Golf Cart Energy Usage Meter

[zcaveman]

In several threads about the cost of electric carts there was mention of a energy usage meter from Amazon that plugs in between the wall and the charger plug.

Stupid me lost my links to those threads.

I found a bunch of them on Amazon but it is hard to figure out which one I might want to get. Can anyone tell me what meter they use?

Thanks.
Z

[Blackie]

I used a "P3 P4400 Kill A Watt" monitor - it lasted for just over a year then failed. They have them at Lowes and Home Depot as well as Amazon.

I tracked my golf cart electricity usage and mileage for 12 months using the meter and the odometer on the cart.

[PaulDenise]

Blackie--

Can you tell us what you found using the 'kill a watt' thing?

How many kilowatts a day were you using to go how many miles?

[Blackie]

Over 52 consecutive weeks - cart has 8 x 6 volt batteries.

Mileage - 4,710
Total Electricty Cost - $106.87 - equates to 2.27 cents/mile.

Provided batteries last 4 years the cost of amortizing them at this mileage is 4.4 cents/mile.

[ajbrown]

Over 52 consecutive weeks - cart has 8 x 6 volt batteries.

Mileage - 4,710
Total Electricty Cost - $106.87 - equates to 2.27 cents/mile.

Provided batteries last 4 years the cost of amortizing them at this mileage is 4.4 cents/mile.

Thank you for taking the time to document this. :thumbup:

[PaulDenise]

Thanks!

Funny how close that is to gas costs. If your electricity and battery costs are about 7 cents per mile then 50 miles would cost $3.50. That is about what an EFI gas cart would cost per gallon of gas and the 50 miles that it would get.

Other interesting thing would be that you can actually get 20,000 miles out of a set of batteries!

[zcaveman]

Thanks!

Funny how close that is to gas costs. If your electricity and battery costs are about 7 cents per mile then 50 miles would cost $3.50. That is about what an EFI gas cart would cost per gallon of gas and the 50 miles that it would get.

Other interesting thing would be that you can actually get 20,000 miles out of a set of batteries!

While I prefer the electric, you will never get the daily range on electric. We are limited to 30-50 miles per charge.

I never go beyond SS and LSL and Buffalo Ridge so I am okay with electric.

Z

[SouthOfTheBorder]

While I prefer the electric, you will never get the daily range on electric. We are limited to 30-50 miles per charge.

I never go beyond SS and LSL and Buffalo Ridge so I am okay with electric.

Z

I don't think that is true for (all) electric carts. Range on electric carts is subject to several conditions. The primary one begins with the number of batteries. 4-12v, 6-8v or 8-6v.

Carts with 8-6v will easily get 50 miles on a charge, while 4-12v usually will be limited to approx 30-35 miles. Assumes all other factors are equal. Range for a bank of batteries is directly related to their total amp/hour rating.

The more batteries you have the "bigger the tank".

Don

[zcaveman]

I don't think that is true for (all) electric carts. Range on electric carts is subject to several conditions. The primary one begins with the number of batteries. 4-12v, 6-8v or 8-6v.

Carts with 8-6v will easily get 50 miles on a charge, while 4-12v usually will be limited to approx 30-35 miles. Assumes all other factors are equal. Range for a bank of batteries is directly related to their total amp/hour rating.

The more batteries you have the "bigger the tank".

Don

True. But as the batteries age, the mileage goes down.

Z

[dotti105]

We have 2 electric carts and find that we can get from south of Pinellas to Paradise park and back, to either of the three squares we choose to visit, play 18 rounds of golf and hit publix, the banks, the doctors office etc. No range issues.

But what we like best is they ride smooth, quiet, and clean!

We can carry on a quiet conversation and cruise at 25 mph. We never thought we would enjoy the electric carts as much as we do. We rented gas carts on each of our visits and that they were great.

It just took one ride in the electric to make us decide. Just like one trip to The Villages to know that it was the right decision for us.

Couldn't be happier!

PS- not saying electric is better than gas, just that it is a better for us!