The core and key component of every golf cart is its battery, and choosing the right type of battery is crucial to ensuring that your golf cart is always in top shape and performs to the very best of its ability. With a crystal golf cart battery, you are guaranteed to get the absolute best out of your golf cart.
Table of Contents
What are the Crystal Batteries?
Crystal Batteries™ are a unique technology from Netherlands-based Ampowr that overcomes conventional battery problems by having a nearly solid-state electrolyte. This allows the battery to be discharged deeper, cycle more often, has a longer lifetime, and can withstand extreme temperatures.
The patented Crystal technology uses a unique advanced formula, a new type of composite SiO2 electrolyte developed to completely replace traditional sulfuric acid solutions.
How do Crystal Batteries work?
The patented technology found in Crystal Batteries uses a unique micro-porous high absorbent mat (AGM), high-purity lead calcium selenium plates, and a safe SiO2 electrolyte solution. The solution solidifies into a white crystalline powder when charged and discharged. This in turn improves the product’s application and safety performance, which means the batteries are more resilient to deeper discharges in extreme temperatures, allowing the batteries to recover to full capacity repeatedly.
Crystal Batteries are cleaner and safer than other technologies with less acid, no cadmium, and no antimony, are 99% recyclable, and classified as non-hazardous for good transport.
Crystal Batteries Features & Benefits
PERFORMANCE
Robust, resilient, high performing. Crystal Batteries can be discharged deeper, cycled more often (even in extreme temperatures), and have a longer service life. They recover to full rated capacity over and over again.
TECHNOLOGY
A unique micro-porous high absorbent mat (AGM), pure lead plates, and safe SiO2 electrolyte solution that solidifies into a white crystalline powder when charged/ discharged.
CLEANER & SAFE
Less acid, no cadmium, no antimony. Crystal Batteries are up to 99% recyclable and are classified as non-hazardous goods for transport.
MARKETS
Crystal Batteries are being used in telecoms, UPS, petrochemical/marine, defense, renewable energy, health care, manufacturing, transportation, and electric motion (wheelchairs, golf carts, and trolleys).
What sets Crystal Batteries apart from the rest?
LONG BATTERY LIFE
A float service life of up to 11 years. Up to 3100 charge/discharge cycles at 25°C (50% DOD).
LONG SHELF LIFE
Can be stored for two years without a need for refresh charging. The batteries will maintain over 80% of their rated capacity after 12 months. Simplifies logistics.
BETTER USAGE PERFORMANCE
Charges up to three times faster than conventional alternatives. Excellent high-current discharge ability.
FULL RECOVERY
Can be 100% discharged and then restored to full rated capacity daily.
GUARANTEED QUALITY
Each battery comes with a standard three-year factory warranty.
Up to 99% RECYCLABLE and increased sustainability
CLEANER
Less acid, no cadmium or antimony. Complies with increasingly strict international standards on environmental protection.
SAFER
No risk of leakage, fewer harmful chemicals, fewer fluids because of crystallization.
EASY TRANSPORT
Classified as normal goods and non-hazardous for air, sea, and land transport.
EXTREME TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE
Operates at temperatures varying from -40°C to + 65°C.
How to choose the right battery for a 36-, 48- & 72-volt Golf Cart?
The EV range is our electric vehicle range of batteries, specifically designed for demanding power needs like electric motors and vehicles, internal transport systems, industrial cleaning machines, golf carts, caravans, 4WD, and many more.
- The EV range has a unique plate design to deliver faster discharge capability whilst retaining the advantages of a deep cycle battery, however, the cycles of the battery are reduced;
- Has been designed to work specifically with electric motors;
- Has a much thicker busbar structure better suited for high-discharge high-cyclic applications and is capable of high-power delivery more easily;
- Is ideal for motive applications.
The electric vehicle range includes 6V, 8V, and 12V batteries which vary from 27Ah to 265Ah capacity.
Before we go any further, you’ll need to know that your battery system does not consist of one battery; it consists of a series of batteries each ranging from 6 to 12 volts.
