Solar
 

EZGO is now offering a factory backed solar panel for their carts. You can view it on the factory web site.

I contacted the Wildwood dealership. Factory reps are meeting with them next week on the cost and installation. Very clean and functional.

Good by range anxiety!

If you can find out how many watts they are rated at please let us know .

Here is a pic of Ezgo it's a flexible unit released in January.

http://www.hackerscentralonline.com/...olarPanels.jpg

Looks nice but

These are called Amorphous panelsthe least efficient and least expensive to produce. One characteristic of of these is that their output reduces over time, particularly during the first few months before it stabilizes at a lower watt rating than when first sold.

Monocrystalline and polycrystalline are the preferred panels due to higher efficacy and higher output for their size.

They are ridged you see these under a glass top with an aluminum frame usually.

Amps
 

My son in the Army said they worked pretty darn well in Iraq.

I think they will do fine as a battery maintainer not as a battery total charger. A Cart company called American Pride in Florida is producing Carts with the Aluminum framed high Amp Ridgid Roof System.

My neighnor has one and has yet to charge the cart in his garage. Solar is doing it all. However the cart is sparse equipped, a refurbrished unit and has no side curtins as of yet.

Don't know the Amps rating but I will try to find out when EZ Go opens up next week

I agree that type will augment but no really give the type of charge folks are looking for to extend range.

The type of panel I'm going to use is 230 watts and will extend the range.

The flex panels used on Ezgo I guess will be about 80 watts based on the square footage of the roof.

About 30% of a solid panel output.

I'm still interested to hear back on what they say.

Watts
 

Just got the specs and the panel produces 15 volts and 45 watts. Only good to trickle charge at rest in sunlight. I talked to Techtron the manufacturer and said you need more watts for extended range. They are considering this for future developement.

??
 

45 watts- How much for a 230 watt panel? You have to worry about ride height in the tunnells or it will soon be smashed.

the height is not an an issue I would think, it's less than 2-3".

How much clearance is in there?

The cost of this 195 watt panel & control is about $900, it will install easy, 4 bolts panel to roof no mods needed.

Then mount control & wire to battery bank I think It would take less than an hour.

This would make us think about electric instead of gas for our next ride

Solar
 

Personally I think you guys are barking up the wrong tree, example 232 watt panel you need at least 58 volts to charge that gives you 4 amps. I guess you might get a few 100 extra feet.
Jumbo are you from bgw?

If E-Z-GO's solar panel only provides a trickle charge in direct sunlight, with no real range extension, why would anyone want to spend the extra money on them? Is there any advantage gained? Just curious.

You need to recheck your math on that, and panel specs.

what is bgw?

There would be a little extra range but it too small.

Solar
 

Would you have done the math before buying ?

Its an option
if you drive a couple of miles and stay there for 8 hours and then drive back home yes it will help keep the batteries up.

will you get more miles out of a charge ??????

Why would people buy it!
I see people buying stuff every day and I wonder the same thing.

$900.00 holy moly. Does anyone know the daily electric rate for an average charger? What would the payback be on this?

Yes you will get about 50-60 miles but we're still testing with new panel to see the distance.

Understand I'm doing this cart with a person that does solar engineering this is not on the back of napkin.

He may after satisfactory testing do it as a business here, I'm just just along for the ride. :1rotfl:

[QUOTE=jimbo2012;499673]You need to recheck your math on that, and panel specs.

Ok I will do that

volts X amps = watts
58volts x 4amps = 232 watts

This was an example not an actual panel but was around the same wattage.
You can figure out the actual amount from the specs!

I will take an extension cord and charger and plug in somewhere ( public bathroom ).:1rotfl:

I am not spending 900 dollars for this. I could get a 6000 watt generator for half that and charge in a few hours while i'm at the bar drinking.

It doesn't matter if he uses the front of the napkin its just silly.

Yes the figure is calculated at about $700 a year to charge your batteries

If you follow this thread it is detailed.

Most folks don't realize that.

[quote=GolfCart;499693]Wrong, but since you are attacking everything I say, I'm not giving you the info, you are super rude.

First it's not sale at this point second no one is twisting your arm.

Are you in the golf cart biz or something why are you attacking my idea?

No need to get defensive
I wanted to do the same thing, but I did the math first! and it did not work out. Carts can use hundreds of amps at a time. Now for maintaining a charge it would be nice but the price just isn't there yet.

