Powering Power Wheelchairs
The choice of right battery for your wheelchair greatly depends upon the type of your equipment and the usage of the chair.
If it is for a long ride, your battery may let you down if it is not adequately powered and you will be left stranded.
So, the right choice is of paramount importance to actively power your vehicle, especially for off road and terrain operations.
There are certain needs to consider such as long lasting power within a compact casing weighing less and occupying less space that will go into a small place below the seat.
If the battery of the wheelchair does not come with the purchase, you may have to buy and fix your own battery for which you ought to know details about the type available to suit the particular wheelchair, in consultation with the manufacturer of both the battery and the wheelchair to fix one special type to fulfill all your needs.
When you buy battery at your risk, you may have to take the guarantee of both manufactures so that guarantee lapses may be avoided.
Car batteries could be a tempting option in view of its economy.
But they tend to discharge sizable energy as starter batteries giving off power without being fully discharged.
Your requirement is for a sustained yet uniform discharge of power to keep the unit moving, discharging the power fully, as a deep-cycle type, without damaging the function of the battery.
During charging also it should not be charged for more than 24 hours, lest it could be permanently damaged.
In choosing the battery chargers, it is better to go for automatic version, which monitors the charging automatically shuts off the source when fully charged, as against the manual type, which needs constant attention.
If unattended, the manual type tends to damage the battery if over charged.
The life of battery depends entirely on the usage and when indication is there about inefficient and weak performance know that it is time to replace the battery.
24 Volt deep discharge lead acid batteries of gel cell type is invariably the choice of all the wheelchairs and they approximately work for about 9 to 14 months or 365 cycles per annum.
There are quite a few chargers in the market that can be mounted and charged, while the user is sitting on the unit.
These on board chargers are protected from explosions and short-circuit.
If it is for a long ride, your battery may let you down if it is not adequately powered and you will be left stranded.
So, the right choice is of paramount importance to actively power your vehicle, especially for off road and terrain operations.
There are certain needs to consider such as long lasting power within a compact casing weighing less and occupying less space that will go into a small place below the seat.
If the battery of the wheelchair does not come with the purchase, you may have to buy and fix your own battery for which you ought to know details about the type available to suit the particular wheelchair, in consultation with the manufacturer of both the battery and the wheelchair to fix one special type to fulfill all your needs.
When you buy battery at your risk, you may have to take the guarantee of both manufactures so that guarantee lapses may be avoided.
Car batteries could be a tempting option in view of its economy.
But they tend to discharge sizable energy as starter batteries giving off power without being fully discharged.
Your requirement is for a sustained yet uniform discharge of power to keep the unit moving, discharging the power fully, as a deep-cycle type, without damaging the function of the battery.
During charging also it should not be charged for more than 24 hours, lest it could be permanently damaged.
In choosing the battery chargers, it is better to go for automatic version, which monitors the charging automatically shuts off the source when fully charged, as against the manual type, which needs constant attention.
If unattended, the manual type tends to damage the battery if over charged.
The life of battery depends entirely on the usage and when indication is there about inefficient and weak performance know that it is time to replace the battery.
24 Volt deep discharge lead acid batteries of gel cell type is invariably the choice of all the wheelchairs and they approximately work for about 9 to 14 months or 365 cycles per annum.
There are quite a few chargers in the market that can be mounted and charged, while the user is sitting on the unit.
These on board chargers are protected from explosions and short-circuit.
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