Charging mobility scooter

[molly 2]

Would it be possible to charge a mobility scooter battery from a 12 volt supply either from a cab. Or hab sockets. With a solar panel or running the engine.using an inverter. The batteries are 2 _15 amp 12v=24v .charger Is rated.
Imput 180-240 volts
50-60 hz-0.5 A
DC output 24 V DC - 1.8 A
Would that run from a12 V socket .what minimum size inverter would it need ,would the 12 V sockets be up to the load . thanks in advance.bazz

 

[jonkil]

Would it be possible to charge a mobility scooter battery from a 12 volt supply either from a cab. Or hab sockets. With a solar panel or running the engine.using an inverter. The batteries are 2 _15 amp 12v=24v .charger Is rated.
Imput 180-240 volts
50-60 hz-0.5 A
DC output 24 V DC - 1.8 A
Would that run from a12 V socket .what minimum size inverter would it need ,would the 12 V sockets be up to the load . thanks in advance.bazz

Yes, could be charged via an inverter that powers your charger.
Wont be possible to charge directly from your alternator if your motorhome is 12v unless you de-couple the scooter batteries and charge them in parallell configuration.
Easiest way as you have stated is via an inverter from your 12 volt supply in the van, and yes your sockets will be able to handle a load of only 1.8 amps.
Best having a good inverter, some cheapy ones have a crude 240 volt output and chargers can be ficcle.

Jon

 

[insignia]

Hi
Most mobility scooter are 24v and as previously said 12v to 240v back to 24v is an energy consuming project when you can get a step up charger. We have 2 one in the MH and one in the "wav" car. Just put into a search engine 12v to 24v charger and hey presto a charged scooter with much less energy consumption than an inverter :have fun:

 

[QFour]

Use a Sterling Battery to Battery charger and you can mix unlike batteries. You can also get a 12v to 24v battery charger off ebay for about £95. Efficiency is about 85%. I have used the Sterling B to B unit before. Not cheap but it worked very well.

 

[dippingatoe]

This is an ongoing problem for me, Currently (pardon the pun) I have an exogon charger which somehow takes power from the engine/battery whilst the engine is running.

I find the electrical side of living in a motorhome rather like having a house with a fountain. Lots of fun, but there is always something which needs attention.

Will watch this thread with interest as I am not certain everything is always working as it should!!

 

[donkey too]

whatever you do don't go for the cheap in car mobility scooter chargers. I was in the trade for a long time as well as being a power chair user and from experience can tell you that in 25 years I haven't found an efficient one and the china made ones are to say the least down right dangerous. I found it best to take my batteries out and charge them singly. We did this when we did the all Britain and European tour on scooters to raise funds. and it worked well.
Saying all that I have found there is nowt better than charging from the mains and have found that most pubs that I have stayed at have allowed me to charge up overnight.

 

[Deleted member 5816]

Mobility Charging

Not cheap but ideal for your situation without altering any wiring you could charge on the move or from your leisure battery

Alf

12 Volt DC Input Battery Chargers for 24 Volt Lead Acid and SLA Batteries, for charging wheelchairs in vehicles from PowerStream

Perhaps Admin could create some form os Sticky for items like this that would be helpfull to others

Would it be possible to charge a mobility scooter battery from a 12 volt supply either from a cab. Or hab sockets. With a solar panel or running the engine.using an inverter. The batteries are 2 _15 amp 12v=24v .charger Is rated.
Imput 180-240 volts
50-60 hz-0.5 A
DC output 24 V DC - 1.8 A
Would that run from a12 V socket .what minimum size inverter would it need ,would the 12 V sockets be up to the load . thanks in advance.bazz

 

[GRWXJR]

If the batteries are 215AH (guessing here but they might well be 6v monoblocs paired up x 2 pairs?) then you'll need an intelligent charger putting out over 20A @nominal 12v on the 'Bulk' stage to charge them properly.

And that is if you aren't also trying to charge the vans LB(s) at the same time.

