Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum Polaris EV lithium conversion?

Looking to convert my EV to lithium. Who, within a reasonable drive from Sylacauga would you recommend? Is it a DIY project with limited knowledge?

Thanks

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2 parts. Maybe this will help

Remove old batteries, replace with a lithium battery. Anyone who can run a boat like yours can handle it.

I’d use Impulse Lithium. They’re in Pelham. Good family run business. Just go ahead and take them your boat and sidebyside. 😉

Cory Thomas is a Summit rep. Can find him on Fb. He was great to help with the conversion. I bought the system from him I did mine in April. About a 2 hour job

Don’t you have to have a charger for lithium that’s different from lead acid batteries?

Carry have it done and enjoy

Pretty sure it uses a different controller too. It’s not just changing batteries

Whatever you do, DO NOT go the drop-in route where you do 8 48v packs. Do large centralized packs like Allied LiFePO4 48V 105AH cells (160AH don't fit and 65AH are just too small) with on board BMS. I would highly suggest twin packs for more range. You only need one charger for both packs. If you need a dealer for Allied I can help you out and drop ship them to you. I'd also recommend a new battery gauge and new 2GA Tinned Copper battery leads. If you want a shop to do it, we can but I'm in Fairhope.

Out of curiosity will this give you more power? At the least shouldn’t it be lighter? Aren’t the lithium batteries lighter?

The same controller has worked fine on mine, but they are not Polaris. I don't see how it could make any difference, voltage is voltage, but maybe I don't understand something.

He definitely will need another charger, but most of the lithiums come with a charger. And it's great advice to use one large battery with a single BMS vs multiple small ones.

Bamachem, I have a 48v club car and would be interested in a price for a lithium conversion for mine ?? Thanks

A dual bank of 4ea lead acid 155AH batteries have a useful AH rating of only 40% due to lead acid battery limitations. Instead of 48V at 155AH per bank, you only have about 62AH of usable capacity. Since you have two sets, that means you have about 124AH available from a full charge on a new set of batteries until you get to the point of needed a recharge. Since lead acid batteries get damaged easily with running them below 50% capacity, it's not uncommon for a 2 year old set to only have about 75% of their stated capacity available. That drops you down to 93 AH for total capacity. Not only that, but as a lead acid battery is depleted with use, the voltage drops, which decreases the power available at the wheels as you use it. Each one of those batteries weighs around 80#, so 640# or so of total weight in the cart for power.

A LiFEPO4 Lithium cell can delivery over 95% of it's stated capacity at the stated voltage. A 105AH cell can deliver over 100AH of actual usable power to the wheels at the full 52V rating. You get a slight bump in true voltage to the motor plus you get more available AH doing it. That's a single cell. The Polaris EVs I build get two 105AH cells, so you end up with more than 2x the range. On my personal EV I would get about 10-11 miles offroad on economy range and 2WD on a good complete charge with 18 month old lead acid batteries. With my dual 105AH setup, I could go 25-27 documented miles, with it in high speed/power and 4WD the whole time. Easily double the range while having more power and in 4WD the whole time.

Lithium can provide a higher surge current (inrush current needed for electric motors to spool up quickly) than lead acid, so yes, more power off the line or when you floor the pedal. On a Polaris with 8 large 12v batteries, you lose around 500# of dead weight so the suspension of the cart makes it ride over an inch higher without any changes other than weight loss. You gain agility, gain a lot of range, gain ground clearance, gain power/throttle response, gain top speed, gain payload capability (lost 500# of weight so now you can haul more corn), and can charge a dead bank to 100% in 5 hours instead of 12-24 hours. No topping off with water, no changing batteries every 2-3 years. What's the catch? It's not cheap. About $4250 for a single 105AH cell installed with all labor and taxes that would match the range of the OEM Polaris 48V setup. Add a second cell to double the range to over 20 miles offroad and it is about $7850 out the door. A lead acid set is about $2000 per 2-3 years in comparison and you get less power and more maintenance. If you're going to keep your cart, Lithium is the way to go. The difference in the cart is like going from a stock 1982 K10 with 175 HP to a built offroad K10 with 300HP, lift kit, and 35's.

Depends on what size you want - 65AH, 105AH or if you could fit a 160AH. 105AH with charger, batter meter gauge, all new power cables, labor and taxes is about $4200-$4500 with the only variable being labor. We take everything out of the batter compartment, clean up all metal (club car would be aluminum for the most part), coat everything in an etching primer and enamel to prevent further corrosion, and install the cell and all new power wiring to the controller. All connections are soldered and heat shrink wrapped. I am a strong believer in doing something once and trusting it to last.

The charger has to be tuned properly for lithium but the controller is usually (99%) fine and doesn't need to be changed unless you change voltages, then you also need to address the motor and other voltage step down systems you may have.

Bamachem - is your shop the golf cart place on Morphy Ave? Have you ever done a tracker EViS?

I don’t remember all the details, I just know I had a 2010 Polaris that had all the issues with charging too fast and boiling batteries and I sold it to a fella that was gonna convert it to lithium. I think he was using a Voltronix? kit….I just remember him saying it required a new controller or motor or something more than just slapping some lithium batteries in it.

So, what’s the disadvantages of doing a couple smaller cells let’s say 3-4 65amh?

Every lithium battery has its own BMS that monitors the cells and will shut it down if anything happens that could damage the cells. If your vehicle is in a steep place and it requires more power than the battery can give, the BMS will shut the battery down. If you don't charge it, when the battery is out of juice the BMS will shut it down.

Having multiple batteries in a pack will work ok as long as you keep them equally charged and you don't have a BMS malfunction. With more individual batteries, the chance for a malfunction goes up, and I would think it will be harder to deal with if you have a pack of them.

Lithiums behave differently than the lead acids I've used all my life. When the charge starts to run down on a lead acid pack, the cart will start gradually losing power and slowing down. It gives you a warning, in a sense. You don't want to ever run a lead acid pack below 50% because it damages the batteries, but most of us have done it.

The lithium gives no warning; it just shuts down. I wanted to see if one of my lithium carts would work for 2 days or heavy usage in cold weather without charging it. It almost did, but on the way in the 2nd day it died about 400 yds from the house. I took the positive cable off and the BMS reset, so I drove as slowly as possible and went about 200 yds and it cut off again. Had to do that 2 more times to get in, but I learned that I better charge it every night when using it that much. There's only a 60 amp battery in this cart, but the range is about the same as the previous lead acid pack. I absolutely had to charge it every night.

What brand lithiums do you have. I have a Ranger EV that the lead acid batteries have been removed. Im going to go back with lithiums but confused on brands. They run from 1200 a set up to 6 k a set. I’m as confused as a goose in a hurricane….