Golf cart refueling (esp South Villages)

[DrHitch]

Hi all,
Please reply with your favorite choices for re-fueling your golf cart. I'm especially interested in those pit stop places SOUTH of 44.

Please do NOT start a thread here about gas vs battery (lead-acid or lithium)...groan

To the best of my knowledge, there is no official charging network for any electric carts yet established?

This is data to be added to the golf cart page on The Villages 101 The Villages 101 (http://www.thevillages101.com) for new renters, snowbirds, etc.

[Garywt]

I generally go to a Circle K closest to my house. I have been to The Village Golf Cart store a couple times if that is all that is around. I try to avoid a marathon as much as I can. Have also been to Wawa or Shell stations.

[tophcfa]

Get a couple 5 gallon gas cans and take your car to a gas station and fill them up. That should do it, 10 gallons of gas goes a very long way in a golf cart.

[Bill14564]

Get a couple 5 gallon gas cans and take your car to a gas station and fill them up. That should do it, 10 gallons of gas goes a very long way in a golf cart.

A five gallon can lasts at least four weeks with our normal driving. Taking visitors on tours uses a bit more.

[Mrprez]

Currently, there is only one place to refuel south of 44 and that is at the maintenance shed at
Lowlands golf course.

[MSchad]

I generally use the pumps at the Brownwood Villages Golf Carts store as I pass through the area. Second place is at the refueling place at the maintenance shed of Lowlands golf course on Marshbend Trail.

[Rustyboy]

We fill up about every 4-6 weeks at LSL golf cart store. And since we're in the vicinity a great reason to visit the Haig and Dos ice cream store:)

[B-flat]

Haig and Dos? Haig and Haig is a scotch, DOS was one of the early computer programs. Maybe you mean Häagen-Dazs?

[jimkerr]

I fill up at the Villages Golf Cars in Brownwood most of the time.

[MrFlorida]

5 gallon can, fill it when you fill your car.

[Captainpd]

My "favorite" gas station. Really, is this an indication of how shallow our lives are now. You stop at any gas station you want, put your 4 gallons in, go inside, grab one of those spinning hot dogs and enjoy the rest of your life.

[vtuller2]

I was told you can't use regular gas in golf carts, it will eventually gunk up your engine. Is this true, I am reading several that use various brand gas. I get gas at Sumter golf cart station.

[tophcfa]

I was told you can't use regular gas in golf carts, it will eventually gunk up your engine. Is this true, I am reading several that use various brand gas. I get gas at Sumter golf cart station.

- Full time resident that uses your cart daily, regular gas is just fine.

- Part time resident whose cart sits idle for long periods of time, use ethanol free gas to avoid gumming up the carts fuel delivery system. A good quality fuel stabilizer will help reduce the problems associated with use of fuel with ethanol, but it’s better to simply not use fuel containing ethanol.

[BigSteph]

I drive over the Chitty Chatty bridge to the Marathon gas station near Rohan. It also has recreational gas pumps.

If I lived on the other side of the turnpike (Finney side), I would probably go to that makeshift station near Edna's.

[larcha]

Can Ethanol Damage Car Engines? The Truth About Ethanol Fuels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATGSBi1kBl0

[mulligan]

Actually, regular gas with a shot of STABIL in every fill
up did my cart fine for 10 years.

[DAVES]

I was told you can't use regular gas in golf carts, it will eventually gunk up your engine. Is this true, I am reading several that use various brand gas. I get gas at Sumter golf cart station.

Endless re: misinfo on gasoline.
We are told stuff like Russian. Gimme Russian shaken not stirred.
The truth it actually is all mixed together and comes out of the same pipe. The difference between brands is the detergent package which is different for different brands. You can find this information on the internet. I was using Shell. It seems that circle K is buying all of the local Shell stations.

Alcohol? Ten percent alcohol was added to gasoline to lessen imported crude. Like any temporary act it becomes permanent. For a while it did not make economic sense. Perhaps, at the current crude price it again makes economic sense. The offered alcohol free fuel for small engines is because the law as written does not allow it to be used in cars and trucks.

[Garywt]

We fill up about every 4-6 weeks at LSL golf cart store. And since we're in the vicinity a great reason to visit the Haig and Dos ice cream store:)
You get 4-6 weeks out of a tank of gas? Some weeks I am at the station 2 times.

[Garywt]

I was told you can't use regular gas in golf carts, it will eventually gunk up your engine. Is this true, I am reading several that use various brand gas. I get gas at Sumter golf cart station.

I use regular gas for the most part. 3 years so far no issues. Friends have been using regular for 8 years.

[BigSteph]

I think if you use your cart regularly, there is no issue with regular unleaded.

Most times I fill up with recreational, but I won't sweat it if it is not available.

Having family members in the landscaping/lawn maintenance field, the prevailing view seems to be that ethanol has a habit of degrading rubber and gaskets. Ethanol gas, apparently, also has the tendency to attract condensation water in the fuel. I'm told that ethanol gas is rough on small engine parts in general.

Carts use small engines.

I don't know how true all this is, but every person with a chainsaw, mower, trimmer, etc. all spout the same thing -- to question it is heretical to small engine gear heads.


I use regular gas for the most part. 3 years so far no issues. Friends have been using regular for 8 years.

[jarodrig]

The Yamaha owner’s manual recommends regular unleaded fuel containing no more than 10 % ethanol ….. in other words , regular gas at your favorite gas station …..

[tophcfa]

Having family members in the landscaping/lawn maintenance field, the prevailing view seems to be that ethanol has a habit of degrading rubber and gaskets. Ethanol gas, apparently, also has the tendency to attract condensation water in the fuel. I'm told that ethanol gas is rough on small engine parts in general.

