T105 batteries already two years old - range test - Battery Minder
My 6 volt T105 batteries turned two years old and I wanted to share some range testing I did prior to my experience with a Battery Minder (future posts). If you enjoy long winded posts filled with dry boring data on batteries, you have come to the right place :blahblahblah:. I have sprinkled in pictures to distract the reader. My batteries were installed on 2/17/2010. I have had no issues with the pack, they have been maintained to the best of my ability. The one gray mark on their history was the first summer where I left them for four months with no charging. I may have gotten away with that as they were new and strong and did not discharge at a very high rate. That will not happen again.
Skip to the bottom to see the mileage results. As you can see the pack is as pretty as ever: http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...v/P1040124.jpg The annual cleaning and inspection revealed no issues. There was no evidence of acid anywhere on the case or trays. All connections were disconnected, cleaned, connected and sprayed for corrosion. For my fill it and go friends…. stop rolling your eyes, I really do enjoy doing this bit of work on a beautiful day. As a birthday gift I decided to reward the pack with a Battery Minder. It will be used mostly as a battery tender during my absence. I am not looking at the Battery Minder for the ability to de-sulfate the batteries. If I get some of that it will be a bonus. Before I try out the Battery Minder, I decided to do some tests to see assess the condition of the batteries. This cart is a 2002 Club CAR DS which I bought from my neighbor for $1000. They had had enough with electric carts and battery issues and bought a Yamaha Gas cart from The Villages. They have had to replace the battery in their gas cart three times since they bought it. You cannot make this stuff up :ohdear:. With some help I converted the frame in my Club Car to hold two additional batteries and installed 8 T105s in February of 2010. My test runs:
Off we go (one of us prefers anonymity) http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...v/IMG_0059.jpg I will add a couple of more posts on this thread with details of the road test for the voltage junkies and my thoughts on the Battery Minder as I use it. Quote:
Test run two: 63+ miles, ending voltage was 47.6 volts (~37% SOC) (last run of 9.5 miles had lights on) I was extremely pleased with these numbers. I also plotted them while watching tv one evening and was surprised to learn something which I will share if I figure out how to post it. |
Battery test
Very interesting. Keep us posted. BTW, I have a Battery tender I used to keep my Corvette charged while in winter storage. 6v or 12v. Is that the same you use or is there a different Battery Tender for a 48v golf cart?
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I am playing around with this model. IMO you can do better than the pricing at this URL if you shop around. Batteryminders Specials | BatteryMinders.com |
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FYI,...I just had a new set of T890's installed in my Club Car and it's great. For my money, these older 48V Club Car DS are a great value. I think mine is an 03. |
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Nice!
Nice reading . The Battery Minder is a great tool for the de-sulfation of any battery.
Will you be using it for that also some time soon? |
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I have some more detailed numbers of each battery to post for the comparison, but that must wait as the lab tech is off today for golf :coolsmiley: |
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Did you buy the Battery Minder locally. I see in the POA bulletin that a company in Leesburg is advertising one at a $50 discount. The best online price that I found was at Northern Tool and Equipment for $170. |
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I always find your posts very interesting and informative, aj. Thanks! Bill :) |
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Thanks everyone for the kind words about my posts..... I enjoy posting this stuff and it makes me smile when I hear folks like to read it.... |
Battery Minder First Impressions
I have had the Battery Minder model number 48021 on my 8 6volt pack for a couple of weeks and my initial reaction is positive. I have a some first impressions to share. These are my opinions and should not be interpreted as anything more. If others have different or additional opinions, it would be great to hear them. I am tumbling towards the purchase of Battery Minders for our carts.
I really like being able to plug in the Battery Minder instead of the bulk charger when I have just run the cart for 10 to 20 minutes. I always felt the bulk charger was a bit of overkill for small trips. I really am not a fan of the wiring connector design of the Battery Minder. There are two separate connectors from the unit, one going to a heat sensor (left in picture) and one going to a split cable (right in picture) which connects to the + and – of the pack. I would much prefer a single plug that had all three. In addition this plug should be mountable to the cart like any charger connector. When I come home at night, I would like to plug in one connection and be done with it instead of finding the two connectors at each end, untangling everything and getting them plugged it. In battery tender mode this is of little consequence, but for a daily charger little things like this could make it better IMO. I suspect it will be on my Dad and my to do list to make such a connector for us in the future. http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/.../DSC_03842.jpgI note the pack voltage is around 52.4 when I first detach Battery Minder. This is about one and a half volts higher than 100% charge. I assume this is normal and will read more about that. I am not sure if this is a steady state voltage during maintenance mode or not, time will tell. As I said, so far so good. I know for sure my batteries will be in a better place this summer. |
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Sumary graph of test runs, yeah its boring but I like it
I spent about 30 minutes while watching television graphing my two test runs with pencil and paper, then added color with MS Paint. I think it is a nice summary. As I have said, I am not expert, so I do this stuff as a hobby, trying to learn as I go.
