In general, most scooters draw between and watts of continuous power. One horsepower is watts. The more watts drawn — ie power used — the less distance the scooter will travel on a given battery rating. A medium size mobility scooter weighs between 55 — 85kg. Most importantly, the actual pulling power of a mobility scooter is determined by both the power of the motor and the type and power of the electronic controller see section on electronics below. It a little like cars: a big engine is not the only thing that determines power — the fuel delivery system is also important and a turbo will deliver a lot more power to the same size motor.
The more brushes a motor has, the more current that can be delivered at any one instant. So 4 brushes is better than 2. If you are technically inclined and would like to read a very good article on the Tesla Motors site about electric power compared to traditional horsepower comparisons, click here.
When you buy a Premium Scooter from Scooters Australia, your scooter will have the following features, in addition to all the standard features:.
In general, differential drives are expensive to produce and are mostly available in higher volume scooters or because a manufacturer has outsourced the component. These are the most reliable drive, and most resemble a motor car. Mobility scooters with these types of transmission are the most common. These are less popular than when scooters were first developed eg the earlier Australian made Gopher mobility scooter — sometimes they require more maintenance than gear boxes, especially in adjustments caused by stretching or breaking.
Very few modern scooters use chain drives. The Walkabout scooter, now no longer made, uses belts to drive the two rear wheels. Several scooter manufacturers who cannot afford a differential gear box similar to motor cars may opt for two motors.
They use various methods of getting the power to the wheels like chain or belts, but mostly two gear boxes that use either helical gears stronger but noisier or worm gears quieter but not as strong.
In addition, a few mobility scooter manufacturers use front wheel drive for their drive system, but generally traction is not good enough for anything but flat areas and indoors — eg Afikim Superlight and some other lightweight mobility scooters. Some golf buggies use worm drive gearboxes. In the early days of scooters braking was done manually — the early Gophers worked this way.
However, all modern mobility scooters use regenerative braking as their main method of slowing down or holding a speed on a downhill slope. This refers to the parking brake that is automatically engaged when the scooter is either stopped or nearly stopped. It works by preventing the motor from turning. To free wheel a scooter, either this brake must be disengaged — usually by activating a switch, or by putting the scooter into the neutral gear if it has a gear box.
You can hear the electromagnetic brake disengage just after you start to activate the throttle as the electronic controller sends the signal to disengage the park brake. Although not necessary, some scooters have a third braking system — some kind of manually operated brake. Scooters like the Merits Cruizer or the Royales already have this option fitted.
Electric Mobility Scooters are battery powered. To charge the two batteries, the scooters either have an inbuilt charger or a separate charger. These two methods have different advantages. Wet cell batteries are less fussy and therefore can be charged with a cheap charger — usually 12 volt in series.
Dry cell batteries need a more accurate charger and usually come in a 24 volt 4 amp configuration. When higher amp hour batteries are used it is advisable to use a amp charger. Charging the batteries properly produces a longer life and better range. Whenever an electric scooter is used it is important to charge the scooter within 12 hours.
Leaving scooter batteries in a discharged or partially charged state diminishes the life of the battery. Most mobility scooter chargers use switch mode, which means that they can be used in the USA and on cruise liners where voltage is only volts. Some chargers automatically detect the voltage and adjust themselves, while others have a switch where you can choose the appropriate voltage. Most countries are either or volt and the charger will work normally.
If in doubt, take your charger to your nearest dealer to have it checked. Most electric gophers or electric scooters sometimes called electric buggies , use dry cell cyclic batteries. In some specialist scooters and powerchairs, shuch as the Luggie mobility scooter, Lithium-ion batteries are used.
These are lighter and more compact than acid based batteries and have a much longer life. Because of their light weight they are especially suitable for travel and folding motorised scooters, and are IATA compliant for transport on planes. It is important that only cyclic batteries are used. Some battery sellers try to pass off general use batteries as suitable for electric scooters, but they will have a very short life span as they are not designed for electric vehicle use.
Poor battery selection can lead to plenty of problems down the track, especially if they are at the budget end of the market. SLA batteries are cheaper than Gel batteries, and Lithium-ion batteries are the most expensive. However, the higher the price the better the quality and life expectancy. With all batteries it is vitally important to match the batteries with the correct charger to achieve a long and safe battery life.
Lithium-ion scooter batteries must only be used with dedicated lithium-ion battery chargers. NEVER charge Lithium-ion batteries with any other charger — it is unsafe to do so and will also shorten the life of the battery. Like car manufacturers who quote ideal fuel consumption figures, scooter range is quoted in ideal situations which may not be replicated in the field.