As an example, six 8-volt batteries will give you a 48-volt battery system. The same can be said if you have four 12-volt batteries.
Amperage in a golf cart is like the gas tank in your car. It will determine how far you can travel on a single charge in an electric Golf Car. The more amperage in a battery pack, the further you can drive before having to charge.
Let’s take a look at the 5 most common battery packs we see in the market:
|
Battery System in Golf Cart |
Total Volts |
Total Amps (Max.) |
Travel Distance |
|
6-6 Volts |
36 Volts |
1,980 |
Approx 52 km |
|
4-12 Volts |
48 Volts |
732 |
Approx 24 km |
|
6-8 Volts |
48 Volts |
1,098 |
Approx 33 km |
|
8-6 Volts |
48 Volts |
2,640 |
Approx 83 km |
|
6-12 Volts |
72 Volts |
1,098 |
Approx 34 km |
Battery Amperage is calculated using Crystal Batteries at a 20 Amp-Hour Capacity Rate on a Single Charge
Calculating the correct charging current or the electric vehicle range
The electric vehicle range has a different charge profile when compared to the other ranges. In addition, the capacity is measured on a 3-hour discharge rate instead of the 10-hour discharge for the other ranges.
The EV range is charged with less power than the regular range. To calculate the charging current, use the following formula:
Battery capacity at a 3-hour discharge rate (can be found in the datasheet) x 0.2C (or 20% of the C3 rate).
For example: 12-EV-120 delivers 120 Ah @C3 (on a 3h discharge) x 0.2C = 24A.
The best choice here would be a 25A charger.
How long do Crystal Golf Cart Batteries last?
It’s important to charge and maintain battery-powered golf carts so that the battery is a healthy and long-lasting product. The battery of your golf cart can last anywhere between five and ten years if it is taken care of properly. A good set of Crystal Golf Cart Batteries should last up to 11 years. A good charger can help with that too and sometimes get more run time as well.
All batteries have different charge requirements due to the variations of lead and alloys used to make the plates, since the pasting density, composition, and the electrolyte solution are critical to the battery operation. Hence it is essential to be followed the charging requirements specified in the user manual of the battery manufacturer to prolong the lifespan of the golf cart batteries.
Golf Cart Battery system delivers all or most of its stored energy once per day over a long period of time.
The batteries are discharged daily between 50% and 80% Depth of Discharge (DoD), followed by a full charge cycle. These charging cycles must occur at the recommended temperature-compensated voltage and current during the bulk or boost phase, followed by a reduced current absorption phase that is then ended with a float top-up phase at a highly reduced charging current to ensure the battery is fully charged and ready for the next long discharge cycle.
The EV battery range has a unique profile to extend battery life and reduce heating. The current of 0.2C (20% of the battery’s 3 hour rated capacity) is reduced in stages to keep battery heating to a minimum. The battery is charged up to 14.7V before shutting off and ending the charge profile. Float-charging the EV is not recommended as it will drastically reduce operating life.
A charger can reduce or even void the warranty of the battery if unsuitable. Mayon offers a genuine custom-designed charger “Crystal Supercharger” to manage the Crystal Battery™ charge cycle. The Crystal Supercharger™ is compatible with nearly every Crystal Battery™ type and bank size. It is a “set and forget” automatic supercharger which will manage the battery bank with the correct voltages, currents, charge times, and purification charges. The Crystal Supercharger™ is intelligent and allows charging with up to 7 stages while providing all charging information through an OLED screen and WiFi monitoring. The Crystal Supercharger™ is considered future-proof, allowing customization and additional features via firmware updates.
By far one of the most critical aspects of a battery is the effects of temperature. A battery is a chemical reactor and in the natural course of charging and discharging battery, heat will be generated. Additionally, ambient temperature has an effect on a battery both in terms of its capacity and the way in which a battery needs to be charged.
Traditional batteries tend to de-rate quickly at higher temperatures and the reason for this is simple chemistry. At 50˚C very acidic electrolytes start to break down. Due to the extremely low levels of acid (<3%) in Crystal Batteries™, our battery can withstand the heat longer and de-rate at a slower rate than traditional lead-acid batteries.
