It's dead

[mous3]

My you a Alex she finally died I'm currently battling wheelchair services or 3k voucher tofit re motor new controller and new lipfo4, cells.
2 dead vr2s units in 5 years they don't like off road uses and water, so my question is any sensible upgrades I should add that fit in my budget? my battery is now 7 years old it gets fully discharged and charged every 5 days of university at least I've only killed them once to the point of having to lie to the charger that they where NiMHs once to get the voltage upfrom 19,8v to 22v opps.
My main hurdle is they will only pay direct to Recare in Oxford however Recare will order the battery cells, for me so that's helpful in would love wider rear there but that means hub adaptors? And if so does anyone make them now? because I cant.
Getting around not in carbon fibre manual chair with broken assistant dog 12 weeks of not helping pull my chair open doors etc bust his ribs and shoulder.

[Burgerman]

I think you might need to slow down a bit! I am bewildered after reading that!

My you a Alex she finally died I'm currently battling wheelchair services or 3k voucher tofit re motor new controller and new lipfo4, cells.

What parts have died in detail, and how do you know?

2 dead vr2s units in 5 years they don't like off road uses and water,

Nope...

so my question is any sensible upgrades I should add that fit in my budget?

Well once we know what breaks and why, and once we know your abilities, and once we know exactly what chair or plan, and once we understand your situation we can have a think!

my battery is now 7 years old it gets fully discharged and charged every 5 days of university at least I've only killed them once to the point of having to lie to the charger that they where NiMHs once to get the voltage upfrom 19,8v to 22v opps.

Well thats not great. Lthium ion phosphate cells are very very long lasting. They usually die soon after being fitted, or if mistreated. Not usually in correct use! Why charge every 4 days. Why not every 1 or 2 ?

My main hurdle is they will only pay direct to Recare in Oxford however Recare will order the battery cells, for me so that's helpful in would love wider rear there but that means hub adaptors? And if so does anyone make them now? because I cant.
Getting around not in carbon fibre manual chair with broken assistant dog 12 weeks of not helping pull my chair open doors etc bust his ribs and shoulder.

Thats not correct. They now, since the start of this year WCS have a legal responsibility to offer you a cheque to spend on your mobility, based on their assesement of your clinical, holistic requirements. You both agree, then you spend it as you want. I been doing this since 2010. As for fitting wheels, if you cannot do that, then you can pay a man that can. You could buy a chair from tom whatsisname for e.g. A loose copy of mine. I am not sure how good, or if he is reliable. But thats a risk you take. Dont pay up front!

[mous3]

I just type my reply 3x and the n lost it in to internet black space
My first Vr2 unit failed of a cracked mother board the second from corrosion to the contacts that tracked in to the box and the cables farm life is not dry.
Batteries get charged when I have mains power and am not at university Tuesday night Friday or Sunday so long as I remember occasionally I forget range on 60ah is around 38 miles tramac and 25 mud, sandy arenas farm at it's a 10kph chair, just considering if replacement or at least stand by pack is a good idea I still get a full charge. Some days I will use a whole charge due to running around London or more interesting locations.
Having covered well over 40k miles in 5 years the motors are understandably getting worn out
My front suspension works wonders but I would like a little more ground clearance softer rear suspension and wider back tiers to cope up sandy arenas and gravel better..

[flagman1776]

You have to figure a way of charging regularly. If you don't have mains power at your location maybe you need to built a solar grid with battery that you can charge your chair from. Or a backup you charge from mains when you have it. Or a generator to run at night. An add on pack would give you more capacity but if you don't charge that too, you'd them have more dead battery.
You will destroy your batteries if you haven't already.

[Burgerman]

10K KM IN 5 YEARS IS AROUND 4 MILES A DAY. Thats not excessive. I used to do more. Maybe double that. BUT every 18 months I strip, clean, replace worn parts, bearings, tyres, motors, upholstery, cables and connectors examined, cleaned, reassembled. As a NEW chair.

If I ran a round a farm, got everything dirty and wet I would expect it to fail/wear out every 18 months to 2 year. And fail anytime after. You gotta take charge.

Also. Its now easily possible to fit 200Ah in place of a set of grp24 lead bricks. That will bump up your range by 3 or 4 times. 5 times if you are using lead. But they still need charging! Think of it as a piggy bank. You got to put some in now and again, as well or it runs out!

[shirley_hkg]

Having covered well over 40k miles in 5 years the motors are understandably getting worn out ..

40,000 miles in 5 years !


Hope you are right , or 35 km everyday, otherwise , is really really a lots for powerchair.

I could only do 10,000 Km every 40 months.

[Burgerman]

I misread. 40K is crazy. I read 10k...
Not even sure you could!

[mous3]

GPS tracker logs the distance, chair gets washed down daily spray lube and contact cleaner. Rear wheels come off most month s for a better clean behind them.
It's been a good chair and I want to overhaul it. But it's a 23mile round trip to university on public transport I just sat down and did the maths. It did that daily for 2 years this year I have a place I can sofa surf to cut down the commute

[shirley_hkg]

Having covered well over 40k miles in 5 years the motors are understandably getting worn out ..

40,000 miles in 5 years !


Hope you are right , or 35 km everyday, otherwise , is really really a lots for powerchair.

I could only do 10,000 Km every 40 months.




That's quite an extraordinary way you've put it.

GPS tracker
It's been a good chair and I want to overhaul it. But it's a 23mile round trip to university on public transport I just sat down and did the maths. It did that daily for 2 years

[Irving]

GPS tracker logs the distance,.... But it's a 23mile round trip to university on public transport

So really a lot of your daily travelling is on the bus/train - but the chair is stationary though the gps logs an ~20 mile/30km trip?

