Lithium ion battery conversion
 

Has anyone converted their electric golf cart lead acid batteries to Lithium ion batteries. If so, did you think the improvement in performance, ease of maintenance and longevity to be enough to justify the increased cost?

Great Question. Hope someone can answer it.:coolsmiley:

It's been a while since I was in the battery business; but if it's even possible, I would be afraid to do it. Lithium batteries don't handle high temperatures very well, and it gets very hot out there on the street in the summer. I don't want my golf cart to go :boom:

Remember to include the cost of a new charger, as a charger for lead acid batteries is NOT suitable for Lithium Ion batteries.

I would consider lithium batteries if I was buying a new cart. But remember the skate board fires caused by the lithium batteries. I use very small hobby lithium batteries and I keep them in a fire proof box for storage and when charging. I think these type batteries are the way electrical vehicles will go so just be sure safety is considered. By the way I also keep the batteries out side of my house and where if they caught on fire they would do minimal damage.

Cellphones have lithium-ion batteries. Virtually all electric cars and hybrids have lithium-ion batteries. My weed wacker has a lithium-ion battery. They are ubiquitous.

Lithium Ion conversion its are available. Do it your selfers have been doing it for years. All your concerns are well founded, but when you get into the big lithium applications you have to have a battery management system. This will shut down what is being powered by these batteries to prevent battery damage and fires. Most of the conversions Ive seen have been with cheap china lithium batteries to make it a practical swap, other wise it can be very expensive. Good lithium is coming, but Ive been saying that for 10 years now.

A company called Lithium Boost told me that to convert my cart which has 8 six volt batteries, if I did it myself, would be a total of $3100. They are good for 2000 charge/discharge cycles as opposed to 4-500 for lead acid. They are maintenance free, weigh 90 lbs vs. 4-500 lbs, charge in half the time, have increase range, etc.

Very tempting............don't you think?

The design of an electric golf cart takes into consideration the weight and location of the batteries. Remove 400+ lbs of batteries from the "center of gravity" of your electric cart that wasn't designed that way could easily lead to a tip-over.

That being said, "ATOMIC" sells 2 carts, The ZIP and The ZIPPER, designed with LI's from the ground up. You'll see them "zipping" around TV in ever increasing volume. I should have mine tomorrow. :)

atomic electric vehicles - Google Search

"The Zipper" is the yellow one. The "ZIP" is the same but smaller with only a front seat. They come from the factory with LI's designed from the ground up.

OK, I did have my 2014 electric cart converted from lead acid to lithium by AGC, Advantage Golf Cars, when they were located in The Villages. They have since moved to Ocala. It was expensive and, over time, did not meet our expectations.

The setup: 10 Lithium batteries, all with their own charger and a management controller.
Pros: Less weight, better range per charge.

Cons: over a 2 year period, 3 batteries and 5 chargers had to be replaced. Over a 2 month period this year, the cart was in for service 5 times, and while the battery and chargers were replaced under warranty, the cost to transport to Ocala was not. The system also caused us to go through 2 solenoids in a 2 year period.

The Bottom Line: IMHO, I would not have this done as a conversion on an existing cart. A new cart that comes from the manufacture that is already setup with a Lithium system (like the new Atomic carts) might be a much better choice.

BTW, traded that cart in at Carts and Clubs for a 2018 Yamaha EFI quiet tech gas cart.

I got a better idea. Buy a gas cart. I spent about $400 on service and one battery in 5 years. OK I don't use my cart like some of you. I have about 5,000 miles on it. Much cheaper than electric, in my opinion. I am on my second set of batteries on my 2007 Club Cart. Now I need batteries again as well as bushings, front and back. The cart is hardly used and has never been on a golf course. Oh well.


"I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was wrong." Charles Schulz

Cart conversion
 

`[QUOTE=klamura;1577140]Has anyone converted their electric golf cart lead acid batteries to Lithium ion batteries. If so, did you think the improvement in performance, ease of maintenance and l ]

Answer
Seems to be a good item. I contacted two cart shops, and one independent. They all say not to do it, but they also do not seem to know why. So, I tried and will back off on that. It seems 48 volts is 48 volts, DC no matter from where?
If your 110 and 220 come from a Nuclear plant or a Steam plant or a coal fired plant,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Well ???????

:bigbow: :MOJE_whot:

Read this reply I received from a maker of lithium batteries.

Sorry the link would not attach. but he stated not to convert to lithium batteries. The only advantage with lithium is that they charge quicker. Also you would need a new controller and new charger.

Yes, you already stated that in a previous post (#5). We don't keep our iPhones (several generations), iPads (several generations), or Weed Wacker in a fireproof box. They all have lithium-ion batteries. The house is still standing.

What about converting from lithium to regular batteries? I know it's unusual, but the lithium keep dying.

Carts
 

RESPONSE Originally I was happy with a cart from AGC in the villages, and yes, they have moved. Later on, recently, I found that the battery installation was faulty, the auto water lines were leaking, the cell covers leaked too. Had it overhauled by a tech from Emerge on highway 441. He did a very good job. I could see clearly the problems caused by AGC, but too late. When I called them about the problems, they are in Ocala, they wanted a big fee and parts charges, about $250 to correct their own errors on the original work. So , no more from them. EMerge is really good, very.

:bigbow:

What is AGC?

Just out of curiosity I did a Google search "golf cart conversion from lead acid battery to lithium ion battery", I think you might find the results interesting. I have a gas cart, so I really do not have any interest. There seems to be article on both sides, but there was one that appeared to be a Li-ion battery designed to be a direct replacement for lead acid.
Hope you find this useful.

Again, I would say, if you can find a manufacturer cart with lithium ion batteries" it might be worth taking a look at. To do a conversion. Is a fool's errand that will cost you a ton of money with minimal results over the long run.

EdFNJ atomic cart, did you get your atomic cart
 

Did you get your atomic cart and if so what do you think about it

Like so many things it is a matter of opinion
 

I used to sell high power rechargeable flash units. So in truth my experience is about five years old.

Lead acid, nickle cadmium and lithium batteries have all been and are being used in high power flash units and they all have advantages and disadvantages. Lead acid batteries are still the least expensive option at the start. Any product needs to be sold.
Someone posted that to convert to lithium ion would cost 2-3.000.
Would you pay an extra 3,000 for a xxxxx golf cart with lithium ion batteries? The companies will sell what people are willing to buy.

Number of times the battery can be recharged. It is at best how big a lie do you want to tell. What is a charge discharge cycle? How far down are you running each cell? Lithium Ion cells will get far more charge discharge cycles it you don't run them down much. How many people, they are few and far between, keep a true count of how many times they have charged a battery?

Lithium Ion batteries have come way down in price; so today you can consider it as an option. As far as explosions. We've heard a lot of bad press as they are becoming far more common-in cell phones-laptops-rechargeable tools. Not a justification BUT, lead acid batteries also explode. You all know you have to add water. Do you know where the water goes?
When you charge the battery you connect it to a DC source (the charger). Some of the acid water mix called the electrolyte. Oxygen plus hydrogen. plus a spark equals BOOM.

Gasoline-hum. You have typically 6 gal of gas in your golf cart
another 20 or so in your car. Enough gasoline vapors and a spark from anything, cigarette, your ac, your refrigerator also equals BOOM.

Fortunately, in most cases we get away with things that can end badly.
is converted on every charge to oxygen and hydrogen.