I would argue about the ‘greatness’ of lithium batteries, at least for golf cart batteries. I spent an extra $2000 for RoyPow lithium batteries when I bought my golf cart 6 months ago. Twice it it has died when the battery gage says 80%. I called my dealer and he refuses to look at it. ( Ref Google review for Golf Cart CROSSING in Pharr, TX) He says there is nothing wrong and the solution is to plug it in at least every other day. I could have saved $2000 for that RoyPow battery and plugged in my cart every day. I contacted RoyPow and asked for another gage but got no reply. Maybe if service went with the sale I might not be so disappointed. I certainly can’t recommend a RoyPow battery to anyone.
I’ve never installed Lithium batteries on a golf cart, but I do know there’s a few tricks needed to stack Lithium batteries in series for golf cart voltages (24 of 48 volts, j I’m think). But Lithium house batteries for RVs seem to work well, as long as you can afford them.
Mike, you said that deep cycle batteries have thicker plates and that’s what allows them to be discharged to lower levels without damage compared to dual-purpose batteries. I have read that golf cart batteries can be discharged 50% to 80%. I have 6 golf cart batteries in my 5th wheel that have never gone below 50%. Can I discharge them to 80%?
The two golf cart batteries slightly outperformed the single lithium battery at a 10A discharge rate but they underperformed at 30 and 50 A discharge rates. That said, the weight and size difference is profound (132 lbs for lead acid vs 30 lbs for LFA). Another difference is the shorter lifespan of deep cycle lead acid batteries vs the very long lifespan of lithium batteries. As Mike says, lithium wins overall in terms of size, weight, maintenance, charging time, and cost per kWhr delivered over the life of the battery but is it still true that lead acid may have the advantage of lower up front cost? With the cost of 100 Ahr batteries recently dropping to the $300 level, it is questionable that there is still much of a cost advantage with deep cycle lead acid batteries. A quick check on-line shows a pair of 6 V Trojan 6 V 220 Ahr GC2 golf cart batteries selling at Walmart for $926. I saw lesser brands selling under $200 each but a pair would still cost more than a single one of the cheaper LFP batteries. With the new 12V DC fridges, it would seem that two 100 Ahr 12V LFP batteries is the minimum you can get by on these days.
And don’t forget safety. A wedding ring trapped between a wrench and chassis ground on a lead-acid battery will quickly weld itself in place while rapidly heating up to 1,000 degrees F or more, while it’s on your finger.
But the BMS in a properly built Lithium battery will shut off the current in milliseconds if there’s a short circuit.
Plus working around battery acid can be dangerous to your eyesight as well as hard on your clothing.
I would argue about the ‘greatness’ of lithium batteries, at least for golf cart batteries. I spent an extra $2000 for RoyPow lithium batteries when I bought my golf cart 6 months ago. Twice it it has died when the battery gage says 80%. I called my dealer and he refuses to look at it. ( Ref Google review for Golf Cart CROSSING in Pharr, TX) He says there is nothing wrong and the solution is to plug it in at least every other day. I could have saved $2000 for that RoyPow battery and plugged in my cart every day. I contacted RoyPow and asked for another gage but got no reply. Maybe if service went with the sale I might not be so disappointed. I certainly can’t recommend a RoyPow battery to anyone.
I’ve never installed Lithium batteries on a golf cart, but I do know there’s a few tricks needed to stack Lithium batteries in series for golf cart voltages (24 of 48 volts, j I’m think). But Lithium house batteries for RVs seem to work well, as long as you can afford them.
Mike, you said that deep cycle batteries have thicker plates and that’s what allows them to be discharged to lower levels without damage compared to dual-purpose batteries. I have read that golf cart batteries can be discharged 50% to 80%. I have 6 golf cart batteries in my 5th wheel that have never gone below 50%. Can I discharge them to 80%?
Here is link to a test report from the Battleborn battery company comparing one of their 100Ahr batteries to two 6V FLA GC2 golf cart batteries.
https://battlebornbatteries.com/comparison-one-battle-born-lifepo4-battery-two-6v-gc2-batteries-series/
The two golf cart batteries slightly outperformed the single lithium battery at a 10A discharge rate but they underperformed at 30 and 50 A discharge rates. That said, the weight and size difference is profound (132 lbs for lead acid vs 30 lbs for LFA). Another difference is the shorter lifespan of deep cycle lead acid batteries vs the very long lifespan of lithium batteries. As Mike says, lithium wins overall in terms of size, weight, maintenance, charging time, and cost per kWhr delivered over the life of the battery but is it still true that lead acid may have the advantage of lower up front cost? With the cost of 100 Ahr batteries recently dropping to the $300 level, it is questionable that there is still much of a cost advantage with deep cycle lead acid batteries. A quick check on-line shows a pair of 6 V Trojan 6 V 220 Ahr GC2 golf cart batteries selling at Walmart for $926. I saw lesser brands selling under $200 each but a pair would still cost more than a single one of the cheaper LFP batteries. With the new 12V DC fridges, it would seem that two 100 Ahr 12V LFP batteries is the minimum you can get by on these days.
And don’t forget safety. A wedding ring trapped between a wrench and chassis ground on a lead-acid battery will quickly weld itself in place while rapidly heating up to 1,000 degrees F or more, while it’s on your finger.
But the BMS in a properly built Lithium battery will shut off the current in milliseconds if there’s a short circuit.
Plus working around battery acid can be dangerous to your eyesight as well as hard on your clothing.