Again if your going to drive a few miles and park it for hours it will add something, and for 200 to 250 dollars maybe.

solar
 

The increase in range is most appealing. Seems to me for those who live way north or way south in TV will be very sensitive to range with electric. (My lot is in Fernandina)
It would be a great bonus over the life of the cart the solar panel paid for itself but not mandatory for purchase. As long as it works!

Good luck and hope it works. IMHO it would be a bonanza in TV.:BigApplause:

Go Gas
 

$900 for the solar unit, plus electricity to supplement the charging, plus batteries every 4 years. I'm glad I have a gas cart. I'm saving a ton of money and my range is what 250 miles?

Are you sure you're saving?

Gas
Oil change every 250 hours, about $35
Do you have an hour meter?
If you use the cart every day that would be every 3 months or so. $125 year
Must check oil
Now if you forget and blow the engine, to replace it must be $2500
Oil & grease leaks in driveway or garage
On going maintenance Oil filter air, gas & air spark plug tuneups and yes your battery.
higher insurance.
Smell higher emissions (aka Carbon footprint), harder to have conversations with passengers.
Electric motors are far simpler in design and construction than a conventional internal combustion engine. Besides the far fewer moving parts and much quieter operation It takes time and you are going out of your way to get to gas station, they aren't on the golf cart paths to fill-up and have to take their cart in for the scheduled oil changes and other service.

I'm certainly not saying that electric will be flawless. Doubtlessly, given new elements in the technology the starting point for operating an electtric is probably far more advantageous to the owner than is generally speaking in terms of a gas cart.

Electric

No noise, quiet
Solar will extend battery life well beyond 4 years because they are always being charged and maintained.
Lithium batteries will be coming down in price lasting 12-15 years.
Low cost of repairs if any.
There are gauges available to indicate state of charge ie: miles to go.
No regular maintenance cost of time out of service.


It cost about 15 cents a mile to run a gas cart plus the maintenance costs, the $900 or so dollars in solar add on pays for itself in under a year.

Most days you will not plug in to supplement the power, my friend has one that has needed to be plugged in for the last two years.

I have one on my RV works great batteries on on their 6th year.

Is it for everybody absolutely not.

Jimbo looks good on paper but here are the facts:

Oil: I change it twice a year $4.00 a change it takes 1 quart of Mobil 1. It's so simple a child could do it. By the way I change the oil in my diesel truck 10 quarts and filter for $35 if someone is charging you $35 for a golf cart oil change they must have a gun in their hands!

Tune Up: kit purchased at The Villages Golf Carts for $18.00 includes a spark plug, air filter and fuel filter. I do this once a year. Again so simple my grandson who is 5 could do it.

Gas: Once a month its usually $15. Sometimes a little more if i'm golfing farther from home.

Battery: I replaced it twice (about every 5 years) the last time it was $25 at Walmart.

My cart is 12 years old runs great, maintains 23 MPH, and I added the extra seats in the back.

If you change the oil in a gas or diesel engine it will never blow! If you know of anyone who paid $2500 for a new golf cart engine it was neglected and they were fools to replace it!

It does not leak oil but i'll tell you what about every electric cart owner I know the batteries sometimes leak and eat the paint off your garage floor.

If my cart lasted another hundered years it would never cost as much as electric. Those are the facts.

jimbo, if a person was to read your comparison with no other source of information, they would be convinced that electric is good and gas is bad. It's not so simple. I have done a lot of research to get ready to buy a new cart this summer, and I think you left out some compelling factual information. For instance, you mention you have to check the oil on a gas cart, but you don't mention that you also have to check the water in your batteries on an electric cart. And you come up with a figure of $125 a year for oil changes. From my research on Yamaha gas carts, they hold one U.S. quart of oil in a filterless splash type system. So the annual cost of oil changes should be only the cost of three quarts of oil, assuming you do it yourself. If I were to pay someone to do it, I wouldn't give him $35 for the fifteen minutes required to change one quart of oil with no filter. You make no mention of the huge range advantage currently enjoyed by gas carts, and no mention that over half of U.S. electricity is produced in coal burning plants which DO have a carbon footprint. I am leaning toward electric for some of the reasons you state, but I think your data is slanted toward electric.

Well one thing I see here you and I are one of the few DIY here, I know that you can do an oil change for less but Mobil one is not $4, :1rotfl:

What about the oil filter? How about oil & filter $10-12 sound about right?

Folks that take their cart to stealer for service do pay about that.

Also if you change it once a year that means you do less than 250 hours a year. Because that is the requirement.

