I forgot I had this still. If you find mind numbing data interesting, read the chart. It contains a test I did when I was converting my cart from 6-8s to 8-6s. It was the exact same cart for both runs. The only difference was the battery pack installed.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...rytestBOTH.jpg

Jimbo,

Good info from you. Thanks!

OK...here's the $64,000 question: When will your solar-powered cart be ready for action....May, June, ??? Inquiring minds are inquiring. <g>

Gene

What about the GEM. Looks good, but I don't see very many around TV.

Star Cart has been great for me
 

Before I purchased my Starr Cart I did hear of some people having electrical problems but I have been very happy with mine. It is 48 Volt with 8 - 6 volt batteries (which I believe give you the best range). Other reasons I purchased one: Priced a few thousand less than similar equiped Yamaha or Club Car,4 seater with flip up seat, seat belts std. nice sumbrella cover std, a little higher headroom. Also I purchased with 10 inch tires instead of the 13 inch standard tires to improve ride. You may want to go over and look at them. Good luck!

Gem is street legal
 

You dont see many around as they only make a street legal to the best of my knowledge.

I'd like to see this solar too. It must be very revolutionary as I have never seen solar be able to do what you are saying it is capable of doing. You will be a millionaire if it works. A solar panel that fits on top of a golf car AND can charge a pack of golf cart batteries? Wow, sounds too good to be true.

See this thread

It doesn't state how many watts the system puts back into the batteries. I'd like to do some calculations and figure some other factors in. Having seen solar tried on golf cars since the early 80's, I haven't seen any that can make it so you don't have to charge up your cart without using the factory charger. Can you provide how many watts the system puts out?

I love my Parcar...2011 model and I have not had one problem and great service !!!

To those of you that have a EZGO RXV Freedom what is the max distance you estimate you can go on a single charge?

By a gas cart!

What is it U didn't understand the question.

He does want to hear it, smell it or go to gas stations.

In fact he cares about the future generations and his carbon footprint, perhaps.

Club Cars all the way

Jimbo...Why 'Club Cars all the way?' Why not Yamaha, EZGO, etc? Serious question.

Gene

Gene

In elec carts distance and weight have a significant correlation, lighter an object less battery drain to get going, less battery drain to keep going.

CC's have all aluminum chassis and weight less than the others 50-75lbs, the one other minor perk is no rust stains when they get older.

I have two, one with 6 batteries the other with 4 just to further test the distance with 2 less batteries weighing about 140 lbs less.

I'll be doing a lot tests with these two when I get back.

below is the dry weight without batteries or extras
Club Car Precedent Electric: 495 Pounds
Club Car DS IQ-System Electric: 498 Pounds

EZGO RXV Electric: 571 Pounds
EZGO Medalist/TXT Electric: 550 Pounds

Yamaha G22 Electric: 549 Pounds
Yamaha G19 Electric: 560 Pounds
Yamaha G16 Electric: 560 Pounds
Yamaha G14 Electric: 560 Pounds
Yamaha G9 Electric: 519 Pounds (not bad)
Yamaha G8 Electric: 556 Pounds

Jimbo - Thank you for posting this information. This is why I enjoy reading TOTV. I see you live in Fernandina -- how far have you driven your Club Cars in one day and/or what is your typical daily usage of your Club Cars?

I only had it on the road here about 10 days before I left so hard to say, but the first day went 43 miles or so with almost 50% battery reserve.

That was on the 4 12V not the 6 8volt cart which I test when I get back

Please post your test results when you return. Someday when I hope to move to TV, I am leaning towards getting an electric cart as I love their quietness. Nothing like being able to hear yourself think and the sounds of nature as you drive the cart :).

I live in fernandina and bought a used club car DS with six 8 volt batteries that I was told were new Nov 2012. In April I went from Placida Villas in Fernandina to Colony, to LSL Starbucks. Then on to Spanish Springs to the square and golf cart store. From there I went to Brownwood and back home. I drove 18/19 mph. On the last leg to home I could notice a reduction in performance, but I could still maintain 18/19 mph. I'm not sure how good this is for the batteries but I wanted to know how far I could go. I don't see myself ever going further than this, so I'm happy.

I see quite a few of them around TV and most have For Sale sings on them.

I looked into buying one about a year ago. I test drove one and they are very fast and remarkably smooth riding. They have two speeds. One is the energy saving mode where the cart will go about 20mph or so and the other is the fast mode which brings it up to 25mph.
They have a 72 volt system. I forget what the battery configuration is.