Carts use small engines.

I don't know how true all this is, but every person with a chainsaw, mower, trimmer, etc. all spout the same thing -- to question it is heretical to small engine gear heads.

I own two golf carts, three chain saws, a zero turn mower and a push mower, two backpack leaf blowers, a giant vac wheeled leaf blower, a weed wicker, two ATV’s, a small bass fishing boat with a 10 HP 2 stroke outboard, two generators, a dual sport motorcycle, a pressure washer, and a 50 HP tractor. That’s what I have now, I have been significantly downsizing. Trust me, ethanol gas absolutely sucks. People all over the planet are starving and for whatever reason I will never understand we are polluting our gas with corn based alcohol that destroys the fuel delivery system of small engines? Why not use the corn to feed starving people? At least the screwed up decision keeps small engine mechanics employed.

[DaleDivine]

You get 4-6 weeks out of a tank of gas? Some weeks I am at the station 2 times.

That's what I was thinking. I play golf almost every day. I live in Charlotte and yesterday drove to Briarwood to golf. Thursday (if it doesn't rain) Back up to Walnut Grove.
They must have a Hybrid cart to get that good of fuel milage or only drive their cart once a week.
:shocked::shocked:

[Taurus510]

My "favorite" gas station. Really, is this an indication of how shallow our lives are now. You stop at any gas station you want, put your 4 gallons in, go inside, grab one of those spinning hot dogs and enjoy the rest of your life.

You are correct, you can fill up at any gas station you want, however….if you want ethanol free gasoline, you are limited. If you are unaware, ethanol is very harmful to small engines, and golf cart engines are small engines.

[Bill14564]

That's what I was thinking. I play golf almost every day. I live in Charlotte and yesterday drove to Briarwood to golf. Thursday (if it doesn't rain) Back up to Walnut Grove.
They must have a Hybrid cart to get that good of fuel milage or only drive their cart once a week.
:shocked::shocked:

About 50mpg or 250 miles per tank.

Yes, if you drive from 44 up to 42 every day (30 mile round trip) then you will go through a tank of gas in a week.

[Bill14564]

You are correct, you can fill up at any gas station you want, however….if you want ethanol free gasoline, you are limited. If you are unaware, ethanol is very harmful to small engines, and golf cart engines are small engines.

I have never had a problem using 10% ethanol ("regular" unleaded) fuel in any of the small engines I have had.

I have heard many, many warnings about using that fuel and how it is harmful to small engines but what I haven't heard is anyone talk about the repairs they have needed to make due to using that fuel. Perhaps some heavy users, like lawn maintenance companies, have actually experienced the harmful effects. Perhaps it takes five years off the life of the lawnmower and it only lasts 15 years instead of 20 if you kept it that long. Perhaps the fuel gums up more quickly than non-ethanol in a piece of equipment that sits unused for many months. You can't list all the things that *could* happen but the people I know have been fortunate that none of them *actually* happened.

[Mrprez]

We left Edna’s last night with the intention of going to Brownwood for dinner. I glanced at the fuel gauge and was horrified at the one bar showing. The gas station at Lowlands was closed. I pulled over and looked in the gas tank. I could see gas swirling around in there so decided to take a chance. We made it to Brownwood and filled up the tank. It took 4.25 gallons. I was thinking it would take almost 5.

[mike1946]

I have a 18 foot boat with a Mecury 120 hp Force 2 stroke engine on it - during servicing at Millers in Ocala they had to replace all the plastic fuel tubing - the mechanic said due to ethanol degridation.
The new WAWA on the east side of 441 near Lowes and the new BJ's is great for me - we can go through the secret golf cart gate and off the villages and WAWA sell non-ethanol gas ... sorry it's not way down south but other folks might want to know.

[jarodrig]

We left Edna’s last night with the intention of going to Brownwood for dinner. I glanced at the fuel gauge and was horrified at the one bar showing. The gas station at Lowlands was closed. I pulled over and looked in the gas tank. I could see gas swirling around in there so decided to take a chance. We made it to Brownwood and filled up the tank. It took 4.25 gallons. I was thinking it would take almost 5.

Don’t quote me on this (check your owner’s manual) but I believe that the tank capacity is 6 gallons (Yamaha) .

Now, how much of that is “usable” is a ???

Edit: looked at my 2019 Yamaha manual…. 5.8 gal capacity in the fuel tank ….

[SeaCros]

When did Brownwood become South of 44? So many are quick to reply and do not even really read the initial post/question. It's a great idea to get a couple gas cans to keep filled up at home. Depending on how much you drive around that should do the trick to always have gas when needed. Very true about the charging network. Hopefully with all the Teslas and other EVs/Hybrids TV would begin putting in some type of electric charging network.

[JMintzer]

When did Brownwood become South of 44? So many are quick to reply and do not even really read the initial post/question. It's a great idea to get a couple gas cans to keep filled up at home. Depending on how much you drive around that should do the trick to always have gas when needed. Very true about the charging network. Hopefully with all the Teslas and other EVs/Hybrids TV would begin putting in some type of electric charging network.

Yeah, right where it says "especially" South of 44... Not ONLY South of 44...

[Garywt]

That's what I was thinking. I play golf almost every day. I live in Charlotte and yesterday drove to Briarwood to golf. Thursday (if it doesn't rain) Back up to Walnut Grove.
They must have a Hybrid cart to get that good of fuel milage or only drive their cart once a week.
:shocked::shocked:

Maybe just to church on Sundays.