Optima Yellow Top Batteries

by Brian
(Massachusetts)

Optima Yellow Top EV Battery Bank

Electric car battery question: If I'm using a Netgain Impulse 9 and I want to get about 4 hours of use out of a charge, how many Optima Yellow Top batteries would I need?

Hi, Brian -
To further confuse you, Optima Yellow-tops are sold in different amp-hour capacities (AH), and the ones with the highest AH rating are the heaviest and also most expensive.

Now, you can do a LOT of different kinds of driving in an hour's time. Freeway driving drains a battery pack a lot faster than hypermiling around the neighborhood. Will those batteries really last four hours? Depends.

It makes more sense to think of electric car batteries in terms of fuel, as in "lead equals fuel", than in terms of hours.

As for number of batteries?

If you're putting together an electric car for commuting, with the motor you've chosen, figure on 120-144 volts. Your batteries are 12v, so that's 10-12 batteries.

Regards,
Lynne