[QUOTE=Gem 27;8491]Simon,
Please let us know how the Costco 27’s are working for you as I need to buy new batteries in the spring.[/QUOTE]
I’ll do my best to update you and others on the website. Right now the use of my GEM is minimal because it’s not at my house. It’s at my Dad’s old place. I inherited it from him. Come January, I should be using it more.
[quote=simonc;8493]i’ll do my best to update you and others on the website. Right now the use of my gem is minimal because it’s not at my house. It’s at my dad’s old place. I inherited it from him. Come january, i should be using it more.
how are your costco batteries working out?
[QUOTE=Gem 27;8801]how are your costco batteries working out?[/QUOTE]
So far so good. However, I’ve used the GEM car very minimally.
My dad passed away last year and I inherited from him. The batteries were completely gone. New Trojan batteries that have the same rating as the original batteries, would have cost me over $1200 total. I got the Costco marine/RV type for about $500. Part of the reason I chose the cheaper batteries is that I didn’t know if I would find the GEM very useful. Therefore, I didn’t want to put a lot of money into it and then not keep it.
I’ve only started using the cart a few weeks ago, so I don’t have a lot to report. It goes 25mph with two people on a gentle uphill. If it’s a steeper grade, it’ll take two of us up at about 20mph. On a short steep hill, it will drop down to about 15mph. It’s hard to judge battery capacity because I rarely drive it more than two or three miles on a trip. I only take two or three trips a week and I charge it after every trip.
My main complaint about the GEM is that the steering requires more muscle power than I expected when I’m parking it. It also seems to have a relatively large turning radius for such a small vehicle.
I can’t complain. It was “free” plus the $500 for the new Costco batteries.
I will check back with you closer to spring and see how the batteries are doing. We use ours mainly for fun but I would like to see how far the Costco batteries would go if you ever push it. orry about your dad/
Gem 27
[QUOTE=simonc;8802]So far so good. However, I’ve used the GEM car very minimally.
My dad passed away last year and I inherited from him. The batteries were completely gone. New Trojan batteries that have the same rating as the original batteries, would have cost me over $1200 total. I got the Costco marine/RV type for about $500. Part of the reason I chose the cheaper batteries is that I didn’t know if I would find the GEM very useful. Therefore, I didn’t want to put a lot of money into it and then not keep it.
I’ve only started using the cart a few weeks ago, so I don’t have a lot to report. It goes 25mph with two people on a gentle uphill. If it’s a steeper grade, it’ll take two of us up at about 20mph. On a short steep hill, it will drop down to about 15mph. It’s hard to judge battery capacity because I rarely drive it more than two or three miles on a trip. I only take two or three trips a week and I charge it after every trip.
My main complaint about the GEM is that the steering requires more muscle power than I expected when I’m parking it. It also seems to have a relatively large turning radius for such a small vehicle.
I can’t complain. It was “free” plus the $500 for the new Costco batteries.
FYI~ The 27 is 2 group sizes too small for the GEM application. GEM uses Group 31 12-volt batteries. The 27 is under powered and under weight which will not provide duration/range in a few months. After 8-12 months for sure you will see a dramatic decrease in vehicle performance. Here’s what GEM sells NEV Service
How are your Costco batteries working out
[QUOTE=simonc;8089]Hi! I’m new to the forum. I already did a search but didn’t find any posts that specifically answered my question.
QUESTION: What non-OEM batteries will work in my 2002 GEM two seater golf cart? Will Optima gel batteries work?
Here’s my situation: I inherited a 2002 GEM two seater golf cart (sorry don’t have model number). It has Trojan deep cycle wet cell batteries. They are all dead and won’t hold a charge. (Yes, I tried charging with a regular charger first, then charge with the GEM system. Didn’t work.)
I can buy SIX new Trojan batteries from a local golf cart repair shop. At $200/battery plus labor, tax, etc. it will be expensive. If I have GEM replace the batteries it’s about $250/battery plus extras, i.e., more expensive.
I can get a Costco/Kirkland deep cycle group 27 for $70/battery and install myself rated at 115 amp hours. Also, I can get Optima batteries (blue top, group 24, 55 amp hours) at Costco for $155/battery. I like the gel batteries because I don’t have to check/fill the batteries monthly.
Lastly, the GEM will be used for low mileage trips only. Usually, less than 3 miles round trip. Probably not more than 5 miles per day then charge in the evening.
Can I successfully use non-oem batteries on my GEM? If so, are there any specs that I need to meet? Any specific battery brand/type suggestions. I don’t want to damage the electrical system.
Thanks,
How are your Costco Batteries working out as I need to replace mine in my 2002 e-825?
[QUOTE=simonc;8467]GEMmechanic (Daniel) -
Thanks for all your help. Your advice encouraged me to have a try at getting my GEM running again. (I had inherited it, not operational, from my Dad.)
I bought 6 Costco group 27 batteries (115 amp hour), put them into my GEM, and … they work great! I’m able to go 25mph without a problem.
The Costco batteries cost $70 each. I understand that these are far from the ideal battery, but they seem to work. I’m using them for short trips (2-3 miles roundtrip) and on relatively flat terrain. The Trojan batteries would be much better, but they would have cost me about $200 each.
