Golf cart batteries

[Rene T]

We are looking at purchasing a golf cart. The one we are looking at has six 8 volt batteries. We just sold ours and it had eight 6 volt batteries. Will there be any performance differences because of the 8 volt batteries verses having 6 volt batteries

 

[John From Detroit]

Will there be any improvement in performance? Only one way to tell.. TEST DRIVE.
Will there be any improvement in Profit for the battery store.. Yup. That's a given

 

[Rene T]

Will there be any improvement in performance? Only one way to tell.. TEST DRIVE.
Will there be any improvement in Profit for the battery store.. Yup. That's a given

So a 8 volt battery cost more than a 6 volt?

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Battery efficiency differences aside, the range of a 6 battery pack vs an 8 battery pack will be about 25% less. It amounts to pounds of lead, an 8V battery weighs about the same as a 6V one. Take two away and it's that much less power available.

8V batteries will be a little more expensive per pound because they're not made in the volumes of 6V. Depending on your range requirement the cost savings of buying two less batteries is greater than the unit cost of the 8V so for some applications it's cost effective. In terms of delivered power (Wh) they're about the same as a 6V but if you're using two fewer batteries, you'll get that much less delivered power as a pack. The plus is you've reduced the weight by ~120lbs, or gained the space of two batteries. You still have the same number of cells to service for a given voltage pack. So it's not a question of whether 8V is "better", just depends on what your goal is. You could come up with a combination of 12V to accomplish a particular volume/weight/cost goal too.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Either way you end up with a 48v battery bank that has a certain amount of lead and therefore amp-hour capacity. With an 8v (GC8 size), you get a physically larger battery and the higher voltage yields more watts of power, but fewer of them fit in the cart. From the performance perspective, you need to think in terms of a single 48v battery of some amp & wattage capacity. If 6 x 8v ends up with the same total amount of lead as 8 x 6v, then you have identical battery banks and the performance will be identical. The difference (if any) will be upfront cost.

You can easily get bogged down comparing amp-hours, cycle life, recharge frequency, upfront cost, etc. I'm not sure if any of that makes much difference in practical application. Maybe this article will help, but be aware it may be biased towards the 6v batteries advertised therein.

 

[garyb1st]

With an 8v (GC8 size), you get a physically larger battery and the higher voltage yields more watts of power, but fewer of them fit in the cart.

The other thing will be weight. Interstate 6v batteries weigh about 65 lbs. My guess is the 8v battery will weight around 87 lbs.

 

[Larry N.]

Six 8V batteries at 87 lbs ea will be 522 lbs. Eight 6V batteries at 65 lbs ea will be 520 lbs.

 

[garyb1st]

While that's true, if you have to move those batteries, which ones will you want to move.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

My guess is the 8v battery will weight around 87 lbs.

A common 8V GC2 form factor battery (T875) weighs 62lbs. So nominally the same weight as a 6V, but with 4 cells 25% smaller.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Lou Schneider]

Since you wind up with 48 volts either way, range will be proportional to each battery's amp-hour rating. GC-2 batteries average 215-220 amp-hours, the 8 volt batteries have 170 amp-hours. So you'll get about 23% less range from the 8 volt batteries.

 

[garyb1st]

Thanks for the corrections. I was guessing based on my familiarity with Interstate 6v batteries. New they sold 8v but never looked at specs.

 

[Isaac-1]

What really matters is the drive system for the golf cart, is it an AC drive or DC drive, if DC drive, what type of control system does it have, ...

 

[Old_Crow]

For my campgrounds we maintain a fleet of 14 golf carts. Some of them are gas and use just a standard 12v automotive battery. The rest are a mix of Club Cars, EZ-Gos (1) and Yamahas. I checked them yesterday as we are working to restore them to working order after spending the winter under 15 feet of snow. All of these carts, regardless of brand use 8 volt batteries. None of them would have room for the additional 2 batteries if we tried to use 6 volts.
BTW, NAPA quoted me a price of $173+tax/ea if I bought a quantity of 24 just yesterday. That's for the NAPA brand. I'm still waiting on a quote for Trojans.

 

[Rene T]

BTW, NAPA quoted me a price of $173+tax/ea if I bought a quantity of 24 just yesterday. That's for the NAPA brand. I'm still waiting on a quote for Trojans.

I think You better be sitting down. Please let us know.

 

[Onyrlef]

While that's true, if you have to move those batteries, which ones will you want to move.

No problem, ever safety conscious I always opt for the team lift, you and you over there, put it over here.

 

[Old_Crow]

I think You better be sitting down. Please let us know.

The quote for those is coming from a fairly new RV repair place in town. He's after our business, so I expect it'll be somewhat higher than the NAPA quote, but we all know the Trojan's are worth a bit of extra money.
I kinda freaked when I got a quote of over $5200 from NAPA, but that included $27/ea as a core charge and we'll be turning in the cores at the same time we pick the new ones up, so that'll be a wash.