Alber Adventure Powerchair Review

[Burgerman]

http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/alber-a ... rchair.htm (My review)

Add your own comments about the Alber Adventure Powerchair or any review or other comments here and i will link this page from the review...

Burgerman

[CPguy]

I wish to add some stuff: I have driven this chair for 4 weeks (while my main chair was being repaired) both in the Austrian Alps (Tyrol) and in Vienna (a fairly flat town).

- It was supplied with a huge off board charger with no means to transport it on the WC. The need to return to the charger decreases range.
- steering is only for grandmas.
- the large casters are indeed a huge bonus
- The OEM tires only have minimal grip; I found it seriously dangerous on a level wet surface. Decending slops can be very dangerous (slidding). Has sufficient power and grip ascending slops though.
- the anti-tip wheels are mounted far too low. They can suspend the rear (drive) wheel in mid air when decending a curb.
- There is a high probability that you get stuck then attempting to drive over "cable bridges" (is that the correct term?) as the rear wheels do not have sufficient grip to drive over them. (In such a case, the cable bridge is between the casters and the rear drive wheel.)

No comment on range as I only used it for short (2 km max.) trips. Also I never took the chair apart for transportant (A claimed advantage stated by the producer)

Conclusion: Extremly good loooking chair, large front casters are very usefull. However, as an outdoor chair I could only recommend it as a spare chair.

P.S.: Here a picture of a very small "cable bridge": http://www.gifas.at/kabelbruecken/gross ... ruecke.htm

[bulldog]

sorry for my english i have a aber adventure since 2 months in afternoon i have doing 15km the tires is not good for the road, the grass, it's no good for all ground just good for snow
it's confortable if the shock absorber is'nt for a weight exactly of the personn driver i think is not good in the house too bigger you can make a long promenade the look is good
when i make more with the wheelchair i put somes photos and video on the site thank you all wheelchairdriver

[bulldog]

6 months with this wheelchair you can drive on the long race more 30km it's not very confortable on the road if you go fast all the time The batterie are good after 6 months use.
The front wheels are very good for go on the sidewalk 8cm

[dgt]

Interesting; I rather like my Adventure. The batteries last well, it can be programmed, it is widely adjustable, it is comfortable and it is rather nicely made.

Yes, the planet gears could be quieter and, for me, the front castors could benefit from less trail; the do 'flop' at low speed manoeuvres.

However, taken all round, as an outdoor chair, it does the job nicely for me.

Just my opinion of course.

Dave.

[malamar]

I must say that i didn`t consider Invacare as an option over Sunrise, but now , come to know a little more about power chairs, i start dreaming of a "special edition" of an Alber Adventure.
It's to wide and heavy, so i`ll think of a center batts section a la Bm3, all alloy tubed frame, turf tyres, brushless motors already implemented...With his big clearance to ground and first rate shock, batteries and controller, should become one of the very best...I believe.

[Burgerman]

Invacare?

[malamar]

Yes, if not wrong...

Invacare Alber Adventure

The Alber Adventure powerchair is suitable for indoor and outdoor use with spring suspension on all wheels.

The Invacare Alber Adventure Powerchair Wheelchair is suitable for indoor or outdoor use. With spring suspension on all wheel and a joystick control the Alber Adventure features a modular design intended to cover long distances and various terrain. Along with anti tip supports and quick release castors the chair has two removable hub powered wheels, a standard seating unit or adjustable function seat. The two battery packs come with an automatic battery charger. The Invacare Alber Adventure Powerchair also has a range of optional extras.

Easy to dismantle; the seat, each wheel and battery packs can be removed without tools.
Seat Width From 380 mm to 520 mm
Load Capacity (supplier stated) 140 kg
Weight (kg) 96.7 kg
Turning Circle 880 mm

Suitability
Transportation – Can take into a car with a ramp/hoist. Occupied transportation may be possible with correct tie down or clamping systems should you wish to remain in the chair whilst travelling. Because of their size these models will generally need a larger vehicle to be transported.
Range -Up to 30 miles due to the larger batteries.
Seating Options At this level and dependent upon model chosen, you can configure the chair to the measurements/specification you require. Various seating options may also be available to accommodate spinal or pressure requirements. Including raising /tilting or reclining seats
Seat sizing – The size of seats in this group can vary considerably from 16″ up to 24″.
Ideal user requirements – somebody who wants to use the chair most of the time outd oors and also travel out to local shops etc.

[Burgerman]

Maybe they bought Alber out?

Strange. Either way its not really an all day every day solid chair. More a shopping chair thats hard to take apoart and put back together so you generally wouldnt bother.

