Another n00b question: NiMH batteries and me...

[theunchosen]

Right I gave a HpHr break down for the 100 mentioned batteries. I mentioned golf carts just to give a measuring stick for volts and amp hours.

[Ryland]

people use golf cart batteries because they are common, cheap and designed for the task of powering a vehicle, $800 for a set for my EV, compared to $5,000-10,000 for lithium, or if you want the same battery with your .25 amp hour 9v battery idea, you would need around 4200 of those little batteries... how much are those batteries again?

[theunchosen]

Find a golf course that goes under due to the recession and buy off all their batteries. thats the cheapest way lol.

YAY recession!

It has pretty huge advantages if you did not listen to the financial gurus and invest instead sat with your side-lined capital because now it goes alot further.

[Ryland]

I bought some used Trojan T105 (good quality golf cart batteries) and I would not do that again! $300 for 12 of them, they claimed that they had taken good care of them, kept them watered and charged, part of an off grid house that went to grid intertie, they were only a few years old and should last 10 years or more in that kind of set up, well the sat for a month or so without being charged and they hardly hold any charge at all.
Battery prices dropped enough in the last year that I might use these batteries for my other electric car while I work on it, but I think investing in some brand new batteries is going to be worth it.
When picking out batteries it's not worth skimping on them, choose the ones that are just out side of your price range and save up that extra cash to get them.

[theunchosen]

well the big advantage of golf cart batteries from a golf course is they are pretty religous about plugging them up as soon as you get drop the cart back off. Most of the time I've experienced that some 15 yr. old kid is sitting there waiting to do just that and maybve help with any issues you have with them.

You'd have to wait until they upgrade their fleet to new carts otherwise the ones they are selling likely have problems.

<edit> it would be advantageous to get the whole cart if you could afford it. Then you could just have say 4 used carts broken into 4 "separate systems." the motors would each power a wheel and all the cells could be linked. Could very likely get all the components on the cart for cheaper than you could getting individual motors and variable control systems.</edit>