Trolley Battery ratings

[brendy]

Right,
Ive just gotten hold of my new trolley, it came with the larger (rather than slimline low 17ah version in my previous trolley)12v 24ah 10hr battery.
I think this battery will struggle beyond 27 holes which im fine with, but the 10hr rating confuses me, is this a better or worse rating than the 20hr versions?

I think in a few months I will change to a 30ah battery regardless, but I wouldnt mind knowing the difference in hr ratings.

 

[madandra]

Watt?

 

[brendy]

Badum tush! very good mister!

 

[brendy]

Ok the overclockers forum (pc geeky community) have told me that a 24ah 20hr battery would be better than a 24ah 10hr version, saying that as long as it easily lasts 18 holes, id be charging it weekly anyway. If it lasted 36 holes, itd be easier on the battery as itd only be getting charged once a week though.

 

[Leftie]

Dependent on type of trolley, weight of bag + clubs etc and how hilly the course is, 24ah should be ok for 27 holes but make sure that it is put on charge as soon as possible after the round.

From experience, don't run the battery right down. If it starts running out of steam part way through the second 18 then turn it off and push! I thought my battery was charging but there was a faulty connection and it hadn't charged. It ran out of steam about the 10th hole on the next round and no matter how I now charge it, 7 or 8 holes is the limit.

New battery time!

I note the comments from Atticus regarding linked web sites and advertising but if anyone is looking for a new battery a look at golfbatteries.co.uk might be of interest. I have no connection at all with them other than as a satisfied customer. Please note that this is in no way a recommendation!

 

[brendy]

Leftie, that opens the hillbilly website that lists about 2 typs of batteries. www.golftrolleybatteries.co.uk lists a whole lot more though.

 

[viscount17]

As you can see from this diatribe, most of us don't know what questions to ask when buying a battery.

Rating a battery as '18-hole' is utter cr*p as its discharge rate depends on load (how much power your motor draws from the battery) which will depend on a lot of variables - initial power level, battery condition, temperature, how hilly/steep the course is, how much you've loaded on the trolley, how big the motor is, etc. Your 18-holes will vary from trolley to trolley and day to day.

The following is ripped from: http://marinebatteries.com - though aimed at the marine market it has answers to some general questions.

Battery rating - Ah - Ampere-Hour rating is obtained by multiplying a current flow in amperes by the time in hours of discharge. However since manufacturers use different discharge periods to yield a different Ah Rating for the same capacity battery, the Ah Rating has little significance unless qualified by the number of hours the battery is discharged.

Overdischarging - originates from insufficient battery capacity causing the batteries to be overworked. Discharges deeper than 50% significantly shorten the Cycle Life of a battery without increasing the usable depth of cycle. Infrequent or inadequate complete recharging can also cause overdischarging symptoms. In most cases, the battery may be returned to complete its service life, but not usually with domestic chargers. Gel batteries may not recover. However - Overcharging is the most destructive element in battery service.

Cycle Life - One cycle of a battery is a discharge from full charge to full discharge and a return to full charge again. The total number of cycles a battery can perform before failure is called its Cycle Life. Most battery manufacturers will not discuss the Cycle Life of their product. Many advertised Deep Cycle batteries have not been tested or were never designed for long Cycle Life.

(The ability to withstand and recover from Overdischarging and a longer Cycle Life are directly linked to the quality of materials used in its construction.)

The solution - get a pull trolley or a carry-bag (if you're a masochist)

 

[brendy]

Excellent viscount, this will prompt me to change my tour bag for something a little lighter also, its getting on 7 years old so its got to go. as has the half ton of crud in the pockets ....