I did not know what to expect before I plotted the coordinates. I was quite surprised to see the pack discharging in a linear way. I found it very interesting to see that each coordinate came very close to the line. The two that are furthest from the lines were at my Dad’s house with his voltmeter. I suspect our volt meters vary by a bit, but we have yet to have them at the same place to verify.
Like I say, doing this stuff is not required to own an electric cart, but it is interesting to me and learned a couple of things I never knew:
PS. I know the 20% SOC in the picture should be 46.63 and I have no intention of fixing :) http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...v/DSC_0389.jpg |
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I like the fact I do not need to connect the heat sensor to the the negative battery of the pack, one less connection every night. Thanks for the pictures. |
I see T-105's for about $125 free shipping no tax, are you quoting a different battery?
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I believe that Northern Tool is no longer selling the 36V or 48V BatteryMINDers anymore! The best bet is to buy locally, that way you'll be sure to have all your questions answered and proper installation by professionals!
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So what's your current promotional price to TV?
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Your cart appears to have larger wheels than standard. Does it also have an upgraded suspension system? What did you have to do to get the 8 six volt batteries in? I have a 2002 Club Car Ds and would love to upgrade it and be able to get that kind of mileage. Warning, I am pretty much a fill and go guy as you call us. I am not interested in spending hours maintaining my cart.
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Are you wearing a ski mask?
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Ok, Al is using 8x6volt, that gives him about 30% increase in amp hours
Al can tell you how he fitted those extra battery's better than I, but it appears to have a lift kit and larger wheels/tires, this adds to the distance it will go, but if you go too large it will bog down. 10" wheels should work with appropriate tires, that will cost $800 or so. I think if you get a new pack and keep it charged all the time with the BM or solar, you can get even more miles, and the pack will last 6+ years. We'll let Al chime in here with his more specific info. :gc: |
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I don't understand what this battery minder is all about. I used to manage fleets of golf carts. I had a fleet of the DS 48 volt cart when it first came out and the computer in the cart kept the batteries charged as long as they were plugged in. If the charged dipped below a certain level computer would kick the charger on until the batteries were fully charged and then shut it off. A few years later I had a fleet of Precedents and it was the same story. All you had to do was keep the charger plugged in and the cart computer did the rest. |
Agree, the BM as I understand it is just when you're away for several weeks or months rather than leave your charger plugged in.
how many miles can you go now until you get to 50% charge or 48.5 volts? |
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These are 10 inch wheels with 205-65-10 tires. This setup will fit the DS on the rear with no adjustments. Many people do just the rear to gain about 10% speed. There must be a loss of tourque, but I cannot tell. I went with front and back because I liked the look. I used a three inch spindle lift kit from Jake's ($300) and I got the wheels/tires from Golf Cart Guy on 441 ($400). I documented how I added 2 batteries. The thread is long but a couple of posts show the basic design: https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...tteries-38887/ My Dad and his friend just added two batteries to their DS carts. They used a different option and it came out great. I will see if I can find some pictured if you are interested. I had planned to create a thread showing the design, but life gets in the way :beer3: We are about to get a pretty good thunderstorm (severe) where I am in MA, so I will leave you with that long and boring thread and come back later. |
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From Trojan Do batteries self-discharge when not in use? "All batteries, regardless of their chemistry, self-discharge. The rate of self-discharge depends on the type of battery, the age of the battery, and the storage temperature the batteries are exposed to. As an estimate, Trojan batteries self-discharge approximately 4% per week at 80o F. " That's the application for a trickle charger. |
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What's the problem with just leaving your cart plugged in if you're gone for several weeks or months. When I was in the golf business we left them plugged in all winter. |
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I have always been uncomfortable with the charger running unattended in my garage for months without periodic inspection. It can run pretty hot during the bulk charge and I like to 'see' the area and connections are clean. In addition I wanted a solution that would keep the pack topped off without ever bulk charging to reduce the potential 'boil-off' of water. I showed my home watcher how to check water levels, but I suspect they will not have to add water during my absence. I am intrigued by all of the information on sulfation. I read that sulfation starts when a battery drops below 100% state of charge (SOC). If I was to use my bulk charger, it comes on every 16 days (this may vary depending on charger or computer). My 2 plus year old pack will discharge a decent amount in 2 weeks. During that time 'they' say sulfation is occurring and shortening the life of my pack. The Battery Minder will keep the pack at 100% plus a bit which should prevent any sulfation. The BM claims it can even reverse the effects of sulfation. If this is true then my packs are being cleaned all summer long while being maintained. I say claim, not to say the BM does not do this, but rather to say I have no direct evidence of it. I have spoken to Bill and David from BM and can tell they are pretty passionate about the subject and I believe they have something good. The BM has nice pretty ,lights for my home watcher. If lights not green, call Alan. I may be forgetting something, but that is why I went with BM. Your voltage may vary...... |
Battery Mart has the BatteryMinder unit for about 130.00 plus shipping online.
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