What Are The Different Electric Wheelchair Battery Types | Helpful Guide
Batteries are the source of power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells that have external connections for powering electric devices. Batteries can be used in cell phones, electric cars, electric appliances, etc. Batteries can also be rechargeable.
Most wheelchair users need to know about their wheelchair batteries. When you need to buy a power or electric wheelchair, then you need to know about batteries, and that’s why you are at the right place because I explained different electric wheelchair battery types.
This article will tell you to understand how batteries work and how your batteries work in your wheelchair. You also need to know that batteries don’t need to be replaced very often and select the correct batteries for a wheelchair.
A battery is really taken a vital role in the performance of the wheelchair. That’s why you need to know all about batteries; in this article, you will understand batteries’ capacities, current, and types.
Sometimes wheelchair has some problems, and that can only be solved by electric wheelchair troubleshooting. Some of the problems are also involved in power wheelchairs.
Battery
A battery is the main power source in most electric devices, including a wheelchair. Those batteries for electric wheelchairs consist power of one or more electric cells with an external connection. Those electric devices also include mobile phones, flashlights, electric, and other electric appliances.
The battery terms specifically refer to a device with more than one cell, which is now involved and can be composed of one cell. There are different types of wheelchair batteries available nowadays, and some of them are available below.
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Capacity
The battery’s capacity means how long a battery can hold the charge and can able to function. It’s usually expressed in ampere/ hours. If an electric wheelchair can run up to 10 amperes, then its typical deep cycle battery has 30-90 Ah, which means that it can run up to 3 to 9 hours. This is really good because none of us doesn’t use a wheelchair for 9 hours continually.
Current
Current is defined as the following of the electron, denoted by Amperes(A). The Amperes are directly related to the performance of the wheelchair. If the amperes are higher then the wheelchair will perform better even on bumpy roads and uneven surfaces in the discussion of rough and uneven roads, there best wheelchair for outdoors which will definitely help you in a situation like this.
Electric Wheelchair Battery Types
Actually, there are many types of batteries you find in the market, but it has only two kinds when it comes to wheelchair batteries. One of them is a wet battery, and another one is called a Gel battery.
There are two main types of wheelchair batteries, and both of them have their own features. You can only use one of them to power your wheelchair. You can’t use both of them at a time. Down below, I give a detailed explanation of both of them. So, let’s get into that.
Wet-cell Batteries
Well, most people have some issues with wet-cell batteries. Still, despite all of that, it has a bigger capacity than other batteries and can supply more electric power than usual but is less expensive as compared to gel cells.
As a result, wet cell batteries are nevertheless the power pack of choice for most electric wheelchair users. The wet cell batteries come in sealed bags or vented types. Those vented well cells need to be maintained by adding water after some time.
For those who are disabled, adding water to the standard wet cell batteries can be really dangerous because they will be exposed the acid every time they open those batteries. It is harmful to you, but it can also be harmful to your wheelchair. Some severe chemical burns will occur to your wheelchair, or corrosive damage can occur to your wheelchair if it’s spilled on it.
Some sealed wet batteries are fully enclosed, and that’s why no need to maintain a water level in them. But it can still harm you and your wheelchair if the battery got leaks. Actually, both types of batteries have chemicals in them, so you need to protect yourself from them, and also these are prohibited from airplanes.
Gel Cell Batteries
Gel cell batteries are lead-acid batteries and are basically designed maintenance-free. There is also no chance of chemical spilling because it is really hard to leak. These are the type of wheelchairs that can be allowed on airplanes. So, if you want to take a wheelchair on a plane or get a wheelchair in the airport or plane, then make sure it has a gel cell battery.
These gel batteries are a little more expensive than other batteries and have 10-20% less charge capacity than wet batteries. Whenever you want to buy a charger for your battery, make sure that you buy the correct charger for your given battery because an incorrect charger can damage the battery permanently.
Most wheelchair batteries are “Deep-cycle” batteries, which can be fully discharged before recharging them. Most of them can be recharged b up to 300 times before they lose the holding power.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Types of Batteries do Electric Wheelchairs Use?
Normally the electric wheelchair batteries run on AGM which stands for Absorbed Glass Mat Batteries. But it also uses Gel Batteries. These both are types of sealed Lead batteries.
Are Wheelchair Batteries the Same as Car Battery?
Nor really wheelchair batteries and automotive don’t share the same batteries. They usually look the same but they aren’t the same. So you can’t even replace them with one another.
What Three Types of Batteries are used for Wheelchairs?
A wheelchair basically has three batteries or comes with three types of batteries. One is a non-spillable battery which is usually knowns as a wet battery, another other is a nickel metal hydride battery which is also one of the best wheelchair battery and the last one is a dry Lithium battery which is the most usable battery in wheelchairs.
Conclusion
The durability and stability of the wheelchair depend on the performance of the electric wheelchair, and its performance depends on its battery’s performance and life. If you want to increase the performance, then you really need to focus on its batteries.
There are two main electric wheelchair battery types out there in the market, and I defined the article above. So if you have anything in mind, like an electric wheelchair battery replacement, please ask in the comment section below, and I will give a response as fast as I can.
In the end, I want to say, please keep your environment clean and make it clean as the way we inherited it. Just imagine Adam.
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About Author
John Maverick
John Maverik is an expert in Medical health and mobility devices, especially wheelchairs. He has worked in this field for the past five and a half years. He knows the wheelchair from every aspect and can guide every visitor with accurate information. He helps those with wheelchair-related problems and walks through them to get the best wheelchair.
Our son uses and electric wheel chair occasionally. How often and when should we charge the gel battery.
We are finding the the battery loses power quickly. Would a sealed wet battery be better?
How can we tell if we are using the proper charger? We are not getting much info from the dealers.
Thank you in advance. Any information will be appreciated.
Thanks For your Response Offstein, but Sorry for the late reply.
First of you need to charge your electric wheelchair battery every other day but if you use it very often then you should consider charging it every day. But the best option would be to charge the battery whenever need to charge.
The sealed wet battery is a good option, it can hold a charge longer than other wheelchairs and is also inexpensive but it’s not safe as compared to other dry batteries.
You can only check the charger with a multimeter if it’s giving you proper output then your charger is good but if it doesn’t give you any output then your charger is damaged or slow. You should also check or compare the charger with another charger and see which one is faster so you get that one.