[n.woodford]

The batteries on this chair only live for about 18 months and at £520 plus delivery and fitting is over £550 a set. After 3 years my wifes alber needs its 3rd set. A 1 year guarantee is just not good enough.
I am activley searching for an alternative set at a realistic price. We are living on my pension and just cannot acept this type of running cost. If my car had an item that expired every 14 to 18 months I would consider it to be a defect in design, but of coirse my car comes with a comprehensive 3 year guarantee not a very poor 12month one.
We would not consider spending £6500 again on this chair unless they can do something about this issue.

[n.woodford]

The batteries on this chair only live for about 18 months and at £520 plus delivery and fitting is over £550 a set. After 3 years my wifes alber needs its 3rd set. A 1 year guarantee is just not good enough.
I am activley searching for an alternative set at a realistic price. We are living on my pension and just cannot acept this type of running cost. If my car had an item that expired every 14 to 18 months I would consider it to be a defect in design, but of coirse my car comes with a comprehensive 3 year guarantee not a very poor 12month one.
We would not consider spending £6500 again on this chair unless they can do something about this issue.

[Fulliautomatix]

The batteries on this chair only live for about 18 months and at £520 plus delivery and fitting is over £550 a set. After 3 years my wifes alber needs its 3rd set. A 1 year guarantee is just not good enough.

Are you using/charging/maintaining them correctly?
The industry standard powerchair chargers are responsible for a lot of good batteries dying!
Have you seen these pages?
http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/charging-batteries.htm
http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/my-batteries.htm
http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/hyperion.htm
http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/maintain-power-wheelchair-batteries.htm

[Burgerman]

Its like this. Lead batteries are crap. The BEST lead batteries (Odyssey, or MK Gel, depending on your needs) are still crap, the rest are worse and not worth buying.

An MK can give 500 cycles in a lab, charged CORRECTLY and fully and as soon as it is discharged. In the real world, powerchair chargers are less than ideal, so you do not get a full charge, and charge volts are often higher than ideal. As such you can expect anything from 200 to 400 cycles real world, depending how you treat them. Realistically, that's a year under heavy use.

Mine last me MUCH longer (typically 3 years) however because I practice what I preach.

Charge several times a day when I get the chance, as I drive my van, sit at my PC like now, and fully for 8 to 12 hours overnight.

The deeper you discharge them the shorter their life.
The less often you FULLY recharge them the shorter they will live.
The further away from the perfect charge voltage your charger is, the shorter their life will be.

Its also why my BM3 batteries are lithium (45 miles range) and 2000 cycles - charged every few days, means 10 years plus life.

[Burgerman]

After 3 years my wifes alber needs its 3rd set.

Alber adventure? It uses batteries that are way too small, so they get discharged far too deeply on a daily basis.

If you want to use lead batteries on an all day powerchair, you must get one that takes 70Ah group 24 sized batteries as a basic necessity.

Less, like the alber, means very fast deterioration (and limited range).

USING the BEST batteries (MK GEL, Odyssey, Sonnenschein A500 and NO OTHER!) you get approx. the following:

20 percent discharge daily = 5000 cycles.
40 percent discharge = 3000 cycles.
60 percent 800 to 1000 cycles...
80 percent 400 to 500 cycles...
90 percent 200 to 300 cycles...
100 percent 25 to 100 cycles at very best.

[fuzzy logic]

Two 12v 17ah batteries in each power pack (the 12kmh needs two power packs or it will not operate at full speed) so they do not make a decent amount between them a solve able problem with a better power source. The rear tyres have other options http://www.wheelchairspecialists.co.uk/ ... aspx?id=31 the black off road tires are still a little narrow but should offer some more traction on soft ground.

[Dave B]

Hi

I have an Alber Adventure I picked up used, suits me as I still have some use of my legs and wanted something that would go in the boot of my Alfa Romeo Giulietta, of course I had not found this website when I purchased it but it is still the only modular powered wheelchair that will go in my boot that I am aware of.

I am of course building up my upper body strength as the new battery packs weigh in at 14.2 kilos each having 2 x Mk12v 22ah gel batteries{as lithium was more than i was prepared to pay) and its a one handed lift, im nackered but determined.

With a bit of a clean and lubrication the whole wheelchair comes apart with the push or pull of levers, no tools are required, assembly is easy too, if arms wobble then they need tightening.

Sadly this only has the 4mph wheels but goes up and down hills and ramps without any issue, well apart from the appalling grip of the original tyres, any one thinking of changing tyres I have just done so and 100/80/10 fit very nicely with good body clearance, this wheelchair does not use split wheels but it does have a rim that unbolts, dont bother taking it to a motorcycle shop or the likes as they will say they will supply but not fit as they change tyres using machinery, its easy to change the tyres yourselves, no tyre irons needed just some lube and a few choice words and job is done.

