[Blueblaze]

Originally Posted by raggedy-andy

Hey, I'm in the same boat with a number of people in that I haven't purchased a cart yet. But I've had the electric vs gas experience with my two vehicles. My point was that -- and someone else stated this -- unless you're doing the maintenance yourself on your cart, you need at least oil changes every say 1,200 miles, $60 a pop, plus the per mile running cost of fuel at around $0.09 a mile. All else being equal save for the specifics that go into maintaining the higher number of moving parts on an internal combustion vehicle. (Thanks Mortech for the costing specifics)

Let's presume you're correct with the cost factoring on the Lead Acid vs. Lithium/LiFePO4 batteries. You get about 500 cycles from a Lead Acid, if you drive them way down on charge the range decreases greatly. Lithium will get you around 3,500-5,000 cycles of charge with about 2% annual degradation. It's a much higher up front cost for Lithium, but you'll pay it once and it'll likely go beyond 10 years based on full cycles. That could improve if you drive it less.

For me, I'm somewhat undecided. To be more comfortable, I'd love to see ranges increase a bit more before I say 'screw gas, give me an EV' because I've been through the experience and limitations of an EV car in daily life for the past 6 months. If I drive that between Sarasota and TV, I really need to plan charging for that trip. Not that a golf car is the same, but the lack of public charging structure is a stressor.

What little maintenance my Yamaha needs, I do myself. Many people can't do that, and if I couldn't, I'd buy electric.

"500 cycles" on lead/acid means compete discharge/recharge. Nobody does that. If they did, everyone would be replacing their batteries every year and a half, instead of every 3-6 years, depending on the quality they buy. Meanwhile, even a Tesla needs new lithium batteries every 10 years, for crazy amounts of money. And in the meantime you have to park a bomb in your garage for the convenience of 45min layovers every 3 hours, if you want to drive it to see your grandkids. Nobody's house ever burned down from charging the lead-acid battery in their golfcart. Can't say the same for Tesla's. Yes, it's a tiny risk, but if I was considering an electric cart, that fact would be a consideration.

I can't imagine why anyone would buy a pure EV car, but nothing about it has any bearing on golfcarts, beyond the economics and dangers of battery chemistry.

I chose a gas cart and sometimes wish I had bought electric. Either way, range has nothing to do with it.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

You left out Smelly, hot seat, jerky in reverse

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

And noisy! And my gas cart requires a battery or it won’t go. That batter is one more potential thing that can fail. You pays your money and takes your choice!

Didn't someone say it's always the gas cart owners who are trashing the electric carts?

Hmmm...

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

Didn't someone say it's always the gas cart owners who are trashing the electric carts?

Hmmm...

You know Hypocrisy Hour replaced Happy Hour on this forum a long time ago!

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

Didn't someone say it's always the gas cart owners who are trashing the electric carts?

Hmmm...

Like my wife tells me, "Just because I love you, it doesn't blind me to your faults". Basically, nothing is perfect and everything has its good points and bad points. Bought my gas cart when we first got here 10+ years ago. Too expensive to swap it now. But, if I was looking for a new cart today, I would probably go electric with a solar charger setup, just for fun.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

You left out Smelly, hot seat, jerky in reverse

Jerky in reverse? I'm sure it must be operator error on my part but.......for the life of me I could not get a smooth start, going forward, in a Yamaha Quiet Tech. I've had a few loaners from The Villages Golf cars and this is several years in a row when I get my annual maintenance on my Yamaha electric cart. The loaners they use are current models so I can't say they were old buckets. What is with that herkey jerkey movement with the Quiet Techs? I'm just not used to that. My electric cart is smooth as silk in reverse and going forward from a full stop

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

Didn't someone say it's always the gas cart owners who are trashing the electric carts?

Hmmm...

It works both ways. That's only fair, I guess.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

It works both ways. That's only fair, I guess.

Maybe a small diesel/electric system. Electric motor moves the cart, while diesel engine provides the electricity. The best of both worlds, eh? 😁🫠😉

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston

You know Hypocrisy Hour replaced Happy Hour on this forum a long time ago!

Well, at least 3-4 months ago...

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

Jerky in reverse? I'm sure it must be operator error on my part but.......for the life of me I could not get a smooth start, going forward, in a Yamaha Quiet Tech. I've had a few loaners from The Villages Golf cars and this is several years in a row when I get my annual maintenance on my Yamaha electric cart. The loaners they use are current models so I can't say they were old buckets. What is with that herkey jerkey movement with the Quiet Techs? I'm just not used to that. My electric cart is smooth as silk in reverse and going forward from a full stop

Carburetor carts are jerky ones and smell worse due to enriched fuel air mixture. Most don’t know how to operate choke on cold starts. Even after carburetor carts warmed up still jerks in reverse and stinks more due to In efficiency of carburetor. Fuel injected carts preform much better, but still tricky when backing up feathering the gas pedal to eliminate jerking when too much throttle applied. Carburetor carts are just about done or will be in near future in GC junk yard. Some older electric carts can be bit jerky in reverse if got heavy foot. Electric carts are good for those that want them. In ten more years gas carts will be making exit and so will lot of use old fuddy duds. Bottom line buy what want and be happy.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

2019 Quiet Tech w/ 21,000 miles so I drive a lot.

please divide 21000 by days owned to see your average daily run. .

K

thanks

[raggedy-andy]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

"500 cycles" on lead/acid means compete discharge/recharge. Nobody does that. If they did, everyone would be replacing their batteries every year and a half, instead of every 3-6 years, depending on the quality they buy. Meanwhile, even a Tesla needs new lithium batteries every 10 years, for crazy amounts of money. And in the meantime you have to park a bomb in your garage for the convenience of 45min layovers every 3 hours, if you want to drive it to see your grandkids. Nobody's house ever burned down from charging the lead-acid battery in their golfcart. Can't say the same for Tesla's. Yes, it's a tiny risk, but if I was considering an electric cart, that fact would be a consideration.

I already knew the information on battery cycles. We've come nowhere near the full duty cycle on our EV based on our driving habits, and it'll likely continue working well for years to come with very minimal degradation. In my home in NY, I also had a solar system, and dual battery because we were susceptible to frequent outages. It would largely charge during peak sunlight hours when we were not home and would discharge overnight, meaning that most of our power generation was the result of solar installed on our roof. Trust me, I'm familiar.

The point with Lead Acid is that they weigh more for the power they generate, LiFePO4 batteries are much lighter per amp hour generated. Nonetheless...

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

I can't imagine why anyone would buy a pure EV car, but nothing about it has any bearing on golfcarts, beyond the economics and dangers of battery chemistry.

And here is why. With the incentives that were/are being given for EVs brought down the costs for leasing those versus a petrol vehicle. Retailers want to get these off their lots, so they've cut costs, added incentives, and overall made it a decent financial proposition. I'll be the first to tell you that the infrastructure isn't remotely close to what is needed, so that vehicle is our around town car. Both for lease costs and per mile fuel costs on home charging, it is considerably less. It's not for everyone, and it won't do for long car journeys, so we keep our petrol vehicle and intend to for the foreseeable future, but having the EV reduces the mileage on our gas vehicle and thus lessens depreciation.

That's why it made sense. Your mileage may vary.