Battery
Regular maintenance is the key to fully operational and safe wheel chair. If unable to follow this procedure by yourself, have some read through and follow these guidelines. We also publish some helpful hints from day to day experience of our community members.
Under normal every day use, most people need to charge their batteries every night. If the wheelchair is used only occasionally, the batteries need to be charged every 2 weeks and should be charged after every day use.
Battery failure is the most frequent reason for electric wheelchairs to stop working or to start acting erratically. Taking proper care of batteries is very important. Wheelchair batteries are different from car batteries. A wheelchair battery (called deep cycle) is charged once a day and supplies large amounts of electricity while it is running. Although manufacturers provide their own durability numbers most electric wheelchair batteries last 1 good year - up to 2 years when properly maintained. The life of a battery is very dependent on how heavily it was used.
DO and DO NOT's from our experience!
- Always use the charger supplied with your wheelchair. Make sure it is set to the proper battery type and proper incoming voltage (US/EU 110/220V).
- If you need to store your wheelchair for a long period of time, it is best to charge your batteries at least twice per month.
- New batteries require conditioning. For the first 6 to 10 charge/discharge cycles, do not heavily discharge the batteries.
- Do not use automotive (car) battery chargers.
- Do not excessively discharge the batteries.
- Do not top off with frequent charges, as this is hard on the batteries.
Charging Batteries (Wet Cell Batteries / lead-acid)
Wet cell batteries are constructed of lead plates suspended in a container filled with sulfuric acid and water mixture. The water level will rise as the battery is charged, so do maintenance after the batteries have been charged, as this is when the liquid is at its highest.
Maintenance Procedure
- Have someone check the water level at least once a month. Pull off the caps (usually 6 per battery), look down into the holes (filler tubes) and make sure the water level is within ¼" (0,5 cm) below the bottom of each of the filler tubes.
- Add only distilled water, tap water minerals will damage the battery.
- Do not overfill as this will result in leakage of corrosive battery acid.
- After filling with water, put charger on again for ½ hour to mix the liquid.
- Operating your wheelchair with excessively discharged batteries will damage the batteries.
- Watch for liquid on the battery or in the battery box. This could indicate a charger, maintenance or battery problem.
Sealed batteries do not need water and, therefore, require no maintenance other than keeping the terminals free of corrosion.
Handling batteries
- Protect your clothing.
- Recharge batteries in a well-ventilated area.
- Make sure that any person performing battery maintenance on your wheelchair has read this information.
- Use a solution of 1 table spoon of baking soda in 1 cup of water to neutralize any battery acid spills.
- Do not let this solution enter the cells.
- Do not allow metal objects to come in contact with the battery terminals. The spark could cause an explosion.
- Do not smoke while handling or recharging your batteries.
Batteries and the Weather
Extensive exposure to cold temperatures will severely cut the capacity of your batteries and may even damage them. Some battery types can not be recharged in outside nominal temperature range.
