Reviving a mobility scooter - WWYD ?

[Jethro_uk]

Past 4 years haven't been brilliant, finances wise. So we've really shaved our lifestyle to the bone.

However, with my bagging a decent job now (because talent will out) we are looking towards being able to improve quality of life a bit.

One thing that would be a massive game changer is if SWMBO can go a- scooting while I do the walking. Especially as we have some nice scenery nearby.

We've avoided using her little 3 wheel folding scooter, as that is for shopping trips (hollow laugh for the past year).

However we do have an Invacare Auriga in the garage, which has been kept dry and covered for 5 years. The batteries were shot, so they were removed beforehand.

Now in an ideal world c. £200 for a set of new batteries, and we should be up & running. And that's plan A.

I was curious as to what others might do, and any suggestions. I would be really pissed off to order a set of batteries that I suspect will prove to be unique to the Auriga only to discover something else has failed catastrophically.

I have about 20 old SLA batteries from various chairs, scooters and UPS over the years. Must get round to weighing them in somewhere.

[Andy Burns]

Really? I would expect them to be a standard "deep cycle" lead acid battery, measure the batteries and check the list

[Andy Burns]

Oh, and before adding to cart, check if they sell a pair, or four pack of the part number you need, often cheaper than buying 2x or 4x the individual battery.

[Adrian Caspersz]

Seems to be plenty of YouTube videos and service manuals on google. Probably a forum or two somewhere.

Not everyone technically focused might engage the help of a servicing company, I don't know - are these things a possible hazard if incorrectly adjusted? Mechanics, controller, brakes?

Probably before your battery purchase you could jerry rig some supply with other batteries to see if the rest of the electronics still work?

Of course, you could "Colin Furze" it....

How to build a 60MPH MOBILITY SCOOTER #1-Frame

[T i m]

I hope it does.

It's what we have done a few times with Mum and it worked pretty well.

It was whilst using Dad's TGA take-down 3 wheeler we nearly lost Mum on a pedestrian crossing, muscle memory kicking on (from 80 years earlier) and applying full throttle rather than freewheel brake. 'Luckily'(?) I was already to grab her ...

Seems reasonable.

Well, depending on the popularity of that model and assuming *some* capital for spares, even second hand speed controllers can be 'affordable' on the likes of eBay (and about the only thing likely to write it off in not).

If you can find a couple with 12V on them, it might be worth tacking them on (assuming 2 x 12V) and with the driven wheel(s) jacked off the floor, just checking everything still works?

It would be better if you can get the batteries onboard and test it on load for 10 mins?

Depending on the required maximum range expected from the full spec batteries and that the maximum load current not too much from some smaller ones, something smaller but cheaper might be worth a thought, especially if the chances are it's never going to be range pushed or used often. Nothing worse than binning another pair of expensive batteries that were only used twice before the bad weather set in and they were forgotten about. Don't ask me how I know ... ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[williamwright]

For the last few years of my wife's life we planned our little trips around expeditions that we could have with her on a scooter and me on a bike. It made a massive difference to her quality of life. It was so worthwhile.

Meticulous route planning was the key. Nothing worse than encountering a narrow gateway or too-rough path, or too much mud. Sometimes I did the route the day before on the bike, just to be sure.

She had four scooters. The one we used for the expeditions was a Pride Colt Plus. Big heavy thing but very stable and capable.

We used to do anything from 10 miles to 2o. The scooter's range was 29 in theory, but 22 in practice.

Bill

[Jethro_uk]

Thanks for that - I hadn't thought of a bike/scooter combo.

We've been lucky enough to use the monster scooter that is available to go around Tittesworth reservoir up in Staffordshire (or is it Derbyshire).

However in the main, being able to either pop around the local park - 5 minutes walk (and a shortcut to the nearest supermarket), or along a country park route into town (20 minutes to start of path) would be a life changer. Hopefully blow some cobwebs and depression away.

[Jethro_uk]

Thanks for all replies. I'll venture into the garage and see if I can cobble something to give a tiny 12V boost to see if the control panel lights up at least. If it does, I'll look to order batteries, and hope that if the scooter is "kaput" then they can be put towards another.