The battery’s cycle life will still be shortened in extreme temperatures. The best application temperature for Crystal Batteries™ is 15°C to 25°C. Every 10°C additional increase in temperature, means an additional 13% reduction (vs. 50% on competing batteries) in cycle life. When the ambient temperature is at a constant 40°C the battery cycle life decreases at 23%.
You may refer to a table of operating temperatures Crystal Batteries™ here to get better golf cart battery performance and lifetime.
|
Status |
Operating Temperature |
Optimum Operating Temperature |
|
Discharge |
-40˚C to 65˚C |
15˚C to 25˚C |
|
Charge |
-40˚C to 65˚C |
15˚C to 25˚C |
|
Storage |
-20˚C to 40˚C |
15˚C to 25˚C |
Currently, most of our customers choose our Nano Crystal Battery Packs over the Crystal Batteries for golf carts. Then, what are Nano Crystal Batteries for Golf Carts? And what are its advantages compared to Crystal Batteries?
Nano Crystal™ NCPB Battery Packs are unique, powerful, and a perfect fit for critical applications. The modular and lightweight design allows the battery packs to be easily integrated into energy storage systems.
The non-toxic Nano-Crystal NCPB is a Phosphate based battery that can provide 6,000 to 8,000 cycles at 25˚C. The chemistry provides a higher power density reducing the weight and size compared to lead-based batteries and handles high discharge currents for start-up and heavy loads.
Nano Crystal™ NCPB Battery Packs have a high energy density with 100% of their capacity available while providing a safe, reliable, and powerful performance.
They have the distinct advantage of nanocrystals on the surface of the anode which delivers a faster charge capacity of 1C charge.
No active maintenance needed to extend service life. NCPB battery does not need a float charge like lead acid so in long-term storage applications, the battery should not be stored at 100% SOC and therefore can be maintained with a full cycle (charge and discharged) once every 6-12 months to 30% – 70% SOC.
Nano-Crystal NCPB Batteries have a wide operating temperature range. Ampowr uses only the highest quality, safest, and latest tech cell chemistry available, in combination with the Battery Management System (BMS), we can guarantee the safety and reliability of our batteries. The Nano-Crystal NCPB Batteries also can be monitored on a monitoring app.
All Ampowr Nano-Crystal batteries are 19” rack-mounted. Ampowr mid-cycle NCPB™ battery delivers a long lifetime with 6,000 cycles and comes in a 48v configuration with 50, 100, and 200Ah options are the right choice for your 48V golf cars with DC motors (EZGO TXT, Club Car, Yamaha). Ampowr offers simple, unparalleled drop-in high-performance Nano-Crystal Battery Packs, tailored to your golf cart battery system 36V, 48V, and 72V. Just let us know your Amp Hour requirement.
Its genuine charger “Super Charger™” for Nano Crystal Batteries is a next-generation universal-input battery charger that offers intelligent, adjustable, and ultra-efficient charging. The charger delivers even in the worst conditions and performs automatic maintenance on the batteries to ensure optimal performance and increased service lifetime.
The Super Charger™ has a dynamic real-time temperature compensation algorithm for a perfect charge every single time with no compromises and no ambient derating.
Here is the datasheet of the golf cart battery we quote earlier for your reference:
– Nanocrystal Phosphate 48V-60Ah pack
– Dimensions 300mm*330mm*228mm
– Operating temperature -20˚C ~55˚C (Discharge)
– IP65
– Charge efficiency > 98%
– Insert Terminal M8
– 10 years design life / 4.000 cycles
– Communication methods RS485+Bluetooth
– Monitoring app
– Metal casing
And its charger is 58.4 V 30A, IP65 which can charge the battery to full after around 2.5 hours.
What service do we offer?
At Mayon, we are able to provide site surveys to recommend the best suitable batteries and chargers for your golf carts as well as assess the condition of your batteries and chargers for the right care and maintenance.
Our comprehensive service packages highlight potential issues, such as the condition of both battery and charger, damaged cables/ plugs, etc., and help keep our customers in control of their overheads.