By Ziggi Landsman
More and more powered wheelchair and scooter users are pushing their chairs out to the limit and most often they are coming up short. By necessity, power wheelers require increased range (distance) from their wheelchair systems these days. But being able to go long distances if you don’t have the juice to get back sure as heck will make you more dependent than independent.
Diminished battery life and decreased range are an unpleasant power-wheeling fact of life. Over time and as the batteries and other system components get worn, your range may diminish. Or, your wheelchair may never have had the range claimed by the manufacturer.
Depending on make and model, manufacturers claim anywhere from 12 to 25 miles or 4 to 10 hours of normal use on a full charge. Okay, those numbers are probably true for a chair being used on a treadmill and loaded up with a 158-pound dummy. In reality, there are many elements that will impact on a given users’ battery’s range:
• Condition of the batteries. Batteries are limited in life (the number of times you can charge them) and capacity (the amount of charge they hold)
• Weight of the user (or users, if you carry others on your chair with you)
• Weight of accessories-or the usual junk you hang on your chair
• Type of terrain. The hills of San Francisco are more punishing than the plains of Kansas, for example.
• Type of surface encountered. Loose surfaces such as gravel, sand, or leaves will gobble up power.
• Powered wheelchair features, such as tilt/reclining seats, elevating seat, lighting systems, will all drain some power.
After the jump are some tips that may help maintain the range you need for those long hauls. Some of these procedures may take a bit of know how. Make sure that you can handle things or get someone who can.
Charge your batteries correctly. Check the owner’s manual. Most often, the manufacturer will recommend daily charging. That means all the way up to a full charge. This helps keep the batteries conditioned.
Clean the battery terminals. Similar to a car, wheelchair batteries have negative and positive terminals. The terminals often become corroded and inhibit the flow of electricity. Clean these terminals with a battery terminal brush. They should be shiny, not dull.
Inflate tires correctly. Overinflated tires can waste power due to loss of traction and spinning wheels. Underinflated tires will cause resistance and more power will be consumed moving the chair. Check the information on the tires or in the owner’s manual for proper inflation.
Roll smooth. Check free rolling casters and stabilizer wheels to make sure they roll freely and do not create drag. Resistance in these wheels will consume power. Most often a cleaning or a bearing change will free things up.
Plan your route. Avoid long, steep hills even if you have to go a bit out of the way. Be sure to catch the downhill run on the way back. Choose the routes that have good smooth sidewalks and stay away from rough or loose surfaced routes if possible.
Do not overload. Ride as lean as possible. Don’t take on extra weight or carry unnecessary items.
If you use wet cell batteries, keep the fluid up and use only distilled water to fill the battery. The minerals in tap water will damage them. Don’t overfill the battery or splash fluid around. You will have acid and corrosion all over the place.
Use the right batteries. Don’t be a tightwad and slip a car battery under the hood of your powered wheelchair. It is the wrong type of battery and will leave you stranded and possibly damage your wheelchair.
Be careful how you store your batteries. If you intend to store your wheelchair or wheelchair batteries for extended periods of time, you should fully charge the batteries and disconnect the battery cables from the terminals. Storing a discharged battery may damage it and it may no longer hold a charge when you need it again.
Retire your batteries. Car batteries may last four or five years but wheelchair batteries don’t. Active users may notice a decrease in range after a year or so. Less demanding users may see the same decrease sometime around the two-year mark. It’s time to replace them.
If you plan to long haul in your wheelchair. know your equipment and its limitations. Plan safe and efficient routes. Long hauling is independence at its best, but only if you get there and back.
Ziggi Landsman is creator and manager of USATechGuide.org and the blog, Wheelchair Diffusion, from which this column was adapted.
