Solar Powered Golf Cart

Hey now, it not only looks like a 'nano' pickup- it still functions as one... the space under the panels is usable, oddly enough is watertight and has a drain plug. Rumor has it, 2 cases of beer and plenty of ice fits nicely, but I wouldn't know if it were true.

There's a link 10 in the dash, on an average day of actually running errands- it burns up around 1800 watts. Spring, summer and fall, the panels are able to compensate for the usage. We do take it to trade shows, events and promos, however, and utilize the battery bank to power the booth. In that case, it takes about 3 days to fully recover the bank. The charger gets used more than it should, leaving it unattended outside these days seems to be begging to have it stolen.

We are in the solar business but not the vehicle conversion business, so bear in mind, a few things we've done might leave you shaking your head.

Currently, there's 8 T-105's(6v Trojan wet batts), a 5hp brushed motor rated at 3000w- bad math there I think, the Link 10 and the panels. Top speed SHOULD be around 40mph, but I believe 35mph is about the best we do right now(that's with 480lbs of batts and 2 adults onboard). All of the cabling is 2/0 and 4/0 where it counts. Acceleration is crisp, hills it slows but not too bad. We do drive it on the street, there's a betting pool as to who gets pulled over first. It helps to have a sign shop next door and their work lends it a sort of official/I'm-allowed-to-drive-on-the-street look.

As to specs on the motor/controller, I actually don't know! We ordered what we were told to order. I'll take a few under-the-hood pictures and get the details if you're interested.

Incidentally Dave- I have a Bridgestone CB-1 I debated converting-

Bill

Whew! Sorry it took so long to post the pics. Seems the digital camera pixies borrowed ours for a few days. It used to have a curtis controller... I wrote down the specs on the motor and alltrax controller but will have to post later as they're at home(and I'm still stuck at work). Again, this is new ground for us, and every step is a small one. If you have any questions on the details, I'll try and answer as best I can.

Pic one is the 4 rear batts and motor, pic 2 is the 'booster' for acceleration/hills and pic 3 is the forward 4 batts under the seat as well as the controller.

Incidentally, we're in the cloudy midwest too- raining on and off all day here. The solar business here in Springfield, MO is thriving.

As to my CB-1, I'd never sell it, I worked too hard fixing it up, and it really is a great bike!

Long week, whew.... another starting tomorrow!

The motor is an ES-51 Series Wound, controller- Alltrax 650.

As far as I knew/thought, there was a rather beefy fuse in there.... something on the lines of 300amp, with giant lugs. However, all I can see now is a bus-bar. I'll definitely look into it, thanks for the heads up!

The build could be cleaner, if you saw the remote solar power units we build in the shop, you'd probably recognize some of the runs of wire(copper is outrageous $$, good way to re-use the 'oops' cables).

The booster, as far as I understand... boosts voltage to the motor under load. I'm not sure if it's just a big monster capacitor, maybe just a bypass from the batteries to the motor?

We do wear the seat belts. I'm not sure how I feel about being confined to a golf cart if it were to sustain a major hit. Think I might rather be thrown. Then again, I'd rather not find out either way which I prefer.