Mobility Scooter Maintenance
The best things about electric mobility scooters is their ease of use. There isn’t much that needs to be done in order to keep an electric scooter in great condition and proper working order. The minor maintenance activities that are recommended are quite easy to perform and will keep your mobility scooter working for years to come.
The only other major thing to remember about maintaining your mobility scooter is simply keeping it clean. Cleaning the dirt and grime off of your scooter benefits you not only because the scooter looks better, but also because that dirt can get into the mechanical parts of the scooter and cause unnecessary additional wear-and-tear. Keep the scooter in proper working order and clean any dust, dirt, or grime that builds up, especially on the metal parts. Keep the scooter somewhere indoors so that it will stay dry and won’t be exposed to extreme hot or cold temperatures. This will go a long way towards keeping the battery healthy as well as keeping the electric scooter clean. As you’re cleaning the scooter, remember to check the terminal battery connections and clean any corrosion off.
If you have a small boot electric scooter you may be able to take the battery pack off the scooter and charge the batteries independently of the scooter. This means that you can leave the scooter in the car, and charge the batteries indoors, such as at home, in a hotel room or caravan. Other mobility scooters need to have the batteries left on them to charge them. The charging point is on the scooter itself, rather than the battery pack. This means that the disabled scooter battery has to be charged near a mains outlet, and so the mobility scooter is likely to be kept in a garage or shed if its too large to be kept inside the house. As a rough guide, depending on use, terrain, and user weight, the batteries can last 1-2 years. Obviously if the mobility scooter is used for a travelling a few miles a week on flat terrain, the batteries will last longer than if the scooter is used for travelling 20 miles a day up and down hills and off road.
Like a car, your mobility scooter will need a service from time to time. The mobility scooter manual will advise you how often your scooter needs servicing. As a rough guide it will need servicing every 12 months or so, depending on use. An authorised mobility dealer will be able to carry out the scooter service, and ensure that the scooter is functioning to its full capability. Depending on the dealer, and the model and age of the scooter, the scooter service may take two hours. The service may also include a test ride by the mechanic to fully check the mobility scooter and make sure that it is running smoothly and as it should do. The mobility scooter may need to be taken to a mobility dealer to be serviced, or the dealer may carry out the service in the users home. This means that the user wont be without their scooter, and can ask the mechanic any questions regarding their scooter. The manual will also describe and weekly or monthly maintenance checks that are required. This can include pumping up the tyres, lubricating the brake, checking the seat mechanism and so on.
In a mobility scooter the scooter must have a good connection to its batteries. It is important to make sure that all connections to and from the battery are tight. Most batteries have two exposed metal surfaces called terminals. Terminals are either short posts that stick out of the battery, or they are inverted and allow a connection to be screwed into them. In either case it is important that the connection is tight. A loose connection can lead to poor and unreliable performance.
