Golf Cart Batteries?

[Adgerc15]

I just upgraded to lithium and should have done it much sooner. 48v setup was right around $2k, the single battery weights around 100lbs, one of the Trojans I replaced was 85, range is around 40 miles. The battery came with a screen and charger, nothing extra needed to make the swap.

Also curious, what did you go with?

For yall making the change from lead acid to lithium, what is required on the cart side? Anything?

ac

[Gunnyart]

For yall making the change from lead acid to lithium, what is required on the cart side? Anything?

ac

In my case I didn’t have to change anything but I did replace all the wires to larger gauge for good measure.

if you change the controller too, you can realize even bigger gains.

[Adgerc15]

After looking into Lithium Ion I decided I didn't want to invest that much in this cart. I picked up 4 12V Interstate GC12's today and they are running great already. In a few years I'll likely trade in for a new cart and go LI for power. Good thread here.

ac

[HuntForHorns]

I've been in the golf cart business for many years now and we always used US Battery or Trojans for lead acid setups. On the OEM side, that's all we installed in our new carts as well. Even with US Battery, i would spend the extra money and go with their 2000 or 2200 series batteries. The 1800 would start to die off at the 3-4 year mark. Lithium is the way to go if you have the coin. RoyPow and ECO Batt both have good setups. We imported our own brand of lithium batteries directly from China for a while but the support wasnt there with a lesser known brand.

What kind of support was needed? Did you have a bunch of trouble with them? I replaced my lead acid batteries with a 48v for $700. Works great so far. Glad to get the lead out. Just ordered a 36v for my 36v cart for $330 all in.

Sorry for you guys that arent listening to all the folks on here telling you to go lithium. They are less expensive than the Lead Acid batteries you are replacing and less of a mess.

One caveat is that if you ride your cart for 10 to 20 miles at a time then you will have to get a little more expensive higher AH battery. I only drive mine around the farm, maybe 10 miles a weekend, and the battery is way more than enough.

[GLM]

What kind of support was needed? Did you have a bunch of trouble with them? I replaced my lead acid batteries with a 48v for $700. Works great so far. Glad to get the lead out. Just ordered a 36v for my 36v cart for $330 all in.

Sorry for you guys that arent listening to all the folks on here telling you to go lithium. They are less expensive than the Lead Acid batteries you are replacing and less of a mess.

One caveat is that if you ride your cart for 10 to 20 miles at a time then you will have to get a little more expensive higher AH battery. I only drive mine around the farm, maybe 10 miles a weekend, and the battery is way more than enough.

What AH battery do you have?

[HuntForHorns]

What AH battery do you have?

After a lot of research for what I needed for what I use my cart for, I went with 60AH. I did this knowing that if I needed more I could just add another one in parallel and have 120AH. I can go many days without charging it if I need to but I only drive a few miles on my farm and then back to the barndo. I might do that 10 times in a weekend and the battery wont even know it has been driven. Everyone's driving pattern is different and they have to determine what they need. I would start with the smaller AH and see if works for you. If it doesn't then add another.

LiFePO4 Lithium batteries are coming down fast. I know most of it is coming from china and if there is a problem you might have trouble getting it remedied. That was the purpose of my post above. I am curious to what problems he was seeing and how often.

The one I bought for my 48V was the LiTime 48V 60AH. I got it on sale around black Friday and got it delivered for about $700. Who knows, I might have trouble with it, but so far I am very happy with it. Mount it however you choose, plug the positive and negative cables in to your solenoid just like they are now. Push the peddle and go.

[GLM]

I was thinking a 60-70 Ah battery was all I needed also. Like you, my cart is only used on the ranch and I seldom drive over a few miles in a day. I’m thinking either the Chin or LiTime. Thanks for your response.

[Crazzy]

After a lot of research for what I needed for what I use my cart for, I went with 60AH. I did this knowing that if I needed more I could just add another one in parallel and have 120AH. I can go many days without charging it if I need to but I only drive a few miles on my farm and then back to the barndo. I might do that 10 times in a weekend and the battery wont even know it has been driven. Everyone's driving pattern is different and they have to determine what they need. I would start with the smaller AH and see if works for you. If it doesn't then add another.

LiFePO4 Lithium batteries are coming down fast. I know most of it is coming from china and if there is a problem you might have trouble getting it remedied. That was the purpose of my post above. I am curious to what problems he was seeing and how often.

The one I bought for my 48V was the LiTime 48V 60AH. I got it on sale around black Friday and got it delivered for about $700. Who knows, I might have trouble with it, but so far I am very happy with it. Mount it however you choose, plug the positive and negative cables in to your solenoid just like they are now. Push the peddle and go.

Do you need a special charger?

[HuntForHorns]

Do you need a special charger?

Yes. The one I bought is the HTRC on Amazon for about $160. It charges 36 and 48v carts. Seems to work fine but I watch it closely when the battery gets close to full I make sure it shuts off. It is an automatic charger that gives you some good info about your battery.

[kevin nicholls]

I went with 3-12v 50ah batteries, Power Queens off Amazon. The only issue I've had is if you stomp the peddle from a dead stop it will trip the batter management system for over amps. I have to remove the positive and reconnect it to reset the system. After looking into it more I should have got 60ah minimum and that wouldn't happen. As long as I don't drive like Ricky Bobby it's fine and runs forever on a charge. The 3 batteries were $119 each and the charger was $159. $516 total.

[bsills]

Bump, need to replace my batteries. I have 8 batteries in my 2010 cart and trying to figure out how much it cost to convert to lithium or if I need to just make a sams run and pick up new batteries for $120 a piece. I replaced my batteries with trojans in 2019, and they almost all the way dead now.
For you guys that have made the DIY switch from leaded to lithium, do you have any YouTube videos you would recommend?
Thanks for the help.

[GLM]

Sorry, I couldn’t download the video. Do a search on YouTube for Lithium upgrade on golf cart by Paul Kelley.

[Wiederhold]

Bump

[erikm1981]

I’m wanting to switch my two bad boy buggies to lithium but I’m afraid it won’t be as easy of swap as a regular cart. I’ve got the older 2007 model and newer hybrid gas/electric model I want to switch. Not much on the web as far as help to get it done, will be trial and error. Hopefully not too dang expensive trial and error.