I get asked about lithium constantly, and I want to give people the real answer rather than the sales pitch. Sometimes lithium is clearly the right call. Sometimes it is not. Here is how I think about it.
What actually changes
Weight. A lead acid pack in a 48 volt cart runs somewhere between 350 and 500 pounds, depending on whether it is six 8 volt batteries or eight 6 volt ones. The lithium equivalent is closer to 120. You feel that immediately in acceleration, in hill climbing, in braking, and in what the cart does to your lawn.
Usable capacity. This is the one people miss. With lead acid you can only safely use about half the rated capacity before you start damaging the pack. With lithium you can safely use 80 to 90 percent of it. So a lithium pack with the same number on the label gives you somewhere around 70 percent more real world range, and more again if you size the pack up while you are at it.
No watering. No distilled water, no checking cells, no corroded terminals, no acid mess. For a lot of people this alone is worth it.
Charging. Faster, and you can top it up partway without hurting anything. Lead acid punishes partial charging. Lithium does not care.
Voltage under load. A lead acid cart gets noticeably slower as the pack drains. Lithium holds voltage until it is nearly empty, so the cart feels the same on the last run of the day as the first.
The honest math
Lithium costs more up front. There is no getting around that.
But a set of lead acid batteries lasts roughly 500 to 1,200 cycles with good care, and a lot less if the care is poor. A quality lithium pack is good for 3,000 to 5,000. If you are buying lead acid every four or five years, you are likely buying it two or three times over the life of one lithium pack.
Add in the water, the terminal cleaning and the fact that a neglected lead acid pack can die in three years, and the gap closes faster than the sticker price suggests.
When I tell people not to do it
If the cart is old, rough, and you are not sure how long you are keeping it, put lead acid back in it. Do not put a premium pack into a cart with a rotted frame.
If the cart barely gets used, a few times a summer around a property, lead acid will serve you fine and the payback period on lithium stretches out a long way.
If you are planning to sell within a year, you will not get the money back out of it. Buyers do not value it the way the invoice does.
When it is an easy yes
Daily or near daily use. Hills. Hauling. A cart you plan to keep. Anybody who is tired of watering batteries. And anybody who has already killed one lead acid pack through the normal amount of neglect that normal people have time for.
What I install
I am an authorised dealer for both Bolt Energy USA and BATTLite, and I do full conversions, not partial ones. That means the pack, the charger, the wiring and making sure your controller and motor are happy with what you have asked them to do.
Want to know what it would cost for your specific cart? Call me at 406.270.9346 and I will price it honestly, including telling you if I think you should not do it.