Electric golf cart battery question

Off and on i look for an electric golf cart to keep in the trailer with the car, for tracks with large paddocks or for the inevitable “we’re late because we drag kids to the track and registration is over in 2 minutes and it’s a 10 minute walk” moments.  Lots of 36 volt ones relatively cheap with bad batteries.  The older cheap one all look to have 6 6v batteries in series.  These are expensive to replace.  

Would there be any possibility to make it work replacing the 6 smaller batteries with 3 12v beefy semi truck type batteries?  I can get these through my uncle at freightliner for a pretty good deal.  The voltage adds up, it would weigh less, why won’t it work?

My knowledge of these is from the RV world, but I think the golf cart batteries are designed to deliver a steady stream of amps all the way to a full discharge without significantly impacting their ability to re-charge.  Starting batteries (and that includes the "marine deep cycle", but they're a little bit better than regular automotive) are biased towards being able to give a strong punch of amperage, but draining them down can quickly impact their ability to charge back up to full capacity.

So, yes, wiring up the 12v batteries would provide the power if they were wired up in series, but you wouldn't get the same amount of range and the life span of the batteries will be a bit shorter.

They will work with three 12v lawnmower batteries, you just lose speed and range. Lots and lots of guys toss three 12v car batteries in for yard cart duty and just charge more often. 

You would be fine with the truck batteries. 

They aren't going to last as long in run time or life span.

The discharge rate, and amount will warp the plates reduce the life of the batteries. It will also cause sulfication which will kill a battery quickly. 

Golf cart batteries are extremely heavy because of the plate thickness. They are designed for deep discharges, high current charging, and abuse. Truck batteries aren't.

Yeah, amp-hours, longevity.  My neighbor just picked up a cart for a few hundred bucks.  It needs batteries.  He's trying to decide how to go.  Big difference between casual use and playing 18 holes day in and day out.  Three 12's should be fine.

Click around here a bit.

Here in Jacksonville there are several places that refurbish carts.  I have had good luck buying slightly used batteries for around 50 apiece from these shops.  Granted most modern carts use 8 volt batteries so finding used 6 volt batteries may be difficult.

Another option is try to call some of the independent battery shops.  There is one here who sells seconds which are new batteries that aged out and can't be sold as new.  They are often quite a bit less than a new battery and are only a few months older.

Used batteries would be a good option. In commercial and fleet applications the batteries are often swapped out before they really need to be. With a little TLC, if you going less than a mile between charges used should be fine. 

Have to ask, why electric over gas?

I had a golf course customer try RV deep cycle batteries in a couple carts.  Cheaper than golf cart batteries.  Didn't last long.  He knew his experiment may cost him a few bucks, but he wondered, and he said it was worth it to try.  He went back to specific golf cart batteries. 

In reply to spandak :

Used batteries in good shape should go way farther than a mile.  

I drove a cart with good condition 2014 batteries 6 miles the other day and it was still going strong.

Figure 20 mile range from a set of new batteries in a 48 volt cart.

914Driver said:

Have to ask, why electric over gas?

None, i’m looking at anything, and cheap.  

We've had a gas Club Car for ~20 years. I've had to replace the carburetor once ($20) and just recently new brushes in the starter ($16). Aside from that it's an oil change occasionally and a couple gallons of gas a year.  I would strongly suggest you look at a gas cart.

Second the gas recommendation if you have no preference. Our fleet at work has moved mostly to electric but only for the green appearance. The gas carts are more reliable and cheaper to keep running. 

Also if you remove the governor they MOVE. Just keep in mind the brakes are pitiful. All of them. 

I maintain two gas Club Cars at the airport, there's no less than ten different people driving them any given weekend.

Nothing is idiot proof, these are quite idiot resistant.

Dad has that exact Club Car.  Darn near bulletproof.  The campground where I live in the summer, most of the poeple there have gas carts.  One of them is a 1970s Club Car 2 stroke that still runs.  I remember it needed a centrifugal clutch put in it a few years ago.  Compression is a little low, so it has to be richened up a tad to work right... which he did by pulling the choke knob out a tiny bit and putting a clothespin behind it.

IMO, gas is the way to go.

There has to be a way you can buy a stupid cheap bad battery electric cart and then put a Harbor Frieght predator 8 horse in it. 

This is GRM isn't it? 

nocones said:

There has to be a way you can buy a stupid cheap bad battery electric cart and then put a Harbor Frieght predator 8 horse in it. 

This is GRM isn't it? 

Ask and you shall receive.

It used to be electric.

One of my early build threads from 2012.

FWIW, I added a small solar panel to the roofs of both Carts.  We chug along at walking speed towing gliders so the batteries never really get  a good drink of electrons from high RPM.