Mobility scooter battery size

[gluecksbaer]

I decided to buy a folding travel scooter.  Usually I'm very detailed and do a lot of research, but several factors led me to impulse purchase a Buzzaround Carryon today.  I was looking for other information and discovered that the battery that comes with it is too large for the FAA rules for wheelchair/scooter batteries.  I really liked that the battery capacity had around 18 miles.  There is a smaller, FAA compliant battery that has only 6.5 AH and is supposed to get 7.8 miles.  

I'm just wondering, for those of you who use a motorized mobility device, how big is your battery capacity?  Will the 6.5 AH likely be enough or will I want to purchase a second battery to switch out on long days.

Are there often outlets available in common areas of ships or will I need to go back to my cabin to charge the scooter during the day?  I'll be on the Allure of the Seas if anyone knows about that ship specifically.

Edited January 4, 2023 by gluecksbaer

[Essiesmom]

I can’t answer your battery questions, but there may be places to plug in in public areas.  You would have to have a dual voltage battery, and likely a plug adapter for an EU outlet.  There may be outlets in public areas where the crew plug in vacuum cleaners in carpeted lounges…they may not be obvious.  Usually low, down near baseboard level.  Make it a game to try and locate them for use later.  EM

[katisdale]

I've used a scooter in the past and use a fold and go electric wheelchair now. I haven't ever travelled more than four miles in a day. When the battery gets down to half I would turn around. Perhaps you could order the smaller battery for travel and keep the larger one for use in your home area?

[GUT2407]

I use power wheelchairs mainly, I much prefer one with two batteries but will Ron on just one, that way, when one goes flat, it is time to swap batteries and head back. But as someone else said if you carry your charger it isn’t hard to f8nd somewhere to top up and I’ve never had anyway say no.

 

[ozscotart]

I use a Travelscoot, I use a 274 kWh lithium ion battery, max being 300. Most airlines allow one 300 and one spare, but some only allow 160, I usually carry a 300 and a spare. I generally find I don’t travel more than about 6 k a day, I get too tired, but if you are doing a lot of hills or ramps, or if the battery is old, the battery will go down much quicker. Of course, the travelscoot is extremely lightweight, so possibly the battery goes further. So, my usual suggestions would be, not knowing anything about your particular situation, is to check the airline rules about batteries, including spares, and carry any documents about the battery with you, they can be inspected at every stage of your airport journey. They are being particularly cautious about lithium ion batteries now, due to problems with unsafe ones on illegal e scooters and such like (they can explode). 

[crazyank]

On 1/4/2023 at 2:19 PM, Essiesmom said:

You would have to have a dual voltage battery, and likely a plug adapter for an EU outlet.  

Pretty sure you mean a dual voltage charger, 

[gluecksbaer]

Thanks for responding everyone.  I didn't think about plugs in common areas being an EU outlet.  I will have to figure out if my charger can be used with an adapter or if the company makes an EU compatible charger.  There is usually a US standard outlet in each cabin, correct?

 

I expressed my disappointment to the store I purchased my scooter from that I wasn't told about the battery capacity issue in a travel scooter .  They were kind enough to order the smaller battery for me at no charge.  This leaves more room in the budget for purchasing a second battery or asking my parents for one for my birthday so I don't have to worry about cutting excursions short and disappointing my kids.   

The battery that comes with it is 360kWh so over the max for any airline.  The smaller battery is under 160 so should work.  I also need to ask what airline we are flying so I can double check all their rules since I didn't plan this trip.

 

 

[jcl410]

On 1/8/2023 at 4:44 PM, gluecksbaer said:

---

The battery that comes with it is 360kWh ...

 

 

Just for clarification the limit is for a 300 Watt/hour (Wh) battery, not KiloWhat/hour (KWh) Batteries in the KWh range are used for EV cars and bigger.

 

The FAA allows two spare batteries if each of them are less than 160Wh. (Or one spare from 160-300Wh)

 

Aloha,

 

John  

[gluecksbaer]

4 hours ago, jcl410 said:

Just for clarification the limit is for a 300 Watt/hour (Wh) battery, not KiloWhat/hour (KWh) Batteries in the KWh range are used for EV cars and bigger.

