[Peachie]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I was in the golf business for 35 years and taking care of golf cart fleets was a part of my job.
I also have a friend that is president of a Club Car dealership. I've also attended many seminars put on by the PGA and I can tell you that the free market will tell you that electric are far more popular than gas.

You have to remember that the majority of golf carts sold nationwide are in fleets intended for use on a golf course. When Club Car came out with the first 48 volt electric system it all but put gas carts out of business. Number of rounds per charge was a big concern with golf courses and some, especially hilly courses, could not get more then one round out of the old 36 volt carts. The 48 volt Club Car would go two plus rounds and that was more than enough for golf course owners.

Having said that, here in the Villages is a bit of a different story. People are concerned with range and the 30 miles or so that an electric Club Car will get is not enough for some people. If that's the case, you have two options, buy a gas cart or modify your electric cart to get more hours of run time.

Yamaha is the biggest dealer here by far. They have three locations within the Villages. Yamaha makes the best gas golf cart on the market. Club Car, by everything that I learned, makes the best electric. The Club Car dealer is not located in the Villages. Yamaha dealers of course push gas carts and something like 90% of what they sell are gas carts. They will sell you an electric cart, as Club Car will sell you a gas cart, but make no mistake, the meat of their business is in the carts in which they specialize.

Now some people say you can go out and by a Columbia Par Car who advertises that you can get 80 miles on a single charge. You have to remember that claim is made based on a promotional stunt that they conducted a while ago where they ran a cart under absolute ideal conditions and did run 80 miles. They also gave that cart away as a promotion and changed the batteries because the batteries in that cart were destroyed. I think that pretty much any electric cart will do the same if the test is run the same way. Club Car salesmen claim that their basic D/S cart with the standard six 8 volt battery configuration will go 50 miles on a charge. They're probably right.

You can change the batteries in a 48 volt electric cart to eight 6 volt batteries and extend your miles significantly. There are other modifications that can be done to increase both speed and range. In addition there are some companies currently selling solar panels for the roof of the cart which will increase range a small amount. I would suspect that those panels will be improved in the future to add significantly to range.

Electric carts have fewer moving parts and require less maintenance. As gas carts age they tend to have more problems than electrics. This is not a problem of course, if you intend to trade your cart in every few years for a new one.

I dealt with both gas and electric carts in my career and as you can probably guess, I prefer electric. But if you want to have unlimited range a gas cart might be the right choice for you in this particular application.

I've often wondered if all the golf carts in The Villages were electric, how many more house fires do you think we would have seen from battery charging. There is definitely a higher risk of fire with an electric cart recharging, (I didn't say high risk), and this may be a problem with ongoing, daily maintenance of these electric carts by an aging population.

Also, some others have previously mentioned on TOTV how the light splash from filling their batteries had left pinprick holes in their clothing.

[ajbrown]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I was in the golf business for 35 years and taking care of golf cart fleets was a part of my job.
I also have a friend that is president of a Club Car dealership. I've also attended many seminars put on by the PGA and I can tell you that the free market will tell you that electric are far more popular than gas.

<stuff cut by Alan from OP for brevity>

I dealt with both gas and electric carts in my career and as you can probably guess, I prefer electric. But if you want to have unlimited range a gas cart might be the right choice for you in this particular application.

Nice read, thanks for taking the time to post.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I was in the golf business for 35 years and taking care of golf cart fleets was a part of my job.
I also have a friend that is president of a Club Car dealership. I've also attended many seminars put on by the PGA and I can tell you that the free market will tell you that electric are far more popular than gas.

You have to remember that the majority of golf carts sold nationwide are in fleets intended for use on a golf course..........

Of course people would prefer electric carts when most of them are in golf course or country club fleets. Somebody else maintains and charges them (bag room workers or cart barn workers).

And those employees bring the golfer another cart if the cart they're using dies out on the golf course. Here, it's the owner who has to deal with the problems, calls a service person to come out to tow and fix it, and makes sure somebody takes care of it while gone for months.

[Easyrider]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

Of course people would prefer electric carts when most of them are in golf course or country club fleets. Somebody else maintains and charges them (bag room workers or cart barn workers).

And those employees bring the golfer another cart if the cart they're using dies out on the golf course. Here, it's the owner who has to deal with the problems, calls a service person to come out to tow and fix it, and makes sure somebody takes care of it while gone for months.

Exactly, if you only take short trips no problem.

[Matzy]

I used both types for a while, gas and electric. Personally I would recommend electric golf carts. Range between 65-80 miles, enough to travel to all places in TV without a charge. Just watch out when traveling with electric that some people can't hear them and then be shocked that there is a vehicle.

[Hancle704]

Originally Posted by Bonnevie

I've been looking for golf carts. The push to buy gas is very evident. Seems people have range anxiety. Apparently, that's what most people are buying so many of the stores only bring electric up if specifically asked.

I want to friendly to the environment but it's hard to put a lot into an electric cart which apparently will be worth less than a gas one should I want to trade it in sometime. Carts and Clubs has only gas on the showroom but said it would get an electric if that's what one wanted.

In fact, I don't think I saw any new electric carts were displayed in any of the places I went.