The reasons that I didn't buy one are many. #1, the range is 25 miles. They will not go any further than that. #2, they are very expensive and I couldn't see spending $15,000 to go 25 miles per day. #3, according to Florida law, they must be registered and insured as they come under the category of a Low Speed Vehicle and not a golf cart. They must also have seat belts and all of the other safety equipment that a car has including a solid windshield that cannot be opened. I love to ride with the top half of my windshield down.
The cost of registering and insuring is somewhere in the order of $2,000 the first years. It goes down a bit after the first year.
Basically, I want a golf cart, not another car.

I cannot post this enough.... know your pack state
 

No matter what type of electric cart you get, no matter the battery configuration or if you have solar. Get a volt meter installed in your golf cart. It is a pretty simple DIY project and I suspect a relatively inexpensive install if you hire someone. Understanding how much your batteries are discharged is part of battery maintenance and will keep you from being another stranded casualty for the gassers to make fun of :D. In addition, you will start to see trends in your pack, e.g., played Lopez and came home and pack was at 49.3 volts. In the future you play Lopez and get home and pack is at 48.5 volts....maybe a bad battery which if ignored could affect the life of the pack?

A digital meter that displays numbers is very nice as there is no doubt the pack's state of charge. My rule of thumb for my packs is to not discharge more than 50%. If you decide to follow my rule, then you would consider heading home when your digital meter displays 48.4 volts while sitting idle. At 48.4 volts will have plenty of juice left and in a pinch can discharge 80% (about 47 volts). On my last ride my cart with 8-6v 39 month old batteries was at 40 miles when I crossed that 50% threshold. Based on my tracking such mundane things for my packs, I estimate my cart could have gone another 20'ish miles before crossing the dead line at 80%.

My carts came with an analog meter. If you do not have a meter that displays numbers, take some time to find out where on that type of meter 48.4 volts is. I have the meter below. On this type of meter, based on my rule above, I try to never let the needle be in the green when sitting idle. IMO 48.4 volts on this meter is where the 'F' line is. This picture is after a full charge. Good luck....


http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...v/IMG_0328.jpg

AJBrown, that's a lot of good information. I was Planning on bringing a volt meter with me when I return this fall. I have the same analog meter, so if I run the battery's down to 48.4 I'll still have a good amount of life left? What would be the ideal voltage to recharge? If I run the batteries down to 47 volts is that bad for them?

Trojan Battery web site pretty good starting point
 

Glad to help, I am not a professional, just love electric carts and I enjoy sharing my experiences and hearing others from TV. There are a lot of good sites, but I always find myself back at Trojan Battery Company (Maintenance page) for a reference. Once you get on that page, read through the related links. There are two that are pertinent to our current discussion.

This one talks about how deeply to discharge related to your 47 volt question.
Trojan Battery Company (discharging the pack)

On the following link pay special attention to the chart at the bottom.
Trojan Battery Company (SOC table)

As far as what do you have left when you at 48.4 volts? Your mileage will vary. I did a test last year on my pack and took the time to graph my results. Here is a long winded description of the test run Test run description

and here is the results which may answer your range question.
Test run results graphed

I think this is an excellent suggestion.

Please will you provide a link for a suitable meter.

Has anyone had a meter installed by a cart service and what is the approximate cost?

Does the unit show individual battery voltage as well as cumulative voltage?

I have a 2002 Club Car DS with oodles of miles, 6 8 volt batteries and a 2008 Yamaha with 8 6 volt batteries with many miles. Both run fine. But doing some work on them myself, the Club Car is so easy to do anything on. And it just goes and goes forever with no issues. Also parts are always available. I added a 3 inch lift kit to the Club Car so I could use the 10 inch 265 tires, thinking about adding front brakes, and have replaced brakes, suspension grommets, motor, and a few other things, but it still runs great. Based on the carts history and usage, number of sets of batteries, I would guesstimate it has well over 70K miles and still going strong.

You likely never need this unless you are troubleshooting an issue.

There was a company that made this, but they seemed to go out of business. Google 'paktrakr'. It was on my Xmas list, but I must have been a naughty boy as I did not get it.

I was going to make one. I had gone as far as looking up the part numbers for a double pole selector switch, but never got motivated enough.

My Dad made one we will use for troubleshooting (he is a very kool Dad) :bowdown:. No selector switch, it is eight little voltmeters on a piece of one inch angle. Each voltmeter has two wires with an alligator clip at each end which is a PITA, but it does what we need in the odd event we need it.

PS. I2ridehd, sounds like fun....