they will also cost more. The assumption is the engine of the gas cart will never be replaced/rebuilt because we would likely get a new cart after 15 years.
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Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr
Less than two years ago I had six Ranger batteries in stall in my Club Car at the cost of about $1,200.
I was told at the time that I would be able to go 50-60 miles on a charge and that under normal use the batteries would last four to five years.
The batteries came with an 18 month warranty.
About four months ago I noticed that I was not getting the mileage I should so I checked the specific gravity of the batteries. I found that one battery had one dead cell. I called Battery Boys who installed the batteries and they told me that the warranty had expired a month before.
I was not happy, but I figured these things happen. I had them install a new battery for $200. When the tech installed them he suggested that if I have any more problems I get in touch with Trojan. He gave me the impression that this was not uncommon and to expect more trouble.
I contacted Trojan about the one battery not asking for anything and got a run around. They told me that along with properly watering the batteries, which I do religiously, I should also check the specific gravity once a month.
I'm not sure how this is going to prevent anything, but the next month I checked and found two dead cells one in each of two batteries.
I've been e-mailing back and forth with Trojan and all they'll say is they can't do anything because they are past warranty. What I asked for was a partial credit on the new batteries that I'm going to have to buy.The company suggested that I contact their Master Distributor to see if they can do anything.
I realize the warranty has expired, but it seems to be pretty unreasonable that three batteries all die within one or two months of the warranty expiring. It also seems strange to me that when I contact the company they suggest that I contact a distributor.
Anyroad, I'm just venting here, but I would suggest that anyone who is considering Ranger batteries, or any Trojan product for that matter consider this and think carefully about it.
Like I said, I got the impression for the tech that installed the battery that this is a fairly common occurrence with Ranger batteries.
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