I’ll try to update this thread on how well the cheap batteries perform. I imagine there are other people, who like myself, like the GEM, use it for short/easy runs, and don’t want to spend the “big bucks” on better batteries.
Zipping along …
How are your batteries working out from Costco?
how are your costco batts? 
[QUOTE=Susp3nc3;9375]how are your costco batts? :D[/QUOTE]
For my purposes, they seem to have worked out fine. I only use the GEM about 3 or 4 times a week. Each round trip is only about 2 miles or less over relatively flat terrain. I don’t think I’ve ever taken the battery below a 50% charge level, but I usually charge it each day that I use it. The GEM goes full speed (on level terrain) with two people.
That said … the batteries seem drain more than expected when not in use. I don’t know if this a problem with the Costco batteries or if I have some type of electrical problem. Because my use is not frequent and I keep it charged, this hasn’t been a problem for me.
I really can’t tell you if the Costco batteries would hold up to heavy use. It’s not something I do.
I have a 2000 Gem 2 seater i bought about a year ago. it also had bad batteries. i replaced them with deepcycle batteries Group 29 and have drove it for close to a year with no problems. but like the first poster i only use it for short trips. maybe 3-4 miles a day… I also ugraded the motor to a ride 4 fun 7.5 HP and reprogramed controler. so now i can drive on the street without getting run over goes 35mph. this has dropped my overall range down from 20 miles to about 15 miles on a charge but I just charge it after every use so it doesn’t effect me to much… so i would say you would be fine with reg deep cycle batteries as long as your not going long distances…
I am running Walmart Everstart Marine Batteries Group 29/120 AH $82 each. I have put 700 miles, 8 months so far with no problems. I seldom run them down more than to 70% and get around 10 miles for that level of discharge. I charge them every time I return home. I hear people getting five years out of them so if you can live with 10 mile or less round trips they seem to be a far better deal than stock batteries. Walmart has a 18 month full exchange warranty which is better than anything I’ve read about.
I have Walmart batts like you but mine started going bad after 6 months. I never drained below 70. Mostly 80. They were awesome for a while and then one day right when I pressed the accelerator the batt level went down to 79 right off the batt. Still does it… I dunno what’s wrong. Maybe its just the gauge? I have load tested them and they are ffine… hydrometer tested fine…
I’ve noticed for the last month or so the BDI would read less than 100% sometimes after charging. Also the BDI would start counting down fairly fast as I drove around. A few days ago when the BDI got down to 70% my acceleration was weak and I finally limped home at about 5 mph. I checked the batteries with a DVM and noticed one battery was lower than the rest of the batteries by a 1/2 volt. And the BDI showed 40%. I took this battery to Wal-Mart as I have Everstart Marine batteries in the car…18 mo. replacement warranty. They checked the battery on their machine and it checked good. I convinced them to replace it. After replacing the battery and before charging it the BDI came up to 80%. That proved that I had found the culprit. I charged the car and now I have my performance back. As Daniel said. When you have 6 batteries in series the lowest capacity battery will affect the whole string.
Walmart just came out with an improved 29DC marine battery. 114 a/h 845 cranking, 2 year replacement warrenty. This beats their old 18/12 model.s warranty-wise. The older ones were 125 a/h, 848 crank. $86.77.
I wish they would swap me out!!! After 1100 miles mine are running strong! Got ten months warranty left!!!
Last week one battery went bad. Walmart exchanged it and gave me a new 18 month warranty on it!
[QUOTE=ghtaboma;12506]Walmart just came out with an improved 29DC marine battery. 114 a/h 845 cranking, 2 year replacement warrenty. This beats their old 18/12 model.s warranty-wise. The older ones were 125 a/h, 848 crank. $86.77.[/QUOTE]
Hello do you have a part/battery#?? also if you measure where you put the batterys you can put larger batterys in the same place… THANKS… chuck
I sure like my Battsix monitor… can see which battery might be failing
Bob
i use my gem car at camp and i bought 27 series advance auto parts deep cycle batteries order online got 25% off they where like 70.00 each i can drive around camp for days without any problem i am going to buy a difuser now my buddy used his batteries for 4 years without any problems not sure if i would use these batteries on the road .
Well the beat goes on…I posted this a couple of weeks ago on another area of this site. I lost another Walmart battery so I could see a trend. The marine batteries are good if you are a low user but evidently not for me. I put 1200 miles on my GEM this summer and this was the second battery that wouldn’t hold a reasonable charge. Walmart and Costco have stellar warranties and replacement polices but what if you get tired swapping them out even if they are replaced for free??? I looked around and found that Sam’s has a Duracell GC12 golf cart battery rated at 150 AH (75 amps for 77 mins.) for $184 each. These are made by East Penn / Deka. They are flooded cells and have quick release filler caps. They weigh 90# each as compaired to 60#+ for Marine batteries. I had to remove the parking brake support to get them in and fabricate a hold down bar and strap. I’ve been making four and five mile round trips and they usually stay above 88-90% charged. Hopefully they will last for 10K miles. I tuned my car with Marlon’s help for a top speed of 32-35 mph depending on the hills. I had it tuned to 36-40 mph but felt that was a little hot for a 5hp motor and Marine batteries. I’m still on the learning curve but you can add this to your knowledge base…