Even a decent power charge alternator on the main engine is going to have its work really cut out to try to sustain charging its own start battery, the LB AND a scooter pack in transit I'd guess?

Perhaps its worth considering a small AC generator to handle this if without EHU maybe, instead of beasting the van DC system? Then you can use your AC Scooter Charger on the scoot, and have the onboard AC charger look after the LB's?

 

[GRWXJR]

Not cheap but ideal for your situation without altering any wiring you could charge on the move or from your leisure battery

Alf

12 Volt DC Input Battery Chargers for 24 Volt Lead Acid and SLA Batteries, for charging wheelchairs in vehicles from PowerStream

Perhaps Admin could create some form os Sticky for items like this that would be helpfull to others

If I read it right that this chargers peak bulk charge rate is just 5A (& I correctly read the batts on the scoot to be 215A) then I'd have thought this simply wasn't man enough, and even if it could get this scoots batteries fully charged - they'd need to be on a cross-Europe drive non-stop to spend enough time on charge?

At a 10% of capacity charge rate, a discharged battery might need up to 4 hours on Bulk Charge to reach its Absorption stage, and another perhaps 3 hours to reach Float (and have the plates charged properly and the Electrolyte SG healthy).

If (IF) the numbers I am using are right, then you'd have to drive around the clock to have a hope of fully charging the Scooter up!

 

[molly 2]

mobility scooter charging

thanks for all you very good advice the 12 v charger seems a good option , i did not know they existed .i have looked at some and the down side is that they only charge when the engine is running .witch is a feture that is not needed as new vehicles turn off the 12 v power when the engine is switched off . i would also like to charge from the hab sockets as i have a solar panel. i would also take on board donky too advice as he has experiance of these products. i used to run a 12 v cool box but found the plug got very hot .may be why he said they can be dangerous. as has been said this thread could be of interest to other members . bazz

 

[molly 2]

If I read it right that this chargers peak bulk charge rate is just 5A (& I correctly read the batts on the scoot to be 215A) then I'd have thought this simply wasn't man enough, and even if it could get this scoots batteries fully charged - they'd need to be on a cross-Europe drive non-stop to spend enough time on charge?

At a 10% of capacity charge rate, a discharged battery might need up to 4 hours on Bulk Charge to reach its Absorption stage, and another perhaps 3 hours to reach Float (and have the plates charged properly and the Electrolyte SG healthy).

If (IF) the numbers I am using are right, then you'd have to drive around the clock to have a hope of fully charging the Scooter up!

h1 the batterys are 2x 15 amp 30 amp total.

 

[QFour]

The 12v lighter socket you can buy are not that good and they heat up because of the bad connection. SWMBO has an electric car blanket to keep her legs warm and the socket on that used to get hot. You can buy a locking version of the socket and plug which works really well and is capable of supplying substantial power without getting hot. As for no 12v when stationery try fitting a socket that goes directly to the leisure battery. Put a fuse in-line and you have 12v for charching ipads / Androids etc ..

 

[Deleted member 5816]

Most 12v cigarette type sockets are poor there is no reason you cannot cut the plug off and use one that fits you habitation sockets you could charge from either battery system to suit your circumstances

Alf

thanks for all you very good advice the 12 v charger seems a good option , i did not know they existed .i have looked at some and the down side is that they only charge when the engine is running .witch is a feture that is not needed as new vehicles turn off the 12 v power when the engine is switched off . i would also like to charge from the hab sockets as i have a solar panel. i would also take on board donky too advice as he has experiance of these products. i used to run a 12 v cool box but found the plug got very hot .may be why he said they can be dangerous. as has been said this thread could be of interest to other members . bazz

 

[Fazerloz]

I am suprised I would have thought the batteries would have been bigger than that.

 

[molly 2]

I am suprised I would have thought the batteries would have been bigger than that.

2x. 12 to15 amp battery's pretty standard on pavement scooters 8 to 10 miles range.