Golf cart as a GPU

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Dave Taylor
I need a source of 24v at the hangar to run the electrics on the ground, maybe as a starter boost if the battery gets low.

I was also toying with the idea of a golf cart tug.
Google says golf carts are 36 & 48v.
Would there be an easy way to tap 24v off that?
 
Couple of blade switches cutting out 2 or 4 of the batteries in the cart, depending on if it is 36 or 48. Then whatever you need to do to get the power from the cart to the plane.

Electric golf carts are priced high, I think, especially ones that are in decent shape and have good battery banks. I've got $1,000 in mine and it needs$700 worth of batteries again. I only gave $300 for it, it was inop, I put in batteries and new cables, a few other parts. The charger crapped the bed and murdered my batteries, so that is why it needs six new 6v batteries again. I've gotten a lot of use out of it, but I wish it was gas powered.

Unless you have use for the cart other than as a power source, I'd go with a couple 12volt automotive batteries in series and charge them separate on the work bench. Much, much cheaper.
 
Absolutely. If the golf cart has 36v and 6 batteries, you can just use the negative of the first battery and the positive on the 4th battery to "tap off" 24 volts, or really any 4 batteries in the bank, as long as the first is the positive and the 4th is the negative. This method works, but is in bad form with the golf cart enthusiasts because of the uneven draw of the batteries during 24 volt operations and supposed decreased battery life. I haven't noticed much difference, but I don't do it every day. The method most assume "proper" would be to have a 36v to 24v transformer of the appropriate rating. Unnecessary if you only do this a few times a year

Use a voltmeter to check your work before you hook it up to verify. Golf cart batteries are 6v, 8v, or 12v....all can get you to 24v with the correct number.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I need a source of 24v at the hangar to run the electrics on the ground, maybe as a starter boost if the battery gets low.
n
I was also toying with the idea of a golf cart tug.
Google says golf carts are 36 & 48v.
Would there be an easy way to tap 24v off that?
Click to expand...
Easy Peazy. Just tap off the number of batteries that equal 24 volts--one wire off the positive post of the first battery and a negative wire off the fourth battery's negative post (6 volt batteries). Use a voltmeter and check that you have your 24 volts off the two wires.
 
Hmm good thoughts; thank you.
I need to decide how much I need a tug.

There is nothing I can plug into 120v and spin the prop with, for less than the price of two 12v batts, is there.
 
I used my 36 volt ezgo 20-30 hours a week at a park I was maintaining. The batteries seemed to love that type of use, getting a full charge every night.

When I brought it home and it only got used for the occasional ride down to the dock, that is when the obvious loss of capacity started to show. They went down hill quickly, then the charger did its thing and thoroughly ruined the batteries.

For the use you posted, I'd rather have a gas cart with a pair of 12v batteries on the back than an electric cart. The batteries are expensive, the chargers are expensive, I think the ongoing costs of electric cart is worse than a gas one, that has been my experience.
 
Do it all the time for flight school a/c we have on leaseback. As mentioned, just count out how many batteries you need and connect your jumper cables, no need to go all fancy with switches.
 
Subsea said:
... The method most assume "proper" would be to have a 36v to 24v transformer of the appropriate rating. ...
Click to expand...
Of course, to use those, one must first invert the DC into AC ...
 
At the Botanical Gardens we use electric golf carts all over. They get charged every night and we need to top off the water frequently. They work best if run down before charging. For your purposes, I would go gas and get one of those extra battery chargers like the off roaders have to charge an extra battery. Then when you need it just disconnect them from the vehicle, connect them in series and you will have 24 volts.
 
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