Converting My Solar Golf Cart to Inexpensive Lithium Batteries

Hey everyone, welcome back! About five years ago, I built this solar-powered golf cart, and I’ve been loving it ever since. It’s equipped with two 100W, 12-volt solar panels that have done an amazing job keeping up with my daily chores around the property. For years, I ran it on the original lead-acid batteries, but they’ve finally reached the end of their life. So, I figured this was the perfect chance to upgrade to something better—inexpensive lithium batteries! In this video, I’ll walk you through the upgrade process, share the links to everything I used—like the solar panels, charge controller, and those new lithium batteries—and show you how this switch turned my golf cart into a mobile solar generator with a 120V AC power inverter.

Are Lithium Batteries Better for an Electric Golf Cart?

First, let’s talk about why I made the switch. The cart originally had six lead-acid batteries, and honestly, I didn’t do the best job maintaining them. These weren’t maintenance-free—you have to check the water levels periodically, unscrew the caps, and top them up with distilled water. I slacked on that, and most of them ran bone-dry. I refilled them, but I’d always assumed the acid stayed in there and you just added water. Turns out, that’s not quite right—once they dry out, the acid balance gets messed up. Then winter hit, and as you can see, several of the cases split open because they froze solid. Lesson learned!

The new batteries are a fraction of the weight. Four of them at 22lbs each is 88lbs total, where as the old lead acid batteries needed 6 of them (8 volt batteries instead of 12v) and were 68lbs each for a whopping 408lbs. Thats like two more grown adults always riding around in your golf cart. If you live in hilly terrain like I do, you now how much more effort two additional adults puts on a cart when climbing a hill.

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Anode Rod Replacement – Double the Life of your water heater with a simple part!

In as little as 15 minutes, you can actually double the life of your water heater by changing out a $28 part – the anode rod. And best of all it’s an easy job that nearly anyone can do! We will take you step by step through the anode rod replacement process below!

What is an Anode Rod and why replace it?

An anode rod, sometimes referred to as a sacrificial rod, is a metal rod that is inserted into a water heater tank. It protects the tank from corrosion by attracting rust and other harmful particles in the water. It is typically made of a steel wire with a coating of magnesium, aluminum, or zinc. The anode rod acts as a sacrificial metal that corrodes faster than the tank and other metal parts around it, protecting them from damage. The anode rod should be checked and replaced periodically to ensure the longevity of the water heater. The anode rod is a metal rod that protects the tank from corrosion by attracting rust and other harmful particles in the water.

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Be Prepared for Natural Disasters: Create an Emergency Plan with Your Family

Depending on where you live, natural disasters may be a regular part of your life. Regardless of their frequency, it is always important to have a plan in place with your family in the event that disaster strikes. Just like fire safety, it’s equally important that your children are aware of the plans in place. Below are some basic emergency tips from Modern Survivalists to help your family be prepared.

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A Homeowner’s Guide to Enhancing Safety and Security on a Budget

Modern homeowners place a premium on security and self-sufficiency. Knowing that you can retreat to your private space when you need a break from the world can bring great peace of mind. But how can you create a safe property—without breaking the bank? This guide tells you how it’s done.

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Do It Yourself Home Energy Audit

Winter is here. Much of the country is experiencing windy bitter cold days that can sap the energy right of not only you – but your home as well! But on the bright side, you can actually take advantage of these frigid days to conduct your own DIY home energy audit. And it can cost you nearly nothing once you know where to look!

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DIY – How to Convert an Electric Golf Cart to Solar Power – Part 1

If you have an electric golf cart, follow along to convert it to a solar golf cart and you might not need to ever plug it back in to charge again! If you don’t have one (yet), I am finding it super handy, affordable (and stealthy!) way of getting around the property. I highly recommend one!

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Updated 2022: How To Build A DIY Solar Generator (3,000 Watt) – Part 1

In this series I will show you how to save money by building your own DIY Solar Generator, with all the same features as the commercial made units. The finished result will be a high quality solar generator with more serviceability and customization options to your own needs than the ready made units.

Note: The original design of this DIY solar generator used a 2,000 watt inverter. We have upgraded it to the new 3,000 watt model in the latest version along with LifePo4 battery, and other improvements. Before you build the solar generator following our how to plans, be sure to watch the updates video below for the recent changes!

Introduction

Solar Generators (also called Solar Powered Generators) are extremely useful tools. I started looking into some of the largest portable solar generator units on the market because the idea of a completely silent generator that can run large power loads while never needing gasoline is a really cool concept. Whether you want to run a portable table saw, or go tailgating  / camping where the noise of a standard generator would be irritating, these solar generators are really handy.

I soon realized I could build my own — getting to pick the components that best match my needs, and even better save approximately half the cost vs buying a manufactured solar generator. This post will show you step-by-step how to build your own weatherproof indoor/ outdoor diy solar generator!

Part 1 of our DIY video series on how to build a large solar generator. In this step we will be demonstrating the load ...

Solar Generator Build – Quick Links

Part 1 – Component Overview – (current step)
Part 2 – Component Testing

Part 3 – Mounting Internal & External Components
Part 4 – Wiring the Solar Generator
Part 5 – Plexiglass Cover & Design Updates
Part 6 – Solar Panel & Battery Bank Expansion

After seeing what was available, I found myself wanting to design my own DIY solar generator for many reasons. For one it will be a lot cheaper. Second, I can add several features I wanted to add that are not in to the manufactured units. Finally, because it will be an enjoyable project!

By building your own, you will learn all about small off-grid solar setups, and also be able to fix the individual components if you ever have problems with it down the road. You can also easily modify the plans to build a permanent style off grid solar power setup for a cabin or camper.

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Loading Tractor Tires Quick & Easy

Loading your tractor tires with windshield washer fluid is an easy upgrade giving more traction, better hill stability, and additional weight / ballast. This is also helps with using a front end loader. I decided to use  windshield washer fluid since it is inexpensive, easy to obtain, will not freeze, and will not corrode the wheels like calcium and some of the other wheel ballast options.

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