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Detailed Full PowerChair Related ONLY Menu HERE
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Detailed Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles ONLY menu HERE
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ELSE:
Detailed Menu of Everything else HERE!
MY OWN
VEHICLES:
Dodge
Grand Caravan
VW Caravelle VR6
MY HOME
BUILT ULTIMATE POWERCHAIRS:
My
SLIGHTLY Modified
Improved Powerchair
Part
1 |
2 | 3
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4 |
5 |
6
My VERY Modified Off Road & All terrain DO ALL
Powerchair!
Part 1
| 2 |
3
MISCELLANEOUS
POWERCHAIR RELATED:
What
Goes Wrong Power Wheelchairs
Powerchair Tyres
Drive your Powerchair by Radio Control
Powerchairs & Range
Off Road DO ALL Indoor & Outdoor Powerchairs
Off Road ONLY Outdoor Powerchairs & 4x4
Page
1
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2
Manual or Electric Wheelchair?
Why ALL Powerchairs
NEED to be Off Road Capable!
Choosing a Suitable Powerchair
Wheelchair Width
BATTERY
AND ELECTRICAL (POWERCHAIRS & SCOOTERS + MOTOR VEHICLES):
Batteries for Both Vans & Power Wheelchairs
Inverters & Chargers
Very flexible charger!
Charging Batteries
Fast Charge Your Power
Wheelchair
Which batteries to buy
"DRIVE
FROM A WHEELCHAIR" VEHICLES:
Dodge
Grand Caravan 1
Dodge
Grand Caravan 2
Dodge Grand Caravan 3
Dodge Grand Caravan 4
Latest 2008 2009 2010
Disabled Converted Dodge Chrysler And Voyager Minivans
Chrysler Voyager
Entervan Diesel
Suzuki Wagon R
More Here
Mercedes Vito
-
soon!
Kia Sedona - soon!
INSURANCE:
Modified Disabled
Vehicle Insurance
Breakdown Cover
USED VEHICLES & OTHER
EQUIPMENT:
Disabled Adapted Cars
WHEELCHAIR TRANSPORT
& DRIVE BY TRANSFERRING:
VW Caravelle
Dodge
Grand Caravan can be used to transport up to 4 Wheelchair Seated Occupants
Fiat Doblo
Renault Kangoo
-
soon!
Citroen Berlingo - soon!
Citroen Dispatch
- soon!
Kia Sedona
-
soon!
Volkswagen Sharan
Mercedes Vaneos
Toyota Hiace
Fiat Multiplas (Wheelchair
passenger travels in the front)
Kangoo ASSIST (wheelchair
passenger transfers & drives)
ESSENTIAL DISABLED
EQUIPMENT STUFF:
Understanding
Grabbers
Puncture proof tyres
Run Flat tyres
Tyre Weld Aerosol
Fuses!
Spare Key
Wheelchair Ramps
Small Generator
Tools!
VEHICLE ADAPTATIONS:
Control
Systems etc
Hand Controls Manual
Hand Controls Electronic
Van / Car Door openers
Van / Car Wheelchair Tie Downs
OTHER STUFF:
Used Disabled Equipment for sale
How to lose weight FAST!
Email about modifying powerchairs
Keep it looking new 1
2
My Accident!
Climate Change
Electric
Cars are a Joke!
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& About Me
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Typical cost of Powerchair Ownership, Cost of Charging, Cost of
Powerchair Maintenance.
I get many email
questions from "professionals", as well as end users with the questions about
cost daily. I had never really though much about it before so decided to do a
typical breakdown (me!) of costs. It is quite surprising!
Full PowerChair Related Menu
|
Running costs of a
Hi end Powerchair (of the type a busy active
user would require).
Typical Purchase Price:
£6500 Varies - Use your own figure!
Depreciation over 3 years (typical) lifespan:
£6000 - Many used powerchairs are sold for around 500 on eBay for
e.g. If you wear them out faster, or make them last 5 years then adjust
accordingly. But 3 years is typical for an active user.
Spares over typical 3 years (real costs with
receipts):
Tyres 9 sets front caster tyres & 4 tubes
£250
Tyres 5 sets rear tyres
£300 Of course if you barely use your chair this will be less -
Only you can know this from experience - adjust cost to suit.
Charger replacement
£229 (typical price, but I actually bought 3 expensive chargers for
different situations - not included here - after the original failed)
Upholstery, Arms, various worn /
damaged parts £700 (I actually
spend £1700 every year completely rebuilding one of my 3 powerchairs but this
700 is a typical figure for an average users bill.
.
Motors 1 set £600
Again, this is a typical; figure. Some users will never wear out a motor.
I wore out 11 sets in 13 years... In 4
different chairs and three different brands. If you are very active you will
wear them out! If you sit at home all day they will outlive you.
Batteries
£400 per year. or
£1200 over 3 years
Scary eh? Well its true. As a busty ACTIVE user I need new batteries
every 10 to 12 months. The very best batteries at £400 a set can give 500 x 80%
deep cycles. In a lab with smooth constant currents and optimised charging and
temperatures. In real world use you get 300 to 350 cycles or days use and
recharge. If you use the chair like my grandma, and sit at home and don't really
use its range you may get 5 years! Or if you are worse than I am and flatten the
batteries pretty much daily then you will not get 6 months.
Charging costs every night:
70Ah @ 24V (your batteries usable electrical store) is electrically the same as
7 Amps at 240v for 1 hour. Its the same amount of power/energy. But charger and
battery are not 100 percent efficient so 10 amps for 1 hour is approx equivalent
at 240v mains power when recharging. That is 2400 watt hours. at a typical UK
price of 9p per kW/hour. so just £0.21 daily. or £6.48
Per month. That was cheaper than you expected wasn't it? Well it
surprised me! |
Total costs for a typical heavy active user (including depreciation and
charging) is:
£9512 over 3 years. (every 3 years...)
That's £264 UK pounds per calendar month.
Being Disabled is not cheap. And these are very real figures rounded up and down
slightly for simplicity. Supported by 13 years worth of receipts.
In actual fact the real cost is higher still when you consider the damage done
to carpets, door frames, etc. And that you need a special
stupidly priced vehicle
to get about in that is typically twice or three times the price of an able
bodied persons car. And that it is hard to insure and does half the miles to the
gallon!
And then consider that to be sensible you NEED a
back up chair as well since you cannot
manage if one chair fails.
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