[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I was in the golf business for 35 years and worked with golf cart fleets. Mostly I worked with Club Car so I am used to them and I like them a lot. I have a 2002 Club Car that runs like a dream.

As far a range goes, there is no need to do the 8 six volt battery conversion any longer. A new battery is available called the Ranger. They cost about 30% more than traditional batteries but they'll give you 160 minutes of running time out of a single charge. At 20 mph, that converts to sixty miles. But, that is running on a flat surface with no hills and no starting and stopping. Realistically, you can expect to get between 40 to 50 miles on a charge.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by redsox04

Would appreciate comments/experience regarding manufacturer. I am most interested in the range owners are realistically experiencing!

We bought our Columbia Par Car in 2007 and still love it. We've never come close to running out of charge.

[tuccillo]

If you wanted to reduce your carbon footprint, a golf cart is the last place to start since it is likely to be the smallest part of your energy footprint.

Let's look at some of my numbers based on 4000 miles per year for a gas golf cart, 6000 miles per year for a fairly fuel efficient car, and annual electric power usage of 9421 kWhs for my all electric home (considering 62% of FL power from natural gas, 21% from coal and the rest from sources that don't directly generate CO2 such as nuclear at 12%).

Golf Cart: 1516 lbs of CO2
Car: 4055 lbs of CO2
House: 11,505 lbs of CO2

If I switched to an electric golf cart (assuming 200 W/mile), the annual CO2 emissions would drop from 1516 lbs of CO2 to 1040 lbs of CO2.

Therefore the totals are as follows:

with gas cart: 17,067 lbs of CO2
with elec cart: 16,600 lbs of CO2

or less than 3% lower annual emissions with an electric golf cart. Indirect effects are not included such as the amount of CO2 used in recycling, manufacturing, and transporting batteries for an electric cart and the amount of CO2 used in recycling, manufacturing, and transporting engine oil, drive belts, and filters for the gas cart.

If you drive a golf cart less than we do, and/or drive a car more than we do, and/or consume more electricity in your house than we do, the percentage decrease would be less.

If you desire to reduce your carbon footprint the first thing you would go after is home power usage by installing photovoltaic panels on your roof. The next thing would be to buy an all electric car such as a Nisson Leaf. I am not suggesting that either of these are cost effective. Gas vs. electric golf cart CO2 emission differences are in the noise range for most people.

Regarding solar panels on the roof of a golf cart, this is certainly admirable but probably not cost effective. Assuming you drive the cart 4000 miles per year and the solar panels on the roof of the golf cart can supply half of your total power (an optimistic assumption based on the area of the roof, the power density of current solar panels, and having the golf cart outside in the sun all day), the most you can save is about $50/year. At a net cost of over $1000 for the panels and controller, the payback would be out at 20 years assuming the future value of the $1000+ invested elsewhere equaled the increase in power cost. If you drive less than 4000 miles per year, the payback would be even further out. Even if the solar panels could provide all of your power for the golf cart, the payback is still going to be far out. For example, suppose you drove 2000 miles per year and the solar panels provided 100% of your power, you would save about $50/year. I am not saying there isn't a certain entertainment value in having solar panels on the roof of a golf cart but the engineering numbers would show that it is probably not cost effective. I suppose you may realize some increased battery life if deep battery discharges were typical. Regarding range extension, I believe the current generation panels provide approximately 1 mile of range extension per hour of overhead sun exposure (assuming 200-400 W nominal panels).

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

Don't worry about range or charging, go solar.

Works like a dream 70+ miles

As far as batteries, yes they should last 4-5 years if maintained correctly




And you're reducing your carbon foot print

[jimbo2012]

no comment, your figures are wrong

[tuccillo]

If you disagree then post your own figures. When you say "no comment" most people will assume you have nothing. The conversion numbers are correct, the assumptions are provided, and my energy usage numbers are what they are.

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

no comment, your figures are wrong

[jimbo2012]

Unfortunately we are on our own and have to police this forum ourselves.
That means challenging statements that are clearly not true.

I wish we had more people on this forum who actually truly advocated and shared knowledge instead of using hearsay to sway opinion away from the truth.

Nevertheless, such are the state of affairs and I don’t always get my wish.


therefore, no comment

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

So you have nothing to dispute my numbers? OK, I suspected as much. Since you have nothing, I suggest you not respond to my posts since you clearly can't contribute anything.

This thread isn't about carbon footprints, although it's an interesting subject and deserves a thread of its own.
This thread is asking for our opinions on what type of electric golf card we'd recommend - I think the Columbia Par Car has the best range.

[tuccillo]

Range is largely a function of the battery configuration/capacity. Find out the number of batteries and the amp-hour rating of the batteries. A back of the envelope power/energy calculation would be something like the following:

Watts=Amps*Volts

If you have eight 6-V batteries rated at 225 amp-hours, then you would have approximately 10.8 kWhs of energy. A good estimate of power usage is probably about 200 watts per mile. Could be different depending on driving habits/hills/weight on the cart, etc. Therefore you could do something like 54 miles on a full charge. Your mileage may vary ;-) Draining the batteries repeatedly will impact battery life. Ask about the batteries.

Originally Posted by Barefoot

This thread isn't about carbon footprints, although it's an interesting subject and deserves a thread of its own.
This thread is asking for our opinions on what type of electric golf card we'd recommend - I think the Columbia Par Car has the best range.

[Moderator]

Let's stay on the original topic where the OP was asking about opinions on electric golf cart brands.

A number of posts were removed when it turned into a personal debate on carbon footprint and electricity usage.

Thank you,

Moderator

[Hacker1]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

We bought our Columbia Par Car in 2007 and still love it. We've never come close to running out of charge.

Ditto for our Star Cart, bought new in 2010.
Both Par Car and Star are excellent electric golf carts, made by companies who specialize in electric. We chose the Star because we were able to purchase it for less money, and my wife found it more comfortable and easier to steer than the Par Car.

[iminfl]

Originally Posted by ajbrown

Normally if someone asks about types of new carts to look at I recommend checking out the EZGO (based on what I have heard).

It is none of my business of course, but I am curious why you are moving away from the EZGO. I assume it is the 2011 AC drive? Does the pack have 4 or 6 batteries?

Sorry I cannot help with what cart to buy, mine are both 2002 Club Cars. I consider them new

I own a 2010 Yamaha electric and a 2015 EZ GO electric and the EZ GO drive system is far superior to the Yamaha that has 8, 6 volt batteries

[cavalier65]

We bought a 2015 EZGO electric from Advantage and are very pleased. The range is excellent and enables us to go anywhere in TV, plus play golf on the same charge. Maintenance is minimal, just occasionally fill the batteries water level. Less noise and smell than gas.

[brooksey649]

The ParCar seems to get the best range and the best warranty

[JoMar]

Star has a 5 year battery warranty, Par Car doesn't. Par Car is a solid feel, Star less so. We have both and we use them for different applications. The Star is used for golf and I drive that one......55 miles is not an issue on range. The Par is my wife's cart and and has never had an issue but her travel distances rarely exceed the box between LSL and Brownwood. Not sure there is a bad choice out there, just individual likes and economic choices.

[rjm1cc]

Originally Posted by Biker Dog

Not true if you maintain the batteries properly. My last set of batteries were 5 years old and I still would get 40-45 miles on a charge. I replaced them because 2 batteries developed bad cells, so I replaced all 8 batteries.

Batteries (6 8 volt) a little over two years old.Might be a slight drop in performance from new but I can still get to 19+ miles per hour which is what I could do when new. Fill with water every month and charge over night each day. Use under 10 miles per day.