Could we have a simple golf cart battery thread?

[RyanATX]

I'm not interested in debating golf cart batteries vs kinetiks/optimas/agm batteries.

I want to have a simple thread that outlines what you need to convert your boat to large capacity golf cart batts..including but not limited to:

battery combiner/relay/isolators (brands, where to buy, how to wire correctly)

How to wire the batteries them selves (6v batteries combined to produce 12v)

As well as mounting/maintaining these flooded batteries.

I have searched and searched, and decided I want to convert my battery from optimas to a few large capacity Trojan's... I just want to make sure I use every necessary precaution to prevent damage to my alternator.

[EarmarkMarine]

Ryan,

That's all pretty simple stuff. We don't ship batteries but I'm sure you've got a local line on those.

As for everything else, we know just what is needed and exactly how to wire everything for
a.) Maximum battery reserves and longevity.
b.) How to protect and preserve your alternator.
And, we do schematics.

David
Earmark Marine

[AuMDLST]

Going from 5 yellows to what? 4 Golf batteries? Thats the equiv of two 12 volt with
much longer drain rate.

To maintain - reach in to battereis and pull the leaking cap off - look inside and refill
to the designated line with the supply of battery acid and/or distilled water.

If you have 5 batteries currently - do you have combiner/isolaters etc.?

I'd get two good AGM's and forget the headache/change over.

[EarmarkMarine]

Four golf cart batteries?

That's no longer simple. With 400 amp/hours of fully depleted golf cart batteries you won't get a combiner/separator to close. It will close temporarily causing immediate voltage dumping from the starting battery, resulting in a measured voltage drop and subsequently the combiner/separator will simply bounce open again and will repeat this cycle every few minutes.

Also, the sudden introduction of 400 amp/hours of fully depleted golf cart batteries to an alternator is really destructive.

The total amp/hours of seriesed golf cart 6-volt batteries(which don't sum) when compared to paralled Group 31 AGM 12-volt batteries, Deka for example, (which do sum) is not that different (perhaps 90 percent of the reserve capacity). While the AGMs may be considerably more expensive, they require no maintenance effort and are easier to manage from an installation standpoint. Other than that you cannot beat the cost-effectiveness of golf cart batteries.

David
Earmark Marine

[SkiTower]

Man, talk about mixing electricity and water????

Sorry for the off topic comment, but all I can say is WOW...

[CradGen2]

I looked into golf cart batteries last year when I upgraded my system. I was going to wire them in Series so I could get 12v out of (2)6v batteries. However after a lot of research I decided I wasn't going to let the batteries touch to alternator...Several reason, but I did feel the alt. could charge effectively and efficiently those types of batteries. I was going to charge the batteries via charger.

I decided to stick with AMG batteries and they are tied into the overall electrical system. I'm not using an isolator, just a battery switch.

I'm not debating AMG VS. GOlf, but the effectiveness of the electrical system.

If you are looking to cut costs, I can understand the reason for Golf.

I see that you have (4) WS pro 485. I'd like to see a picture of that setup. I have (2) pro 485's and it is ear piercing with the (2) 2 channel WS amps running it. In fact I Db mine at 40MPH while footing and was getting 53Db behind the boat is 44 outside the wake. Crystal clear sound.

I guess at the end of the day, it might make sense to try to make your system more efficient vs. risking the electrical system

To give an example a friend of mine and I have the same system. He is running (1) 1/0 wire and I'm running (2) 1/0 as a main line. He is running #4 to the amps and I have #1. After 30 minutes of heavy use with the same song I'm drawing 11 amps less power. I truly think I have less resistance, causing less heat, so I'm pulling less amps.

There are lots of studies on this in both direction and I'm sure David at Earmark will way in.

I hope I didn't rain on your debate here.

CW

[Mikeski]

I like golf cart batteries as long as you can keep them upright.

Here is a diagram how to connect them using a combiner.

As David says, you cannot connect dead batteries to the alternator with a combiner. Boat electrical systems are tricky, push too hard one direction and you will have a problem in another direction.

guidelines:
- use high efficiency amplifiers
- charge your batteries the night before you hit the water
- use high quality cables and keep the connections clean
- get a digital voltage meter, when it says anything below 12v it's time to stop draining and start charging (12v is down to 50% of capacity)

most things you would want to know are explained here: http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Bat...ttery+Voltages

[Mikeski]

One more thing...

Battery discharge rates can be calculated using Peukert's equation

T = C/I^n

T is time, C is battery capacity, I is current drain, n is Peukert's exponent

For a golf cart n=1.2
For a AGM n=1.1

For instance my two Kinetik 2400's are 128Ah each, I would guess that my stereo system pulls about and average 40 amps as long as I don't push the bass boost. So, T = 256/40^1.1 = 4.4 hours. I would assume that most systems pull somewhere around 10-15amps per 1000 watts of high efficiency amplification.

[Frank Kronk]

I had an Amstron Golf Cart.
The battery has worked for 10 years. I see no reason to buy cheap Chinese akb, which serve a maximum of 3 years. I advise everyone to this manufacturer.

[Mikeski]

My post above was from over 9 years ago, the Kinetic batteries lasted on my boat for about 5 years. I am on my third set of AGMs now and I am tempted to go back to flooded lead acid batteries as I don't see a significant performance benefit other than mounting convenience. Since my boat batteries can sit upright in plastic battery holders that will contain any spilled acid the cost of FLA's makes it an easy choice.

I had an Amstron Golf Cart.
The battery has worked for 10 years. I see no reason to buy cheap Chinese akb, which serve a maximum of 3 years. I advise everyone to this manufacturer.

Top 10 Best Golf Cart Batteries??? nothing but some clippings from websites showing basic battery specs, maybe the worst example of a review I have ever seen...

I'm in the solar business and there some opinions from the off-grid folks I can share. Battery availability is different and somewhat geographically limited. For example Trojan batteries are usually listed in the top 3 but are not as easily found on the west coast as they are in Texas and Florida. Out here Exide and Interstate are pretty popular batteries, I have seen good results with both of these brands. My local Walmart sells Everstart house brand batteries made by Johnson Controls. Johnson Control batteries are some of the highest quality batteries so you could do very well buying your batteries from the local Walmart.

"Cheap Chinese junk" Let's be realistic, today you can have a product of whatever quality you want produced in China. I have several friends involved in contract manufacturing done in China who have told me China can outproduce any other country if they want including quality (Wetsounds is a great example of high quality product produced in China). I work for a company that produces solar panels in China, our highest quality lines are produced in China but due to tariffs we only import products made in Thailand but they struggle to meet the quality of our Chinese products. Both of these are higher quality products than any of the US produced products. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of Chinese junk out there if that's what you want but China can also produce the highest quality products if you want to spec it that way and pay for that quality level.