So if you use $15 a month in gas (4 gallons) you are using it about 160 miles a month or 4 X 40 mpg.

That just over 5 miles per day you hardly use it, in your case electric would have served you well.

Cost of new replacement engine is about $1800 plus installation.
Any engine can blow even if maintained.

As far as cost a new gas or electric cart, they cost about the same.

Keith as I said electric & solar is not for everyone.

The subject of this thread is not gas v electric it is Solar, perhaps if that is the debate you wish to discuss a new thread should be started.

.

Jimbo, stay focused on your solar testing. There are plenty of us sparkies out here reading and interested :clap2:

I didn't know Yamaha is filterless, kinda odd?

I do my my own oil changes too, but folks here I see have more services done by others than I imagined. So I used that $35 for a stealer to do the service.

Now as to carbon footprint there is another thread a few weeks old that I went into it in detail, rather than repeat it herein please do a quick search the data there is very compelling for electric.

As to range advantage think about just how far you normally would go in day? You're not going to go 250 miles, the average might be 30-60, solar will do that, with power to spare.

.

Thanks

I know I'm getting PM's

Gas versus electric - pros and cons to each. Everybody gets to assess their own priorities and make their own decision about what works the best for them. At the end of the day - - - analyze the info/insights which are available and buy what you like. It's that simple.

To me, it's a lot like politics: Everybody has their own perspectives.......and I doubt a case will ever get presented that will cause another person to change their perspectives.

Bill :)

Not buying it!

I will admit a quart of Mobil 1 has gone to $6.00 so thats $6.00 a change there is no filter on the gas Yamaha. I change it twice a year spring and fall whether it needs it or not.

I stand by my statement if you change the oil regularly on a gas engine you should NEVER replace it. Certainly for the verry few that do I would not put an $1,800 charge into my calculation.

Sorry but those are the facts!

:popcorn:

My point was not to debate one against the other. My point is that if you post pro's and con's, you shouldn't slant the "facts" toward one conclusion. The debate between gas and battery power has been beaten to death on this site, and is never going to settle the issue. It comes down to personal choice, which I'm all for.

So I looked here to find out which to buy...gas or electric. Good info, but I'm still on the fence.
Why can't we have an electric cart with a gas backup?
Or, since Obama spent BILLIONS of our tax $$ on solar companies, why can't we have efficient solar panels and generators on each wheel (I do remember a physics class that said anything turning can make electricity).
It all seems like it could be a reality but private enterprise needs to jump in here and make it happen!!!!

Bob

Even if the math is right in that thread you mentioned it for 35 miles per day X 31 days of the month. How many of us do 35 miles per day in the cart? Every day of the month? Sometimes yes, most days not even close.

EZGO Hybrid 8/12
 

Ask and you shall receive....

EXCEED HYBRID TECHNOLOGY

Neat idea, not really engine but a mini generator, it should work.

Jimbo, just found this thread. Sorry I was late! I'm very much into solar, as part of my house runs on it. I self installed it and have been interested in adapting cars and carts but have not had the time until lately.
I think your acquisition cost is way too high as panels have come down lately. I have 120w Kyocera panels that only cost 500 each (retail 750) about 5 years ago. I need to check (and will and get back to you) but I would think a panel over 200w would only be about 350-400 now. Also a controller MAY not be necessary based on the use. I do have one of the most expensive controllers (Outback) on my house though, so understand their need.

John the cost hasn't come down that much but the controller is $$ and design issue my friend is working on.

He thinks it can be done <$1,000 but needs more time on the project to finalize it.



What R U using solar for on your home pool or hotwater?

I intend to install a hotwater system when I move there.

I still think it can be done for much less. I did some checking on ebay and 48 volt units are not listed but several good 24 volt ones are. Of course, that means it takes 2 if you need 48V. It shouldn't take much of a controller for that little power setup.

I'm using solar on the house itself, about 1000 watts so far. Long story. I started out 6 years ago to produce a backup system for power outages (after some hurricanes it's been as long as 2 weeks). Then rewired part of the house in a dual system for a natural gas generator, which as it turns out can be anything that produces electricity, ie, solar. I just got carried away some. I'm still experimenting. Sometimes I use it to power the refrigerator (which was my main original goal) and then a window ac. Lights and other electronic stuff is easy. My biggest problem is not enough sunlight. I have too many large oak trees blocking it as well as lots of cloudy days. Would work much better in Florida. I also need to upgrade my batteries.

I'm also getting ready to experiment with solar hotwater. Like you, I'm a DIYer.