One more word of wisdom, new parts are still available for this machine but wow are they pricey.

[Burgerman]

I looked at one of those. Dissasembly and reassembly was a major and heavy operation. Not what I would call convinient! Once builT it would tend to stay that way! And control was well... vague! To be polite. And no way to reprogram it. But if those things dont bother you thats fine. My opinion.

I am of course building up my upper body strength as the new battery packs weigh in at 14.2 kilos each having 2 x Mk12v 22ah gel batteries{as lithium was more than i was prepared to pay) and its a one handed lift, im nackered but determined.

OK... Ah per Ah, LiFePO4 is both cheaper than lead MK, and will offer around 35 to 40% more range. And is FIVE times lighter! You no doubt went to an "expert"...

22Ah isnt adequate though as you will find out. Batteries dont give adequate range even with brushless motors at that capacity for anyone thats busy. So you could double that with lithium. Fitting say 30Ah of lithium would do that for around the same cost as lead. And 1/3rd the weight of lead.

If you dont mind the worry of lithium ion, firework style cells because the batteries are rapidly removable, then you could fit 40 to 50Ah in those battery boxes. And still be lighter than lead with 4x the range. Not my idea of safety though.

[Pierro]

I was wondering that the A10 contains 4x 12V 22Ah batteries. 2 in series and 2 in parallel. I don't understand why?

[Burgerman]

Shape? Weight of individual parts maybe?
The 2 that are in parallel simply behave as one larger battery. You can have them different capacities too if you wish. But theres no technical reason why its nessasary.

[CPguy]

Note that Alber has indeed been bought by Invacare and the Alber Adventure is out of production. However, you may still be able to get spare parts.

[sergey0]

I was wondering that the A10 contains 4x 12V 22Ah batteries. 2 in series and 2 in parallel. I don't understand why?

This is done so that when transporting the wheelchair by disassembling it into a car, for example, to a store or a clinic, you can use a single battery pack (without carrying both). The wheelchair can also operate on just one battery pack.

[Burgerman]

Once you try dissassembling one of those chairs and reassembling it again later when you get it out of the car. And again on the way home, you likely wont ever do it again! Not exactly a user freindly experience!

[sergey0]

I have been using this wheelchair for 4 years. It is the only wheelchair in the world with a speed of 12 km/h that can be disassembled without a single bolt (exclusively using buttons) and fits into any car trunk. It is also the only disassemblable wheelchair in the world with a frame made entirely of aluminum and plastic.

As for the claim that the lead-acid batteries are bad, they just need to be charged correctly. My wheelchair came from the factory with Panasonic LC-XD1217 AGM batteries from 2013. Last winter, I measured the remaining battery capacity using an electronic load tester in C20 mode. The remaining capacity of all four batteries ranged from 17.3 to 17.44 Ah. You can see my measurement data here: https://disk.yandex.ru/i/EH94WPyvk436jw (everything is in Russian, but it should be understandable).

I have tried many outdoor wheelchairs, including the Meyra Optimus 2 (15 km/h), Ottobock A200, B400, B500, B600, and a Polish model (I don't know the exact name) with a speed of 7 km/h (similar to the Meyra Clou). I also considered Permobil and Quickie, but they weren’t for me.

After four years of use, I am very satisfied with this wheelchair for outdoor walks—both on asphalt and dirt trails. It has independent suspension on all four wheels.

P.S. I personally traveled 32 km on these 2013 batteries, and out of 5 charge bars, I still had 2 bars remaining.

[Burgerman]

Because its brushless. Yes batteries that are not overly disharged, and charged correctly, last up to 500 cycles @ 80% depth of discharge. Or 3 times that at 50% discharged. And panasonic make good batteries. But its hardly portable. I watched a woman outside my house trying to get one out of her car, assemble and then load it back in. A struggle and heavy for her. Lithium lightweight chairs are better for a portable travel chair. Much lighter.

[sergey0]

The development of this wheelchair began at least in 2006. As of today, it still looks very modern. Currently, there is no other 12 km/h power wheelchair in the world that can be fully disassembled using only buttons.

This wheelchair features brushless motors and planetary gearboxes. You have seen it in videos and pictures, but I have been using a used one for 4 years, and I can share a lot of insights about it.

[sergey0]

Text in Russian:
My path is not easy, but I keep going,
Blizzards blow against me,
Out of all the roads, I will choose one,
And with every step, I rise higher!
And I still believe in miracles,
I also miss my homeland,
Where we sang songs by the campfire.

https://youtu.be/RzdJ-YjeVnw