golf cart needs new batteries... need recomendations...

[gorillajoe 10+ year member]

im trying to help my parents out with there golf cart that has been used and abused for several years now (its prolly 4 years old) and the batteries have seen better days not to mention the acid that has to be constantly refiled in the batteries due to it flawlessly sloshing out...

The batteries are now on there last leg they barely hold a charge even with the batteries full of acid. so my parents are wanting to get new batteries for them and they want a sealed battery so they dont have this problem anymore.

there are 6 8 volt batteries in it right now (for a total of 48 volts), i first thought of getting 8 of the optima 6 volt batteries but that just sounds like a failure waiting to happen, my next thought was to just get 4 of the kinetik 2000's or 2400's and be done with it...

what would you guys do?

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[Bender. 10+ year member]

is it running off 12 volts or 6 volts?

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

We use these at work, we use Interstate 6v or trojan 6v

 

[gorillajoe 10+ year member]

sorry i edited my post there are 6 8 volt batteries not 6 6 volts for a 48 volt total

the batteries are tojan's that are in there now they have the single cap design i just got to looking and the newer trojans have individual screw caps this is much better then what we have now but would still like to have sealed batteries if buying all new stuff

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

We use 8v also, we have both types of carts at work. Either brand above makes 8v also...

 

[Cabin_Pressure 10+ year member]

I got 4 group 31 batteries from Autozone for my stepdads. Great warranty and were around $400 total.

 

[I Like Waffle]

Get 4 12vs and wire em in series, problem solved. Get some big old sealed batts, like C&D

 

[gorillajoe 10+ year member]

so should i just stick with getting 6 new trojan's? i have been trying to figure out whats going end up holding a charge longer and everything just seams so confusing...

the 6 volt red tops have a 50 ah rating (8 would equal 400 ah's)

the kinetik 2000 has a 102 ah rating (4 would equal 408 ah's)

the trojan 875 is measured in minutes - 295 min @ 25 amps and 117 min at 56 amps

Get 4 12vs and wire em in series, problem solved. Get some big old sealed batts, like C&D

thats really what im considering doing it would end up being cheaper as well 6 trojans (off ebay) are 800 plus the 350 for shipping. im just hoping the cheaper way out wont end up being a disaster..

 

[DarkFire 10+ year member]

If they are wired in series, and are lead acid, you can throw 4 deep cycle 12v ones in there:fyi:

Also, your Ah combined rating is only correct if they are wired in parallel. If in series then its just the Ah rating of one battery. However your multiplying the voltage by how many batteries you have. Better to use an Watt/Hour comparison on the batteries.

Your 6v red tops would have a theoretical rating of 2.4 kWh (actual rating will vary because face it, no 2 batteries are the same and the voltage will drop as the battery discharges)

Kinetic 2000 would have a rating of 4.9 kWh

The trojan 875 would have a rating of 1.34 kWh

 

[gorillajoe 10+ year member]

thanks! thats the informationi was needing to know! how do you figure out the kwh ratings tho?

 

[DarkFire 10+ year member]

For Series and Parallel (this works because Watts = Volts x Amps)

If you have all the same batteries, multiply the voltage by the number of batteries by the Amp-hour rating.

Vb x #b x Ah = Wh

Where Vb = Voltage of batter, #b = number of batteries, Ah = Amp Hour, and Wh = Watt hour

 

[audioarsonal 10+ year member]

Trojan 8V's are pretty commonly used n this application.