We also have a power chair that has dud batteries.

Fucking expensive being disabled, if you don't want to rot in a chair.

[Theo]

I would be looking at doing a lithium replacement - either an off the shelf lithium iron phosphate (sold as lead acid replacement leisure batteries) or a lithium ion pack grafted into the existing wiring loom.

As well as being lighter (handy if you need to pick up the machine) you get a lot of current out of a lithium pack which adds to the feeling of 'nippiness'. I don't know if that's a thing you might care about on a scooter but it makes a big difference to an e-bike.

Not to say a lead acid replacement is bad - you can't beat them for £/Wh - but the performance boost with lithium might be worthwhile. Although maybe not worth it if you're speed limited, I don't know.

Theo

[jon]

Have a trailer with a couple of car batteries mounted.

[jon]

Have a trailer with a couple of car batteries mounted.

[jon]

Have a trailer with a couple of car batteries mounted.

[mm0fmf]

I have an account with a local registered scrap yard. They were quite offhand when I first tried to weigh in old Lead Acid batteries until I produced my Driving Licence and told them I was happy to setup an account and be paid by bank transfer. As soon as I produced ID and didn't want cash they were happy to deal with me.

I've weighed in nearly 300kg of old SLA cells now. Mainly from all the UPS at work which needed new cells. They're due new ones again soon and I'll be weighing them in once more.

I think I got about £135 in total so well worth a couple of hours of time to move them from work to home to the scrap yard when I had enough.

[ss]

I was selling my father in laws mobility scooter which was `dead` I dont know the technicalities now but I ordered a set of batteries on ebay for I think around £80, Plan B was if the scooter failed to recover to re sell the batteries on ebay for slightly less so it reduced my loss. After sorting a couple of other things he managed to damage the scooter worked fine. Ah! the other thing was the charger he fekced that as well but the help on here got that fixed so I could sell as working with charger.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Jethro_uk presented the following explanation :

Can you not cobble together a pair of 12v batteries, assuming 24v needed, to carry out a basic quick test? One of the batteries could be borrowed from a car.

[Jethro_uk]

This is why I posted !!! Had no idea about lithium batteries for such uses.

[T i m]

Not cheap though? ;-(

When replacing the burnt-out battery connector on the speed controller board on the scooter we got with Mum in mind I found all it's configuration spec and one of the soft settings was acceleration rate (along with max motor current etc). Therefore I'm thinking if this one is similar, would you actually ever be able to sense any sort of acceleration increase as it would be managed by the controller to be within the capabilities of LA (over LI)?

I would have thought it might be something you would avoid on a mobility scooter, especially with someone with an arthritic neck. ;-)

"The new 24V Lithium 'Whiplash' upgrade'. ;-)

Ah, again, I guess that depends on what you are looking for. eg, If you want range you may well set the acceleration curve to allow the bike to accelerate gently to avoid those range eating current peaks?

On a really portable / foldable scooter the weight saving (without sacrificing range) may well be worth it, not sure on something you can't get in the back of most cars (even if you could lift it empty of rider and batteries). [1]

I think I worked out that Mum on the scooter was likely to be around

250kg, a quarter of a tonne (and most of that was the scooter!) and it looks similar to the Auriga / Shoprider size scooter.

4/8mph I think, depending if they conform to the relevant class for pavement / road use.

Given how high you can feel you are sitting on these scooters, having a bit of ballast, low and central like a pair of semi-traction sealed lead acid batteries isn't a bad idea?

A mate, demonstrating the stability of the one we bought for Mum to his Mrs at the time, got on it himself, put it on full lock and hit the throttle and even when leaning the wrong way it stayed upright,.

Cheers, T i m

[1] Even the seat on the one we have is as heavy as a car seat. But then it might have to safely take some 'substantially sized' people on one central mount (allowing it to swivel) and are often pretty well padded and adjustable (meaning extra lengths of telescoping steel tube to provide all the adjustment).

[Jethro_uk]

It's looking like a Sunday job ....

[Jethro_uk]

It's looking like a Sunday job ....

[Jethro_uk]

It's looking like a Sunday job ....