72v Carts

[dewilson58]

Seeing a few 72v carts being sold.

What are the pro's & con's of the 72 volt carts??

Thanks

[villagetinker]

IMHO, be real careful working around the batteries, 72 VDC is getting high enough to cause a bad electrical shock, unfortunately, I speak from experience. Now to answer your question, from a pure engineering stand point, higher voltage means lower current for similar size (HP) motors. Lower current translates to lower losses in wiring and heat, which should get you longer run time. I have not heard of any of these, are they still lead acid batteries, or are they the newer Lithium battery design?

[VillageIdiots]

Pro - longer run times allowing coverage of greater distance and/or perhaps higher speeds sustained for longer periods than lower voltage carts

Cons - as with any electric cart there is still a limit on run time/distance. You can't realistically stop on the way and recharge a cart like you can stop and fill up a gas cart with gas. Also, eventually batteries wear out and they are not cheap. Replacing 72 volts worth of batteries will be even more expensive than 48 volts. I owned 2 48v club cars before moving to TV. Batteries lasted about 5 years but really started to show signs of age after 4, and that was with taking very good care of them. New batteries for just one of the carts was close to $800.

[champion6]

Seeing a few 72v carts being sold.Interesting. What brand(s) offer this? Any local dealer(s)?

[village dreamer]

ez go carts are 72 volts

[biker1]

Not really true. Some are 72 volts but some are 48 volts.

ez go carts are 72 volts

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The GEM is 72 Volts but only has a range of about 25 miles. It does go pretty fast, however. I thought LSVs were supposed to be limited to 25mph, but the GEM that I drove felt a lot faster than that. I remember it throwing me back in the seat when I floored it from a stop.

The GEM has a switch that limits the speed to 20 mph so that you can drive it on cart paths. Maybe it gets more range when it's in the lower speed position, but the dealer told me that the range is 25 miles.

There are some new lithium ion batteries that supposedly go over 100 miles on a charge. I don't know if they are 72 or 48 volts. I do know that they can be installed in a 48 volt golf cart so, unless a voltage reducer is installed, I assume that they are 48 volt batteries.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Pro - longer run times allowing coverage of greater distance and/or perhaps higher speeds sustained for longer periods than lower voltage carts

Cons - as with any electric cart there is still a limit on run time/distance. You can't realistically stop on the way and recharge a cart like you can stop and fill up a gas cart with gas. Also, eventually batteries wear out and they are not cheap. Replacing 72 volts worth of batteries will be even more expensive than 48 volts. I owned 2 48v club cars before moving to TV. Batteries lasted about 5 years but really started to show signs of age after 4, and that was with taking very good care of them. New batteries for just one of the carts was close to $800.

I have Ranger batteries in my 2002 Club Car and I can get about 60 miles on a charge. Yes, that is more limiting than gas, but I don't think I've ever gone 60 miles in my cart in the six years that I've lived here.

I did have a problem with some of the batteries which had to be replaced. It was kind of a pain in the butt, but now I have a mix of older and newer batteries. I've been replacing one battery approximately every year at a cost of about $200. That doesn't seem too bad to me as I would think that I would spend more than that on gas in a year. The cost of electricity is hardly noticeable.

Electric carts have fewer moving parts so less can go wrong. If you plan on keeping a cart for a long time, maintenance on an electric cart will be lower over the years.

[tuccillo]

An estimate for fuel costs (electricity for electric carts and gasoline for gas carts) is about 2 cents per mile for electric carts and about 5 cents per mile for gas carts. Your mileage may vary depending on the exact cart you have.

I have Ranger batteries in my 2002 Club Car and I can get about 60 miles on a charge. Yes, that is more limiting than gas, but I don't think I've ever gone 60 miles in my cart in the six years that I've lived here.

I did have a problem with some of the batteries which had to be replaced. It was kind of a pain in the butt, but now I have a mix of older and newer batteries. I've been replacing one battery approximately every year at a cost of about $200. That doesn't seem too bad to me as I would think that I would spend more than that on gas in a year. The cost of electricity is hardly noticeable.

Electric carts have fewer moving parts so less can go wrong. If you plan on keeping a cart for a long time, maintenance on an electric cart will be lower over the years.

[leftyf]

There are several interesting videos of the 72 volt Easy Go cart on Youtube

[TechGC]

72 volt carts are not new, have been around for years, just not in the golf industry.