Thor Forums

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Long & Winding road

Im no battery expert but perhaps what explains why the 6 volts are better, last longer, provide longer lasting amps is the weight. These 6 volts are heavy. 73 # each according to my un-certified scale at home. The two I have weigh 54 # heavier than the OEM battery’s I took out of my coach..... well that’s almost an entire battery by itsself..... so two 6 volts weigh as much as three 12 volts.....well almost in my case.

Between all that lead and acid its like getting 3 batteries in two? I don’t know but its something to think about. All I know is after researching for a few months I decided for me the 6 volt was the way to go. As always do your own research and make your own conclusions.

Yeah, as they say, we are all entitled to our own opinions but not our own facts. YouTube misinformation can be quite funny at times.

Obviously, apples to apples, we shouldn't compare 73-pound batteries to 54-pound batteries directly. You know that. On the other hand if we look at energy density per pound of battery weight, then it makes more sense. And in my book manufacturers’ tested data comparing their own 6- to 12-Volt batteries trumps some self-centered genius on YouTube reinventing the wheel. I’m not by any means saying everything on YouTube is garbage, but there is a lot of it there.


What’s lost on the Golf-Cart 6- vs 12-Volt battery difference is why they are mostly 6-Volt in the first place. Modern golf carts operated at 36 Volts in order to limit current, with many newer ones going to 48 Volts. That allows use of powerful drive motors without such high current that it would be inefficient to control.

Additionally, to get the required travel range, they needed roughly 400 ~ 500 pounds of flooded lead acid batteries. If you install 12-Volt batteries, that’s only 3 or 4 of them (depending on 36 vs 48 Volt golf cart), which makes each battery heavy to handle. I know because I’ve replaced ~ 60-pound batteries in golf cart before and was very glad they didn’t weigh twice as much.

As a side note, it’s interesting that with lithium batteries that are both lighter and have higher energy density, it doesn’t make as much sense to split the battery bank into 6 or 8 batteries. For example, 4 lithium batteries of reasonable weight each can be wired in series to power a golf cart at 48 Volts.