Electric UTVs

[Torvy]

@Torvy -

That Sector electric UTV looks interesting, and a reasonable price. They claim a 42 mile range and a tow rating of 1500#. That would work for me, since most of my use is on my own property, and when I have larger loads to haul, I'm using my tractor or antique pickup. I'll be interested to hear how it works for you and whether you find their specs realistic.

Do you know what kind of batteries it uses? The spec page just says "Dry Cell" which does not tell me much.

This is the brand/type of battery in mine. There are a couple of different sizes installed. So far we have almost 27 miles on it and it has only lost one 'bar' (of 6) of charge.

Dry Cell AGM Traction Industrial Batteries | Discover Battery

discoverbattery.com

 

[Torvy]

Oh, and the hitch sleeve wasn't alignment, it was slag (or whatever the correct term is) from a weld. Need to file it down.

 

[John_Mc]

This is the brand/type of battery in mine. There are a couple of different sizes installed. So far we have almost 27 miles on it and it has only lost one 'bar' (of 6) of charge.

Dry Cell AGM Traction Industrial Batteries | Discover Battery

discoverbattery.com

OK. That's an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery. A step up from the traditional flooded lead-acid battery. Lithium would be a significant step up over AGM: greater depth of discharge without damage and higher cycle life, but also several times more expensive. Stuffing a lithium battery pack in there would increase the cost significantly.

 

[Torvy]

OK. That's an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery. A step up from the traditional flooded lead-acid battery. Lithium would be a significant step up over AGM: greater depth of discharge without damage and higher cycle life, but also several times more expensive. Stuffing a lithium battery pack in there would increase the cost significantly.

Is it the Lithium ones that have had fire issues?

 

[John_Mc]

Is it the Lithium ones that have had fire issues?

Had some issues. The issue is not so much the prevalence of fires as it is the difficulty of putting out a lithium battery fire.

It's the technology used in just about every road-legal electric vehicle. Last I checked, the frequency of fires in battery electric vehicles was less than the frequency in gas vehicles (even when adjusted for the number of each type of vehicle on the road.)

 

[Torvy]

I'm guessing here, but I think the manufacturers of a $13k UTV are not going to have deep enough pockets to combat the likely, if rare, lawsuits. (Compared to a $50k+ EV). So, it's not just the initial cost of goods, but the risk of litigation that adds to the decision.

At the end of the day, for our needs, this seems acceptable. It is literally half of what the Ranger Kinetic goes for. Sure, if someone gave me one for free, I'd get the Ranger. It has the power and battery life that works for us. If we had a working farm that we needed to pay the bills, my decision may have been different. I can take the cost as an expense, but that just reduces taxable income, it's not like the stuff is free (lots of people don't understand that).

 

[John_Mc]

I'm guessing here, but I think the manufacturers of a $13k UTV are not going to have deep enough pockets to combat the likely, if rare, lawsuits. (Compared to a $50k+ EV). So, it's not just the initial cost of goods, but the risk of litigation that adds to the decision.

At the end of the day, for our needs, this seems acceptable. It is literally half of what the Ranger Kinetic goes for. Sure, if someone gave me one for free, I'd get the Ranger. It has the power and battery life that works for us. If we had a working farm that we needed to pay the bills, my decision may have been different. I can take the cost as an expense, but that just reduces taxable income, it's not like the stuff is free (lots of people don't understand that).

I was not meaning to criticize your choice. It's a good deal, and a far better price point than the Ranger Kinetic for my uses. (No way I'd spend that kind of money ofr a Kinetic, but then I don't need a "go fast" ATV anyway.) If the Sector offered a lithium battery option at only a slight premium, I'd go for that option, but I suspect it would add hugely to the price.

A tip: the less deeply you cycle AGM batteries, and the sooner you charge them up after discharging the longer the use life you'll get out of them. Storing it fully charged is recommended. (Lithium batteries "like" to be stored at something closer to the middle of their charge range for long term storage.)

 

[Torvy]

Thanks. I can never remember which batteries like which charging.

 

[John_Mc]

Thanks. I can never remember which batteries like which charging.

Most of the lead-acid batteries (Gell, flooded lead acid, or AGM) like to be kept at full charge. Leaving them partially discharged or deep cycling them (even if they are dep cycle batteries) shortens their life.

NiCad batteries like to be cycled almost all the way down from time to time to avoid the memory effect. You don't really see these in use much any more.

Lithium batteries like to be stored more or less half full for long term storage. They can be deep cycled, but it's best to avoid running them all the way down until there is nothing left - avoid running them to below 20% or so if possible. There is no "memory effect" with Lithium batteries

 

[2manyrocks]

We finally pulled the trigger on this.
View attachment 819130
$13,200 out the door. 3500 lb winch, roof, windshield all standard. Delivery included (about 60 miles). Next step is to disable the backup beep. Very loud. I'll keep you all posted on the good and the bad. Dealer had stock, we could have had one same day, but needed to make some room in the garage first.

The driver position is a little snug for me, but I need to lose weight. Has tilt wheel, so that helps a bit. It is much faster than we need. So far, I only went about 100 yards with it. I was already hot and tired, will give it a longer run this morning.

How quiet is this operating in the woods?