Need Info for charging system

[Lance_500]

I am trying to get a couple solar panels to run an inverter big enough to power my gulf cart charger. I keep it in a small shed in a remote area. And I want to be able to plug my Club Car battery charger model # 26580. AC input 120v, 9.5A DC output 48vdc, 13A, to keep my cart charged. I have seen several charging systems that go on the roof of a gulf cart but not really what I'm looking for b/c it looks a if most are a constant charge and do not shut off when fully charged. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Sunking]

Forget about it. It will cost more than your golf cart.

[Lance_500]

More Info

Forget about it. It will cost more than your golf cart.

Can you provide a little more info please. What would it cost, what would I need to make it work?

[Lance_500]

sunking

Or would you reccomend a different setup?

[cmclane28]

I am trying to get a couple solar panels to run an inverter big enough to power my gulf cart charger. I keep it in a small shed in a remote area. And I want to be able to plug my Club Car battery charger model # 26580. AC input 120v, 9.5A DC output 48vdc, 13A, to keep my cart charged. I have seen several charging systems that go on the roof of a gulf cart but not really what I'm looking for b/c it looks a if most are a constant charge and do not shut off when fully charged. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

I'm no expert by any stretch as I'm still new to all of this myself, but it seems to me like rather than going from solar panel DC to inverter AC and then back to DC again through the golf cart charger you'd be better off just getting a good solar charge controller and panels and charging the batteries in the golf cart like any other solar battery bank. You'd still be looking at a good amount of money though. Off the top of my head I'm thinking you'd need a charge controller that can work with a 48V battery bank (assuming that's what's in the cart), and enough panels to generate the 15 to 20 amps to charge the batteries. Also, it'd probably take at least a couple days of good sunshine to charge the bank fully if it was run down really low.

[Mike90250]

I'm no expert by any stretch as I'm still new to all of this myself, but it seems to me like rather than going from solar panel DC to inverter AC and then back to DC again through the golf cart charger you'd be better off just getting a good solar charge controller and panels and charging the batteries in the golf cart like any other solar battery bank. You'd still be looking at a good amount of money though. Off the top of my head I'm thinking you'd need a charge controller that can work with a 48V battery bank (assuming that's what's in the cart), and enough panels to generate the 15 to 20 amps to charge the batteries. Also, it'd probably take at least a couple days of good sunshine to charge the bank fully if it was run down really low.

Pretty much what I would say. and a wild guess would be a bit over 1KW of PV panels.

[Sunking]

You cannot do what you want. You cannot connect a panel to an inverter. You have one option and if you want to be able to recharge your golf cart battery in one day will require 1200 watts of panels, and a 20 amp MPPT charge controller to charge the golf cart batteries directly. It will cost you $2000, to replace 50-cents worth of electricity. Those morons with Solar Panel Roof Tops are just Show and Tell. Ata best it extends their range a mile or two a day. It would take over a week for them to actually charge there golf cart battery with a 200 watt panel. So forget about it, you can't afford it.

[Sunking]

You cannot do what you want. You cannot connect a panel to an inverter. You have one option and if you want to be able to recharge your golf cart battery in one day will require 1200 watts of panels, and a 20 amp MPPT charge controller to charge the golf cart batteries directly. It will cost you $2000, to replace 50-cents worth of electricity. Those morons with Solar Panel Roof Tops are just Show and Tell. Ata best it extends their range a mile or two a day. It would take over a week for them to actually charge there golf cart battery with a 200 watt panel. So forget about it.

[Lance_500]

Thanks

Thanks for the info guys looks like it really aint worth the cost. The cart is 48v and I keep it at my hunting land which is pretty remote. I go up there for 2 days each week during the season. I guess I'm going to have to up with a different plan. But thanks for all the info.

[Sunking]

Thanks for the info guys looks like it really aint worth the cost. The cart is 48v and I keep it at my hunting land which is pretty remote. I go up there for 2 days each week during the season. I guess I'm going to have to up with a different plan. But thanks for all the info.

It helps a lot when you give us little details. So how does the cart stay charged now?

[lkruper]

It helps a lot when you give us little details. So how does the cart stay charged now?

I am guessing it doesn't

Also, the OP did not say he needed to charge in one day, which was one of your parameters for your solution. He has 5 days a week to charge with no usage at all. He did not say how much of the charge he consumed in the 2 days per week. If it is minimal, then maybe a much less aggressive charge? If we assume all these things, and say he only drives 100 feet two times per week to pick up the mail, (!) what is the minimum amps needed to actually charge (slowly) and maintain low usage?

[SunEagle]

I am guessing it doesn't

Also, the OP did not say he needed to charge in one day, which was one of your parameters for your solution. He has 5 days a week to charge with no usage at all. He did not say how much of the charge he consumed in the 2 days per week. If it is minimal, then maybe a much less aggressive charge? If we assume all these things, and say he only drives 100 feet two times per week to pick up the mail, (!) what is the minimum amps needed to actually charge (slowly) and maintain low usage?

It is sometimes hard to determine what size solar / battery system is needed without knowing the true watt hour load and how often it gets used.

If the OP to uses the golf cart only on weekends and to just go around the property for a few hundred feet then the panel/charging system would be much smaller that having to provide enough to recharge a golf cart that goes 18 holes every day.