Snowbirds who use an electric wheelchair don’t always opt to bring it along with them. Sometimes, ambulatory wheelchair users prefer to rent a motorized wheelchair when they travel. Other times, they may have a mobility device that they leave at home and they choose to buy an electric wheelchair when they get to their second home. If you’re going to travel south for the winter and you aren’t traveling with your mobility device, check out these electric wheelchair winter storage tips.
Tip 1. Preparing Your Power Wheelchair for Storage
When it comes to storing your electric wheelchair, preparation is key for maintaining its integrity. The first thing you should do, when at all possible, is make sure that the batteries are fully charged before storing.Â
Tip 2. Where to Store Your Motorized Wheelchair
Ideally, your wheelchair’s batteries should be stored in a climate above 32 degrees to help prevent them from freezing while you’re away. They also should be disconnected from the device to help slow down the rate of discharge.
Tip 3. Maintaining Your Power Wheelchair
How often you need to charge the batteries for your electric wheelchair is determined by how often you use it. If you use your product less frequently, we recommend charging the batteries 8-14 hours twice a week for a maintenance charge. When it comes to longer periods without using your power wheelchair, we recommend keeping a charging schedule of one charge every 2-3 weeks.
Since you aren’t home during this time, we recommend that you ask someone you trust to do it for you. We do not recommend charging the batteries for longer than 14 hours. Refer to the manual supplied with the battery charger for charging instructions.
Tip 4. Getting Your Motorized Wheelchair Ready for Use
Once you’re back and ready to use your motorized wheelchair, there are some things you need to do first. Before you can use your electric wheelchair, make sure that the batteries are charged. In the event that batteries were stored in an environment below 32 degrees for a long period of time, they need to be brought into a warmer environment for a day before charging to prevent any damage.
If you read through these tips and decide to change your mind about traveling with your power wheelchair, we have some tips for traveling with your motorized wheelchair safely.
I Have a Jazzy Elite ES, The batteries went dead while I was on vacation. Can they still be recharged and used, if not, how do I get replacement batteries?
Hello there! Thank you for visiting our blog, I’m sorry to hear about your batteries. You can see about getting them load tested at a dealer’s location, or you can purchase new batteries online or at a local dealer. To find a dealer you can visit our locator here: https://www.pridemobility.com/find-a-dealer.asp
🙋🏻‍♀️ Hi my chairweell don’t not run very well, and putting to charge all night and dosn run when try to use, maybe the manual suitch control have a electric short. And don’t feeling speedy front and back, Letmekow where are someone switching is wrong or where they to put onn to initiate to run. Thanks to much for your help.
we’ll be happy to help look into this for you. If you would please send us your serial number along with this description to info@pridemobility.com
My power wheel chair will not charge
Hi Janie! I’m so sorry to hear that, if you’d like we can try to assist. You can either send us an email with your information and serial number to info@pridemobility.com or you can call directly and speak with one of our friendly representatives at 800-800-4258
Left my charging cords in FL where do I buy a new one?
Hi Gayle! We’re sorry to hear you left your charger in FL you can easily get a new one from a dealer, you can search for one online or local to you here: https://www.pridemobility.com/find-a-dealer.asp
Pride brand scooter is charged but will not run. How can i fix this?
Hi Sherri! We recommend speaking with your original dealer who sold the chair to you or if you are needing to find a service provider please visit our locator. If you’d like to troubleshoot further you can visit our site here: http://www.pridemobility.com to use our live chat or speak with one of our support reps directly : 800-800-4258
My Mom’s 2019 Jazzy elite es (S/N JC126419077C60) has been in storage for 8 months while she recovered from a broken hip. Batteries were dead when we brought it out the other day so she can use it again, and when we plug the charger in, the red light comes on, and we can see voltage out using a meter, but the green light does not come on and it does not charge. We also hit the reset button a couple times but seems to not help. Please advise on how to get the batteries charged again. Thx. Mike
Hi Mike! Because of the length of time that the batteries were not charged you may need a new set of batteries for that unit. If you could please contact us at info@pridemobility.com we’ll be happy to point you in the right direction on diagnosing them and getting a new set ordered if needed.