Battery performance, and hence scooter range, is determined by many factors and we make no guarantee as to the ability of the battery to perform to expectations. If your batteries do not allow for a range that you are expecting or need, please talk to our representatives who may be able to suggest alternatives. These control the speed of the scooter no matter how heavy the payload , the acceleration and braking rates, and apply the parking brake.
They also have a major impact on the power of the scooter, depending on the ampere rating of the controller and the amount of current the controller feeds to the motor. Two identical motors can perform very differently when controlled by different electronic controllers. The controller is like a fuel delivery system on a car — a turbo produces more power than a carburettor for the same size motor. The bigger the amp rating of the controller, the more current can be delivered to the motor — and the more power the motor delivers to the wheels.
So always check the rating on the controller as this will give a better indication of power. There are a small number of major controller manufacturers in the world — Curtis made in U. Some mobility scooter manufacturers use their own controller or a locally made one. When a controller malfunctions it is expensive to repair and is usually discarded for a new one it is usually cheaper if the controller is one of the more common ones. Some controllers are programmable to alter speed, acceleration and deceleration rates and other variables.
Care must be taken when connecting batteries or plugs so that no electrical short is caused, thus damaging the controller. Motorised scooters have some sort of finger accelerator to activate the electronics and consequently the motor and brakes. These controls work a potentiometer that gives an infinitely variable speed. These are either of the Wig-Wag style Merits, Monarch, ActiveCare, Pride, Shoprider, Invacare, CTM, etc - where the forward and reverse function is operated by the one lever that is operated by either hand — or by using a switch to determine forward and reverse and operating the accelerator with the same action by the same hand eg Afikim, Walkabout, and some Monarch mobility scooters.
Some accelerators are operated by the thumbs, others by the fingers eg Plega, Merits, Avanti, Pride, and some Shoprider scooters. A few operate with either. This may be in the form of a knob or a switch, or some form of touch button system. There may be indicator and light switches and a brake lever for manual emergency brakes.
The Monarch Royales have a sophisticated dash board that gives accurate speed and distance measurements and other information such as battery life, indicator and light status, even the time and the temperature! Slowing down when cornering is something every car driver knows about — otherwise there can be catostrophic results.
But some of the more sophisticated scooters also have an automatic corner speed reduction feature. This corner speed reduction function engages when the steering is turned beyond a pre-determined point, where the scooter slows down on corners automatically, making cornering safer. Most mobility scooters that incorporate this system use a mechanical switch attached to the front steering arm, but this often gets dirty or wet and the system fails to function properly.
Whenever the user turns the steering, the Gyroscope registers a change in the direction of the steering column electronically. As soon as the steering returns to a straight position the scooter then returns to the speed selected by the user. Most of the time, mobility scooters with suspension provide a more comfortable ride — not always, but mostly. Lots of cflaims are made about suspension. An earlier version of this post appeared in Oversharing, a newsletter about the sharing economy.
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Scooters are not heavy, so this is not an overnight problem thankfully. If you plan to not ride your scooter, make sure the tires have the right amount of air in them. If they are under-inflated, then there is more pressure on the sidewalls, and this could exaggerate the opportunity for flat spots.
At 1 month of not being turned, tires are more prone to become disfigured. To prevent this, simply move the scooter from time to time by moving it forward and backward a bit and keep the air pressure in check. All of the pieces inside of your engine like a little oil coating to help them move right.
Over time, the components lose this oil blanket which will make pieces start to stick and get stiff. Additionally, gaskets and seals can become dry which can lead to cracking. Cracking means fluids have a spot to leak out from, and I hear that replacing these is a pain.
Moisture from cold temps and humidity add to the potential for condensation impacting the oil and its ability to lubricate. With no use, gaskets can crack in as little as 1 month. To prevent this, simply let the engine idle for about 15 minutes to keep all of the components lubricated and functionally as intended. You may have noticed a theme here.
Even if you decide to store your scooter for some period, just giving it a start and rocking it back and forth a bit will solve for a load of problems that could crop up from sitting too long. The list below has the ranges at which problems could crop up. Your mileage may vary here pun intended , but to minimize the likelihood of any of this becoming a problem, start your scooter every 3 weeks at a minimum.
I aim for once a week, though. To keep your battery from draining completely, you can use a battery tender. A battery tender senses a charge is needed, and then it tops off your battery. Here is a battery tender on Amazon, but make sure it is the appropriate size for your specific battery. Keeping your scooter out of the elements to some degree can help keep it in top shape. Minimizing the temperature swings by storing it in a closed space can help. If you live where it is cold, limiting the salt on it will keep it happy, too.
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