6 volt to 12volt conversion

[landman35]

ok, i have heard different things on this subject, so now i'm gunna ask the experts.what are the advantages and disadvantages to going from 6-6volt batteries to 3 -12 volt batteries? i know people who have done this and they said it works fine with not much difference, but a local dealer says it will hurt the electric motor.i have a 94 club car 36 volt. i figured 36 volts is 36 volts!

[Michael Eddie]

I dont think this is a good idea. You will get about half the run time that you currently have. The set of batteries will only last about 2 years if you are lucky. The cart will begin to feel like it is loosing power after just a half an hour of riding.

[dougmcp]

You are correct, 36v is 36v and the difference is run time.
You must always use a true deep cycle battery in a golf cart and you will find 3x12v deep cycle batteries will cost about $150 each and that would be $450 for the 36v you are looking for. Yhere are only 2 manufacturers that I know of who make 12v deep cycle batteries, Trojan and US Battery.
The 6x6v batteries from a place like Sam's club will be about $72 each for about $435.
If you are thinking of using some marine "deep cycle" battery, note that they are not a true deep cycle and you will be lucky to get a year out of them.

[landman35]

sorry guys, ive been out for a while, thanks for the input on this, i didn't realize marine batteries weren't true deep cycle. i'm gunna stick with the 6-6volt set up!

[dougmcp]

Good call landman35!

[tombdavis]

There is another manufacturer of 12v "true" deep cycle batteries for Golf Carts. DEKA made by East Penn Manufacturing located in Pennsylvania. The battery is a dream to install because it has onboard carrying handles. That being said, the life of the 12v batteries in golf carts is lousy. I live in a Florida community and the folks with Precedent (Club Car) carts that have the 48 volt systems powered by (3) 12volt batteries get about two years with the Trojans or US Battery. For my money, I sure would not swap out the current configuration (6 of the 8 volt) for 3 of the 12 volt. Waste of money.

[dougmcp]

Good point Tom. Club Car Precedents changed their battery configuration in 2010 from the 4x12v set up to the tried and true 6x8v that they had used for 15 years.