[Swan T.W.]

[ You could buy a chair from tom whatsisname for e.g. A loose copy of mine. I am not sure how good, or if he is reliable. But thats a risk you take. Dont pay up front![/quote]
I just ordered a Tom whatshisname Kilmore chair. We will see how it goes

[mous3]

The chair drives that distance is 100 miles+ each way to university via Liverpool Street station the GPS only runs when the chair is on as it's powered off the lighting circuits.
As the network is not complete I have to drive the chair to the tube station 6 miles then travel across bits of the network then 3 miles from the station to university then some lessons are 2miles from Luther's across campuses it adds up

[flagman1776]

The mileage is unimportant, so long as you can run the distance. A bigger battery... like the LiFePO4 cell conversions that we like here (from lead)... will give you more mileage between charges. But you can't create energy out of thin air. You must plan charging and before you ruin your batteries. At the very least, if you use it, you should charge it daily.

[Burgerman]

Think about this.
I know you already use lithium.

I charge at 40A when I do so.
I can then put back 40Ah in 1 hour on charge. Thats the same as a 16 hour charge on a lead battery...
Charge at 40A for just 3 hours on a big pack, and you now added 3 times the miles, that you can even get from a set of lead bricks.

If you do as you should, and fit the 210Ah pack, then you will have:
5 times the range of lead or better.
Be able to add the same amount of power as a set of lead bricks back, for every hour you charge!

And be able to fully replace the power for a completely dead set of 210Ah batteries, to 100% full, in just 5 hours and 30 mins all balanced up and finished... Thats the same amount of energy/range as 5 complete sets or 10 batteries, grp 24 lead batteries!

You must be able to find time to plug in for an hour now and again?

[mous3]

I can charge at home every 3rd day I don't need more than120ha to do this so now it's a case of choosing the right cells to fit. I will have a charger at work over the summer and possibly an ogo. This really just leaves the question of is going over to an r net controller worth it and how do I corectly measure hubs for adaptor s to run atv wheels thanks for your help

[Burgerman]

You need the maximum you can fit. For reasons of C rate, and lack if danger of running low. Best to fit 210Ah today while you can.

[shirley_hkg]

Don't think he has a clue on charging big LiFePO4 pack.

[Burgerman]

Who?

[mous3]

Don't think he has a clue on charging big LiFePO4 pack.

Thanks she has some clue but maybe not up to date
I have been charging various lithium cells since 2010 I have an i charger duo and 30v 30amp power supply. now I am limited to charging at 15amps by the charger. The pack I build will one have to fit and 2 charge t full in 7hrs because get home by 10pm and leave at 5am to get back as my worst case scenario days hence the not coming home every day leading to charges being 3days apart.

[woodygb]

Don't think he has a clue on charging big LiFePO4 pack.

Have a quick browse thru her posts.

search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&author_id=2276&start=240

[Burgerman]

I have been charging various lithium cells since 2010 I have an i charger duo and 30v 30amp power supply. now I am limited to charging at 15amps by the charger. The pack I build will one have to fit and 2 charge t full in 7hrs because get home by 10pm and leave at 5am to get back as my worst case scenario days hence the not coming home every day leading to charges being 3days apart.

mous3

Posts: 247
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 10:05 am

Top

I charger isnt a great idea. What termination settings are you using? You need to charge until balanced, at CV and then terminate when current drops to around a 300 to 400th of capacity. Not sure you can even set that in your charger. Also you must only balance above 3.5V or at CV.
And its way too slow at 15A for a 210Ah pack. 15 amps will take some 14 hours at CC full power and 1 hour at CV if its well balanced. So 15 hours minimum!
A PL8 will charge at 40A. So even with a 210Ah pack thats empty, which isnt likely with a huge pack, it will fully charge in 5 to 6 hours. If its got some left, then less.

Remember that you can add 40Ah in just 1 hour with a PL8. Thats as much as a set of new lead batteries. Or 15 to 20 miles. Every hour. It will charge your 60Ah batts in just 1.5 hours.

[mous3]

Don't think he has a clue on charging big LiFePO4 pack.

Have a quick browse thru her posts.

search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&author_id=2276&start=240

Hi that mirage did awesome for about a year before the motors died and I got the Alex

[mous3]

Charger settings are the factory LiFePO4 setup with float at end balancing at 5 amps 30v they company sent me an update file to improve the charging over standard it not as Ideal compared to the new kit but I dose work safely and I'm not that much of a geek importantly will run off the spirit charge in the camper van though only with the engine running.

[ex-Gooserider]

The PL8 will charge better and faster if you have a power supply that can supply the input amps - your 30A supply won't max out what the PL8 can do, but it will at least let you do about 30A charge rate, or twice what your existing charger can do... It will also do a MUCH better and faster job of balancing, since it can balance at 1A, again much more than your current charger.

At the same time, you can use the PL8 in your camper or any other place you use your current charger - although you MIGHT need to set a limit on the input current which would make it comparable in charge rate (but still faster at balancing)

It is also worth noting that most 'hobby chargers' aren't really set up to handle even a smallish power chair pack well, as they are intended to be used on the kinds of packs you'd find in most RC models.... However BM has been able to get some changes made and the information needed to set up profiles for the PL8 that are specifically intended for BIG packs.

ex-Gooserider

[mous3]

Well I know what charger to add the shipping list for work now. Until then I'm stuck with the icharger