Anyone Using a Cheap 120Vac Electric Heater on Their Golf Cart?

M

mike kilroy

New Member
Anyone using a cheap 120Vac electric heater on their golf cart?

So it is -15F here in Ohio this morning! Sure, we have the plastic door zipped enclosure on our EZGO, but a small electric heater would be sweet!

So I checked around and holy moly! EXPENSIVE! So, as a McGiver type of guy, electric engineer, thinking outside the expensive box for a minute, I say to myself: hey - why not just use a cheap 120V plug in one?

The math can be confusing as the resistance of the heating element increases upto 1.5x cold & the effective heating of 120Vac rms is similar to 90Vdc.

So instead, I just applied 38vdc to my 1500watt heater (no fan) and lab supply shows 3.82 amps, and element is at cool 180F. So generating 145 watts of heat...

The heat coming out is prob lower than worth the work of wiring onto EZGO, although here in my 52F workshop, it does feel nice. This heater is rated 1300/1500 watts; has a big long element then a single turn small one; so they get 1300 from the big element + the little 1 turn, or 1500 from just the big one.

Next, I will search around the shop for a cheap 1500/3000 watt unit - maybe I can find one where I can cheat and wire both coils in parallel instead of series to get lots of heat. I figure I am willing to expel 10-15 amps for the comfort and not hurt my mileage too badly...

Anyone else doing this?
 
I use a propane heater that fits in the cup holder. They work great and are pretty cheap. No drain on the batteries in a electric golf cart or the charging system on a gas golf cart.
Welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks, I saw them. Cute, small, but I do not have propane around to work with. Much easier for me to put a charge plug on $ 6.00 2-3000watt 120v heater and plug it in. And I see no edit button so anyone reading please ignore my stupid comment comparing 90Vdc to 120Vrms. Thanks for reply!
 
No Way !!!!! No one is useing a 120 Vac electric heater on their golf cart. Yes you can install a 120 volt ac plug. But it will just be a waste of money. Math is very confusing to some. This i agree with.. I only made it to three years of calculus............. But voltage is voltage. AC or Dc. Voltage is Voltage. Has nothing to do with the watts or amps. Which both do come from the power source of your choice.. To make your AC heater work with your Dc battery pack ..You will still need a power converter. Some say my brain is useless. I say only to the dumb ones.... But could you please explain to me the resistance of any heating element that increases by 1.5 x cold & the effective heating of 120 Vac rms is similar to 90 Vdc ?????? I smooth missed that one...

(((((((( /The math can be confusing as the resistance of the heating element increases upto 1.5x cold & the effective heating of 120Vac rms is similar to 90Vdc. )))))))
 
GarageBuilt how about you drop the sponsor talk because it's not going to happen so there's really no need to bring it up.

Now lets keep this thread on topic. If you guys want to talk smack take it to the general talk in the Country Club, please. :hattip:
 
I wasnt talking smack ROD .... YOU & EVERY ONE ElSE KNOWS IT ... wHY DIDNT YOU CALL NUBS OUT .....????? HE IS THE ONE THAT TOOK IT OFF TOPIC.
 
I said you guys so I was talking to you both. Quit taking everything so negatively and thinking everyone is singling you out and out to get you.
 
GarageBuilt said:
Sorry dont mean to be negative. Just hoping for an intelligent conversation ...

Mike K...
Click to expand...

nothing negative taken my friend. We can have friendly discussion! I am new here so be kind for a while :)

Googling resistance and temperature gets lots of stuff. Some summary stuff is like:

The Temperature Coefficient of Copper (near roomtemperature) is +0.393 percent per degree C. This means if the temperature increases 1°C, theresistance will increase 0.393%. Examples: You have 100 feet of 20 gauge wire and its resistance is 1.015 ohms at 20° C (room temp).
Temperature Coefficient of Copper - Cirris Systems
Temperature Coefficient of Copper

I work with high performance motors on a daily basis so think copper most often; it goes to 1.5x resistance when our motors get to like 150C hotter than ambient... So you are right on! I should not have said 1.5 when talking about a heater element as it is most often made from chromium instead of copper, so it will be a bit different.

A cool site written in understandable terms is: Electric Resistance – The Physics Hypertextbook
As they say, unless you want to get into quantum mechanics, do not try to understand the why of it. I love that writer!

Think of your incandescent light bulbs... check a 60watt one with an ohmeter... 20 ohms or so... WHAT?? But watts=V*I or V^2/R so 120V*120V/20 = 720 watts!!! Wow! But turn it on and that filament heats to white hot temp and the 20 ohm resistance goes to what? w=v^2/r so r=v*v/w= 120*120/60=240ohms! Over 10x higher resistance in tungsten...

Anyway, by applying 38vdc across my 1500watt 120vac heater, it pulled 3.8 amps, and so produced 3.8*38= 144 watts of heat. Prob enough for 20F outside temp in the enclosed cart after 10 minutes of riding along, but I would prefer about 10 amps so 380 watts of heat. I shall find it by gosh!
 
I under stand all your are saying .. But you loose me when you start out with 38 vdc.. & end up with 90vac.. They dont go hand & hand with a converter.. How are you getting 38 v dc across you 1500 watt 120 vac heater...
 
if you are looking to use an electric heater instead of a propane why not get a 12vdc heater and just hook up a cigarette lighter to tow of the batteries and plug it into that they are cheap and that is simple
 
I have run water heaters on one heat element, *bear with me*, this happens when people move into a house and the electric comes on first b4 water, *the water heater has been drained a little so the upper heat element is not in the water, so it burns out leaving only the bottom heat element working. Now its on just one bottom heat element which makes it only half as fast to heat water, yes it still heats but takes longer.
A heat element is just a resistance, put any current ac or dc to it and it will heat up (too much burns it out, too little doesn't heat enough), thus yes it will work, but the ac fan inside won't turn, so consider replace fan inside with dc fan if you need more heat faster. I'd think just any element in a small golf cart would be enough if you have the enclosure around the cart without the fan.
Personally I would prefer the propane cup holder design, that way if you are stranded, you still got some heat.
For the electric idea, you'll need to run the 48v to the front near the foot area, some at least #10awg gauge wire from battery pack (to run up to 30amps which u will probably not ever do but its safer); u might even want to run a fan in the summer ? 12gauge is good for up to 20 amps.
 
Of course, use all proper fuses, and spec connectors that can handle the load you are putting on them (Watts = Volts x Amps). ie overloading (draining batteries too fast) batteries can overheat them !
 
Just look up a 24 volt heater for golf cars and buy one for around $50.00 or less and run it off half your battery pack.
 
Or take 2 x the 24v heater for golf carts and run them in series to = 48v ;
that way the batt pack stays alot more equal in power (balanced).
I'm thinking maybe just use seat cushion heaters to keep the heat as conserved as possible extending batt pack life ? InventPeaceNotWar
 
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