Golf Carts...Electric or Gas?
 

Suggestions on who rents electric carts please. We have rented gas but before we decide which kind to purchase we would like to rent an electric. Thanks all.

When I moved here in 2006 most carts were electric and whereupon electric passed one another in opposite directions on the multi-modal paths the only notice was a stirring of wind. Today most are gas carts and when encountering one in the opposite direction you hear the roar of get out of the way.

Clearly battery operated anything are limited because batteries store power and do not produce power. so eventually as they age storage capacity is lessen.

So the choice gas or electric depends on your intended use. some folks use their cart like a second car. some like me use it for only golf and most times I walk.

Because of this I hem and haw between gas and electric. I like the quiet if electric and the ease of care but like the thought of more distance

I have been following lithium for three years but it doesn't seem to be living up to its reputation and given the problems in aviation with this type of battery...................................

Virtually all electric and hybrid cars use lithium-ion batteries. It is a well established technology. They are pricey but have good energy density, are light weight, require no maintenance, and last a long time.

I did own an electric cart and I do have a bias. I believe that it is appx. 15 miles from Lopez to brownwood so i am hard pressed to believe your trip was anywhere near 60 miles

Well if you want the details it was from Hillsborough to Hadley to pick up my golfing partner who was renting for the month of March, then to Lopez and played golf then to SS for food and drink and to look at some of the older neighborhoods then down Morse to 44 to show him the new construction, the Rohan, the ball fields and shooting range. Then to Brownwood for a couple more drinks and to show him the progress. From their back to Hadley and then back to Hillsborough. As I recall when I got home I had done close to 60 miles based on the speedometer. My point was that you can cover TV easily with electric but honestly, that is a long way in a golf cart and I don't do that often. The cart was a Star EV. My daily use seldom exceeds 10 - 15 miles plus golf and I seldom go above LSL unless I'm playing Glenview. I suspect most runs are in that same range.

I'm curious why you did the OP if you owned electric before.

We rented from Don Cunningham. (352) 391-2564
He has 2 and 4 seaters gas and electric. All of his golf carts have seat belts.
Or you can e-mail him at don22560@yahoo.com

We had a problem one morning and he was there within 15 minutes to fix it.

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One of each. There are pro's and con's to each. Everything from original cost, resale value, ease of maintenance, range, cost to replace batteries, noise, smell, and many many others. I have one of each and enjoy both for different reasons. There is only one con for electric that for me is a game changer and why it would not be my only cart.

If you own and drive an electric cart it's not a matter of if you will be towed home, but when. It will happen. Might be user error, age problem, or many other issues, but at some point you will be towed home. You will not get the plug all the way in the night before, you will forget to add water, leave the lights on, go to far, something, but it will happen. Now all the electric fans will chime in and say "never happened to me", but just wait it will happen.

However I still love my electric cart and drive it often. But I still keep a tow rope in the glove box.

This may be the first time I have read one of your posts and not agreed or at least understand your point, so I respectfully disagree.

It does however bring up a good point for the OP. If you go electric, get an on dash digital voltmeter. A full tank is about 51 volts, an empty tank is about 46.5 volts. If you are sitting at a stop sign and your meter says 47.5, it may be time to head for home...:D

Get a cart where your normal daily usage does not discharge the cart below 48.5 volts. How deeply you discharge the pack is part of maintenance.

When discussing range, there are two interesting pieces of information 1. how far and 2. what was ending voltage. People often do not pay attention to number 2 and then wonder why their packs last 26 months.

When my batteries were two years old I did a couple of tests. I will not bore you here. If you wish to be bored, see this post: https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...80-post13.html

These same batteries are approaching end of life. They were 5 years old this past February. My wife and I live in Mallory, we recently played Glenview, came home, then went for a ride to Brownwood. Voltage when done was about 47.6.

Good luck!

I hate messing with batteries!

Agree with one of each
 

That's what we finally did. bought an electric in 2007, then a 2nd electric in 2010. We drive almost everywhere by cart, except for night and bad weather. At night, the one driving the furthest takes the car and the other the cart, usually once or twice a week. Probably only drive our car here about twice a week.

We still like the quietness of electric, but your range and worry will increase in the 3rd year of battery life. It is painful if you have to replace both carts' batteries in the same year. Finally decided that we did not want to put $600-700 batteries in a $2000 cart. If you use carts almost exclusively, and do more than just golf and go out to dinner, you will likely only get about 3 years from a set of batteries. We got 4 year on our 2nd cart last year, but really had to watch our range the last year and noticed the slow-down in mph. We live in the middle of The Villages (at the moment :).

We bought a newer EFI Yahama cart and do find it quieter that the older gas models. We leave for the summer and will, as always, have both carts serviced at our house when we return in September. The gas cart will be the one we use most. Nice to have the electric 4 seater, though, when we have company. They are quieter. As the batteries age, you do have to fill them more frequently, especially in hot weather. And, if you leave for the summer, you need to get a battery minder or have your home watch people monitor, charge, fill, and drive monthly.

LOL, well AJ, your probably the exception to the "it will happen" rule. I to have run my batteries for a long life. My 02 Club Car was just replaced and had 09 batteries and my 08 Yamaha has 2010 batteries and going strong. As that one is in a rental will replace them sometime soon.

However as I do, I recommend you carry a toe rope and never need to use it.

I've driven golf carts for over 50 years playing and coaching golf. So that it's new and fun to drive was not true for me.

When we rented here we had a gas cart. Compared to a Smart Car, that's roughing it. We were cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Rain meant zipping down, with smells, noise, no NPR to listen to. Now with a car, from Brownwood where I live I have 301 to get me on the other end of town in 20 minutes not an hour. Now I walk the execs, rent or share a cart on the champs. I'm never cold when I get to a course. If I get caught in a rainstorm on the course I can put on the heat in the car. When the sun beats you up in the Summer, the AC cools me off on the way home.

When we bought, before we sold, we couldn't buy a cart. We postponed the purchase. I leased a Smart Car and bought an e-bike. This combination turned out to be the best. My leased Smart Car cost me less than $1500 a year and I save quite a bit on gas compared to my old car, a Subaru wagon. The bike cost $1,600 and virtually nothing to charge.

The Smart Car is no bigger than a cart and I can get to 15 execs in less than 10 minutes anytime of the year. Now I don't want a cart.

My wife loves her reconditioned Yamaha gas cart she bought from Village Discount Golf Carts - the people there are super to work with. When she bought it, I didn't know how long I would be in KC and did not want her getting out and running out of juice; would probably have bought gas anyway. Mine will be gas and it definitely come from Village Discount Golf Carts.

Had 2 electric and 2 gas. Both have advantages/disadvantages. You have to decide which is best for you.