Is there really hope for solar power to help electric carts?

Guess you haven't been to Town & Country EZ-Go Dealer on Bichara Blvd.in Villages. He mainly sells new EZ Go Electrics which have a range of 50 miles on a charge. That's a lot of golf and Village travel for a day.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Either type of cart will get the job done. Most folks will have a preference of one type and/or brand for a variety of very valid reasons.

Bottom line: Do your research, ask questions.......then pick the one you feel you'll be happiest with.

Bill

[ajbrown]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

Of course people would prefer electric carts when most of them are in golf course or country club fleets. Somebody else maintains and charges them (bag room workers or cart barn workers).

And those employees bring the golfer another cart if the cart they're using dies out on the golf course. Here, it's the owner who has to deal with the problems, calls a service person to come out to tow and fix it, and makes sure somebody takes care of it while gone for months.

Understand what you need, buy what you want, enjoy the ride, but please try to get the info right for new folks....

No doubt you have to maintain the batteries, this is hardly overwhelming. You can become an expert by dedicating 30 minutes on Trojan Battery.

I am curious why you believe a person that owns an electric cart will need to be towed any more than a person owning a gas. I have no evidence that one breaks down more than the other for mechanical reasons.

If your basis is that people run out of battery power while out and about, then that says more about the person than the cart. Get an in dash voltmeter, learn what it means and you cannot run out of fuel.

Also for new folks wanting electric, beware anyone telling you that a cart will go 50 miles or more on a charge. Some do, some do not. Part of battery maintenance is not discharging the pack too deeply on a regular basis. Always ask a followup question. What was the voltage of the pack after that 50 miles.... Did I mention get a volt meter?

JIMBO2012 (Same as Solar Golf Carts?), my 8-6v battery pack is on its 4th year, get that panel ready, I may want to check it out. I am looking to go 100 miles in a day

[Peachie]

Originally Posted by Solar Golf Carts

Are you also thinking there is no risk with gasoline stored in a garage?

I would imagine if you are storing gasoline in a garage other than in your car or golf cart, it may be a concern. Other than that, the fire risk for owning a gas golf cart is miniscule compared to battery operated carts.

If one is considering a new golf cart, please google "talkofthevillages golf cart fire" and take a look at what you find. There have been a good number of battery driven cart fires in The Villages and these have not been smoldering little fires that were easy to extinguish. Homes were lost and more importantly, if one's garage is in the front of the home like a patio villa, escape from the home may be difficult other than through a window.

Many will have a tolerance for this higher fire risk, others won't. They need to know that risk is there to make their decision when selecting a cart. Bill N'Brillo had great advice; read all the info, test drive and decide.

[Russ_Boston]

There is no need to store gas just because you have a gas cart. I gas up about once every other week and usually have put between 150 and 200 miles on the odometer. At some point during the 2 weeks I'm near a gas station

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo

Either type of cart will get the job done. Most folks will have a preference of one type and/or brand for a variety of very valid reasons.

Bottom line: Do your research, ask questions.......then pick the one you feel you'll be happiest with.

Bill

What he said.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Peachie

I've often wondered if all the golf carts in The Villages were electric, how many more house fires do you think we would have seen from battery charging. There is definitely a higher risk of fire with an electric cart recharging, (I didn't say high risk), and this may be a problem with ongoing, daily maintenance of these electric carts by an aging population.

Also, some others have previously mentioned on TOTV how the light splash from filling their batteries had left pinprick holes in their clothing.

How many house fires, due to electric golf carts have there been in the Villages in the past 30 years? do you really think that there is a great deal more danger than storing five gallons of gasoline in your garage? Maybe, but I would love to see documentation of that.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

Of course people would prefer electric carts when most of them are in golf course or country club fleets. Somebody else maintains and charges them (bag room workers or cart barn workers).

And those employees bring the golfer another cart if the cart they're using dies out on the golf course. Here, it's the owner who has to deal with the problems, calls a service person to come out to tow and fix it, and makes sure somebody takes care of it while gone for months.

Did you read my entire post? You left out the part where I said that there is more maintenance involved in gas carts than electric. There are more moving parts and more things that go wrong with them. That is one of the primary reasons that they are so popular with golf courses. Golf course owners are well aware of the cost of maintenance. All those cart boys and bag room attendants have to be paid.

Again, if you plan on trading your gas cart in for a new one every three or four years, this is not an issue. But if you buy an older cart or plan on keeping your cart for a long time, the maintenance on a gas cart will be higher.

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

How many house fires, due to electric golf carts have there been in the Villages in the past 30 years? do you really think that there is a great deal more danger than storing five gallons of gasoline in your garage? Maybe, but I would love to see documentation of that.

Don't think the danger is high with either. But there is no need to store gas anyway. I remember maybe 3 fires over the past 10 years that started in the garage from electric charger. Don't remember any with gas can. Not scientific reasoning but that is what I remember.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Peachie

... the fire risk for owning a gas golf cart is miniscule compared to battery operated carts .

I wonder if there are statistics from the Fire Department that support this statement. Most of the threads I've seen about garage fires are pure speculation ..... "we wonder if this fire was caused by a battery-operated cart".