 

The FAA allows two spare batteries if each of them are less than 160Wh. (Or one spare from 160-300Wh)

 

Aloha,

 

John  

 Thanks. 

[Joseph2017China]

Use WattHour.(WH).  We have a travel scooter, and we carry two batteries with us at all times.  When one dies, the second one is on.  We use lithium batteries, and both combined fall below the airlines 300.  We get between 12-16 miles on both combined.  I did not even know a travel scooter can ever get 18 miles because the batteries are usually 24 volts and not 48 volts.  

 

Many batteries can be charged off a 12volt car, 110v or 240 volts.  Check your charger, and it will tell you what the "input" volts can be.  The output volts go to the batteries.  Yes, your charger would need to have the right plug, but in Europe and many places the plug is a unversal plug, thus it may be 240v but can accept any type of pins

 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 1/8/2023 at 4:44 PM, gluecksbaer said:

Thanks for responding everyone.  I didn't think about plugs in common areas being an EU outlet.  I will have to figure out if my charger can be used with an adapter or if the company makes an EU compatible charger.  There is usually a US standard outlet in each cabin, correct?

 

I expressed my disappointment to the store I purchased my scooter from that I wasn't told about the battery capacity issue in a travel scooter .  They were kind enough to order the smaller battery for me at no charge.  This leaves more room in the budget for purchasing a second battery or asking my parents for one for my birthday so I don't have to worry about cutting excursions short and disappointing my kids.   

The battery that comes with it is 360kWh so over the max for any airline.  The smaller battery is under 160 so should work.  I also need to ask what airline we are flying so I can double check all their rules since I didn't plan this trip.

 

 

most chargers that have the brick like blocks are dual voltage, it’s printed on them, or raised letters.  We take the European adapters because they are cheap and it gives us 1-2 extra outlets in a room to plug most everything else into. 
 

i recommend carrying a spec sheet for your scooter it answers most questions you’ll be asked at checkin.

 

ps don’t expect EWR TSA to know the rules for mobility devices, so we are now going to carry their specs too!  The first time at EWR they said they’d have to call the airlines.  The airlines came down and told them that the rules for scooters and chairs were different from batteries for cameras etc.  35 days later returning we had the same problem, again!

Edited February 8, 2023 by Benthayer Gonbak

[gluecksbaer]

On 2/8/2023 at 10:38 AM, Benthayer Gonbak said:

most chargers that have the brick like blocks are dual voltage, it’s printed on them, or raised letters.  We take the European adapters because they are cheap and it gives us 1-2 extra outlets in a room to plug most everything else into. 
 

i recommend carrying a spec sheet for your scooter it answers most questions you’ll be asked at checkin.

 

ps don’t expect EWR TSA to know the rules for mobility devices, so we are now going to carry their specs too!  The first time at EWR they said they’d have to call the airlines.  The airlines came down and told them that the rules for scooters and chairs were different from batteries for cameras etc.  35 days later returning we had the same problem, again!

Thanks!  

I won't be going near Newark but probably a good idea to have the TSA page on scooter batteries handy in case I run into that elsewhere.

[ilockwh]

We recently purchased an electric Moving Life Atto mobility scooter after extensive research. We gave it our first cruise test on the celebrity Beyond. It exceeded every expectation and widened our cruise experience. We needed one that would go up and down the embarkation ramps, would fit in our cabin, would be able to get through the cabin door, have a rechargeable battery that charges in a reasonable time, and is easy to use. The Atto made it up and down the ramps easily. It folds into a medium size portable suitcase size in about 15 seconds. It tows like a wheeled medium suitcase. Folded, it goes into the cabin and takes no more space than an upright medium suitcase. The battery is a 48 volt light weight rechargeable lithium battery. From 50% battery capacity it recharged in a couple of hours. The battery is removable and lightweight. It is approved for taking on airplanes.

The scooter really helped us enjoy our cruise, Previously, we used a wheelchair. Huge difference.