Elec Golf Cart Conversion kit

[KDM]

Hey guys, I have an electric golf cart that I would like to convert from lead acid to lithium batteries. Anyone ever do this? If so, what company did you use and how did it go? Thanks!

 

[tikkalover]

You golf????

 

[KDM]

You golf????

I drink....while attempting to decapitate gophers with crooked sticks I was forced to rent who are still under ground....whilst simultaneously pissing off pompous self glorifying tax evading drivels who think a polo shirt with docker shorts is a flex others should be enamored with. All while paying exorbitant amounts of money to spend a day chasing a white ball and in the end being so pissed off that they need to have several overpriced drinks with similarly angry peers just to go home. So, NO, I don't golf. I do however have a golf cart that weighs the combined weight of a womens rugby team and goes about 2/3ds the speed of smell.

 

[1lessdog]

There are 100 YouTube videos that have a steps by step process on converting 36 or 48 volt. Hope one of them help you.

 

[Davy Crockett]

I took a gander and boy it looks spendy, would you consider a gas conversion ? I bought a Honda clone with electric start and a torque converter for less that $200 , depends on the cart but there are youtube vids for that conversion too.

 

[Shockwave]

I'll be doing the same thing once my lead acid batteries start going to shit.

 

[KDM]

I'll be doing the same thing once my lead acid batteries start going to shit.

Mine are running on about half strength, which is why the conversion. It's spendy, but I'd like to be able to run for a week or so before charging and then be able to charge in a couple hours instead of all night. When I get it done, I'll post up the process and results. I was hoping someone on here had gone from lead acid to lithium on their cart and could give me some insights.

 

[johnr]

I put $1,500 in batteries in mine 2 years ago, and that was the old lead acid. Hoping I get at least 4 more years out of them.

That was 8 six volt batteries, and yes it weighs at least the rugby team, and then put my large ass, and a 50 quart cooler on the back...wow I cant believe I get 25 mph out of it now

 

[guywhofishes]

Here's what Grok recommends.

https://grok.com/share/c2hhcmQtMg_15f863d1-ee49-413f-960e-8766e7dad9d8

 

[Sluggo]

Why is a conversion necessary? Educate me.

 

[KDM]

Why is a conversion necessary? Educate me.

My current machine is a 48 volt system with (8) six volt batteries. They take overnight to charge from half charge to full charge and weigh about 60 lbs each or almost 500 lbs. It costs around 1800 bucks to replace a full set and they provide about 114 amp hours at 50% usage. Conversely, it costs around 2500 for a 105 amp hour 48 volt lithium battery conversion kit that weighs about 90 lbs and will charge in a couple hours. Battery weights will vary, but these are good averages. The upsides are a 400 lb reduction in weight which adds miles to the battery life per charge and is easier on the machine as a whole. Battery life is bit better with lithium and it's a heck of a lot easier to remove one 90 lb battery for winter storage than 8 lead acids. Is it necessary? Maybe not to everyone, but to me the increased performance, weight reduction, more time between charges, and the much shorter charge time is worth the extra hundos.

 

[Davy Crockett]

One plus I see is you can buy a step down converter for less than $ 20 to bring 48 V down to 12 V . That could come in handy in an emergency situation.

 

[1lessdog]

My current machine is a 48 volt system with (8) six volt batteries. They take overnight to charge from half charge to full charge and weigh about 60 lbs each or almost 500 lbs. It costs around 1800 bucks to replace a full set and they provide about 114 amp hours at 50% usage. Conversely, it costs around 2500 for a 105 amp hour 48 volt lithium battery conversion kit that weighs about 90 lbs and will charge in a couple hours. Battery weights will vary, but these are good averages. The upsides are a 400 lb reduction in weight which adds miles to the battery life per charge and is easier on the machine as a whole. Battery life is bit better with lithium and it's a heck of a lot easier to remove one 90 lb battery for winter storage than 8 lead acids. Is it necessary? Maybe not to everyone, but to me the increased performance, weight reduction, more time between charges, and the much shorter charge time is worth the extra hundos.

When you plug in the lithium battery in at night the charger is still be on it in the morning. I wouldn't take the batteries out in the winter. I would charge them up and disconnect them.They will be charged up in the spring. You have a lot more traction with the heavy batteries. Car shop use them to pull car and pickups around the parking lot and into the shop.

 

[Sluggo]

My current machine is a 48 volt system with (8) six volt batteries. They take overnight to charge from half charge to full charge and weigh about 60 lbs each or almost 500 lbs. It costs around 1800 bucks to replace a full set and they provide about 114 amp hours at 50% usage. Conversely, it costs around 2500 for a 105 amp hour 48 volt lithium battery conversion kit that weighs about 90 lbs and will charge in a couple hours. Battery weights will vary, but these are good averages. The upsides are a 400 lb reduction in weight which adds miles to the battery life per charge and is easier on the machine as a whole. Battery life is bit better with lithium and it's a heck of a lot easier to remove one 90 lb battery for winter storage than 8 lead acids. Is it necessary? Maybe not to everyone, but to me the increased performance, weight reduction, more time between charges, and the much shorter charge time is worth the extra hundos.

Gotcha. I wasn’t wondering why you wanted to switch to lithium but rather why it wasn’t a simple swap in and out like I did with my boat trolling motor 24V. I just replaced my 2 12V lead acids with 1 24V lithium.
Btw, I purchased a 100Ah LiTime and most fishing days only use about 20% of the charge whereas my lead acids would have been nearly drained. I see LiTime has a 48V 100Ah for $1000. Even says its for golf carts.

 

[KDM]

Gotcha. I wasn’t wondering why you wanted to switch to lithium but rather why it wasn’t a simple swap in and out like I did with my boat trolling motor 24V. I just replaced my 2 12V lead acids with 1 24V lithium.
Btw, I purchased a 100Ah LiTime and most fishing days only use about 20% of the charge whereas my lead acids would have been nearly drained. I see LiTime has a 48V 100Ah for $1000. Even says its for golf carts.

The charger on the cart right now isn't for lithium and will try to overcharge or undercharge a lithium battery and could mess with the BMS that usually comes internal to a 48v lithium battery. The charge display doesn't work right on the cart right now so i need to replace that anyway, and there is something about the charge controller/equalizer that the cart currently has that has some compatibility problems between the normal lead acids and lithium batteries. There is also some issues with the accessories that are 12 volt and the charge reducers need to be changed to deal with lithium batteries instead of lead acid. That is what my research has told me. However, I'm not an electronics guy so they could feed me a load of bs and I wouldn't know the difference.

 

[Sluggo]

The charger on the cart right now isn't for lithium and will try to overcharge or undercharge a lithium battery and could mess with the BMS that usually comes internal to a 48v lithium battery. The charge display doesn't work right on the cart right now so i need to replace that anyway, and there is something about the charge controller/equalizer that the cart currently has that has some compatibility problems between the normal lead acids and lithium batteries. There is also some issues with the accessories that are 12 volt and the charge reducers need to be changed to deal with lithium batteries instead of lead acid. That is what my research has told me. However, I'm not an electronics guy so they could feed me a load of bs and I wouldn't know the difference.

That makes sense, more components in play than I realized.
And don’t forget about your ball warmer..that needs to continue to function properly.

 

[KDM]

Ball warmers are pretty high on the priority list at all times. Got to have standards.

 

[LBrandt]

Got a ball washer but no warmer. LB

 

[KDM]

I have a ball washer too, but it's broken. Hasn't worked in a couple years, but still still cooks and does dishes pretty well.