About us

For the Polaris Ranger EV 2010-2023

The original Polaris Ranger EV is a great machine for those looking for a quiet efficient and environmentally friendly machine for their orchards, vineyards, lifestyle blocks, for all horticulturists and small farms or for hunting. They have low operating costs, have very few moving parts, no need for petrol containers and you can use solar power to charge them whether you are off-grid or grid connected.
They are also a good size to get between trees and vines, fit easily onto small trailers, are nice and manoeuvrable and not too fast or powerful if you have seasonal workers in your operation.

Unfortunately they had one big problem… leading to multiple secondary problems… they were sold with lead acid batteries that just weren’t up to the job. These batteries just didn’t have the range needed by most folk in New Zealand; the lifespan of the batteries was shockingly short; they couldn’t maintain power for climbing hills as they were used; the charging fumes caused corrosion to the cables and the frame and this was hard to keep under control; they were very heavy; and the continual need to check electrolyte levels and add water was painful.

Anyone who has owned one of these will tell you the same thing, great machine, terrible batteries, and I was amongst them. But I like fixing problems and I have been messing about with electric and engineering since I was a youngster back in Scotland.
I remember wiring up bike lights to an old stereo amplifier to make disco lights when I was 9 or 10. Since then I have enjoyed fixing things, findings solutions to problems and getting my hands dirty on all sorts of projects, cars, motorbikes, boats, trucks, houses – I have a broad range of experience both at home and in my various careers. This includes 15yrs in the road transport & construction industry, 10yrs in the aviation industry in New Zealand and 10yrs in the maritime industry. My previous business was owner and operator of the Pelorus Mail Boat, operating in the Marlborough Sounds. During my 8yrs running this business we commissioned a brand new 15m aluminium power cat for the operation, which brought the business into the 21^st century, doubled capacity and improved the customer experience no end. I was heavily involved in the specification and design process of the new boat with TCC Boats of Picton and launch day was a proud moment.

After selling the business we bought a steep bush block near Motueka and built a house but to access the property and get around we bought our Ranger EV. Being electric it is beautifully quiet, it is easy for my teenage kids to drive and we have solar panels so it is exceedingly cheap to run but the batteries were a nightmare so I set about fixing the problem.

After extensive research, both on capability and safety, LiFePo4 Lithium batteries were selected. A suitable manufacturer was found that could meet the specification requirements for our purpose and these new batteries have fixed all of the problems. The kit installation has made the machine more usable in every aspect, now with double the range, zero battery maintenance (except charging), it can now climb the steepest of hills whether you are at 100% or 10%, and now you rarely need to change drive mode because it has the power and range to remain in High. It really changes how you use the machine and you don’t have to think about what you are planning every time you sit on it to go do a job.

Getting the right batteries that can handle the current draw of the Ranger EV while loaded and going uphill was not easy. There are a lot of suppliers out there but not many that had the right cells, build quality and BMS (Battery Management System) that met the requirements we needed, and that would last 10years and more. We have now been working with our supplier for over 2 years and they have been excellent. They have been so good that we now offer our own New Zealand based 5year warranty on the batteries we supply, giving our customers confidence that they can deal locally and get prompt response in the exceedingly rare event that they have an issue.

So, after completing my own conversion I came across a couple more machines locally, with owners as frustrated as I was and the idea to start a business specialising in fixing people’s problems began, and NMPowerNZ was born.

At NMPowerNZ we are confident that our batteries are right for the job hence we offer our full, NZ based, 5year warranty, but we have also produced a kit that gives you everything you need for installation and contains full instructions to suit a fairly practical lay person to self-install if they want backed up with phone access to a human that can answer your questions and queries during your installation.

We do offer an installation service for the top of the South Island if you are not keen to undertake the installation yourself, and we also supply direct to Polaris dealers across New Zealand who have the expertise to install our kit for you. Installation for a nice, clean, machine can be done in 5 or 6hrs but if acid corrosion clean-up is required then it does take a bit longer, maybe 10hrs or more depending on the condition.
We have now done over 20 kits; 4 of these we have completed the installation here in Motueka, 10 have been done at Polaris dealers up and down the country and the rest have been self-installed by the customer.

What about safety? LiFePo4 batteries are a different chemical make-up to Lithium-Ion and are exceedingly safe - Lithium, Ferrite and Phosphate. These batteries are now in millions of situations around the world, from solar back-up systems, golf carts, motorhomes, tiny homes, and road vehicles, etc.
We use only metal cased IP65 rated batteries, and a brand new dedicated 22amp LiFePo4 charger to ensure full compatibility. Furthermore the batteries are well protected within the centre of the Polaris Ranger EV. The batteries also have built-in automatic shutoff for over temp, under temp and overload situations. They come standard with Bluetooth communication and we supply a complete set of brand new heavy duty battery leads with our kits. We have also designed our kit in a way that should one battery have a fault then you should be able to return home on the other battery by switching off the faulty one.

One thing we focused on when creating the business was to ensure it was a low cost business model. We do almost everything inhouse and this allows us to offer our complete kit at almost the same price as replacing the lead acid batteries, this makes the decision a no-brainer – to double the range and fix the problems it just makes sense.

The highlight for us is to hear the feedback from previously frustrated customers who have now fallen back in love with their Ranger EV. The range, lack of stress and zero maintenance is a revelation.

I must say the new Polaris Ranger Kinetic is an amazing machine but for most of my customers it is actually too good. For vineyard and orchard operators with narrow tracks and seasonal staff it is too big and too powerful, for lifestyle block owners, and parents of teens, the new Kinetic is too fast and too expensive. With the NMPowerNZ LiFePo4 lithium conversion kit in the original Polaris Ranger EV it is the perfect machine again.
And yes, we can convert lead acid golf carts and Hisun Sector E1 vehicles to LiFePo4 as well but our main focus is definitely the Polaris Ranger EV.
Do one thing and do it well.

At NMPowerNZ we believe in real customer service and still work on good old fashioned values where you can call us up and talk to a human!
We are here to help and we enjoy fixing things.

Contact Jim at nmpowernz@gmail.com or call on 021 153 9390

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