Life is what happens while..... you’re maintaining your golf cart batteries
This chart is quite telling, however for those interested in the deatils..... keep reading.
MAINTENANCE
Water: Maintaining the battery water level in each cell of each battery (generally 24 cavities in a 48-volt cart) will take between 30 and 45 minutes monthly. 30 to 45 minutes a month isn’t technically a lot of time to dedicate to golf cart maintenance. Unless you don’t live locally, or your cart is in a rental program and you barely see the cart for 10 minutes a week during the tourist season.
The Importance of Accuracy: If you underfill lead-acid batteries, not only will you shorten the miles you’ll be able to drive per charge, but you’ll also shorten the number of years your batteries will serve you overall.
Overfill lead-acid batteries and they make a mess of the batteries and your pavement. When batteries are used, the water inside of them boils. If the water level is too high, that water – with acid in it – will boil out of the batteries and onto your pavement or driveway. Safely neutralizing the overspill becomes a very high priority as it does pose the danger of the acid burns on skin and clothes. Even after neutralizing, your pavement will be stained forever.
USAGE
Battery Usage: “Periods of inactivity can be extremely harmful to lead-acid batteries.”*
When lead-acid batteries are left unused for just one-month, they will lose up to 33% of their charge. 33% is substantial and will result in a no-run situation when you return. This too is very detrimental to the overall lifecycle of the batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are only very slightly affected by any period of inactivity, loosing not even 3% per month. Even after eight months of inactivity, lithium batteries will retain 75% of their charge.
* Taken from the website of a leading lead-acid battery manufacturer.
Time: Charge lead-acid batteries from dead to 100% capacity, 8 to 10 hours.
Charge lithium-ion batteries from dead to 100% capacity, 6 to 8 hours.
LIFESPAN
Lifespan: According to GolfCartReport.com a well-maintained cart will have between 7-10 useful years.
Traditional use of a LSV will find you needing to replace typical lead-acid batteries every 4-5 years. At the time of writing this, a total battery replacement on a 48-volt cart (6 x 8 volt batteries) costs $1,590.00.
With an upgrade to RoyPow lithium batteries at the time of cart purchase you'll never have to think about replacing the batteries for the entire lifespan of the cart.
In simpler terms, a high-end lead-acid battery has 500-800 cycles, While RoyPow lithium-ion battery will last between 4,000 and 5,000 cycles.
Warranty: Generally speaking, lead-acid batteries used in golf carts has a 1 to 2-year manufacturer’s warranty.
RoyPow lithium-ion batteries have a 5-year warranty and are expected to last 10 to 15 years.
MILES PER CHARGE
15-20 miles per charge is a realistic expectation for a 48-volt cart running on lead-acid batteries.
The RoyPow Lithium batteries will travel 50-60 miles per charge with the 160 ah battery.
OVERALL COST
In the 10-year lifespan of a cart using lead-acid batteries, you can expect to need a full battery replacement at least twice, at the total cost of $3,900.00
With a RoyPow lithium-ion upgrade at time of cart purchase will cost between $3,200.00 to $4,800 depending on the battery you choose, and you can expect to Never need to replace the battery.