Power Requirements of Mobility Scooters

Battery-powered mobility scooters are a viable alternative to powered or manual wheelchairs for many disabled people. According to AbleData.com, an assistive technology website affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, mobility scooters have a seat at the rear of a wheeled, powered platform that supports the feet and has a steering tiller on a column at the front. They have brakes, three or four wheels, and front or rear wheel drive.

Power Sources

• Mobility scooters sold in the U.S. are electric powered. They use a DC permanent magnet motor powered by rechargeable batteries. Scooters intended for intermittent use indoors or outdoors on flat, tiled or paved surfaces typically are three-wheelers powered by a single 12-volt battery. Scooters intended for daily use on uneven surfaces indoors and outdoors have more powerful motors and require two 12-volt batteries linked in series to provide 24 volts of power. They may be three- or four-wheeled units.

Deep Cycling

• Mobility scooters require deep-cycle lead-acid batteries as their power source, said AbleData.com. These are designed to deliver steady power at relatively low amperage to run a motor over a long time and can be drained and recharged repeatedly. Automobile and marine batteries, by contrast, are designed to deliver short bursts of high-amperage power for starting gas or diesel engines. Repeated draining as from scooter use greatly shortens auto/marine battery life.

Battery Types

• The type, size and power output requirements for batteries vary by scooter type and brand. The most widely used battery type in mobility scooters is the lead-acid gel cell battery. These units require no maintenance except charging and pose no risk of leakage or explosion. But they are expensive, running up to $125 each, said AbleData.com. Gel cell batteries also require a special type of charger.

Wet Cells

• Other types of scooter power batteries include wet cell lead-acid batteries that are cheap and long-lasting but require owners to check and maintain water levels. They aren't sealed so there's a danger of spillage and gas buildups that could cause an explosion if batteries are mishandled. Sealed lead-acid batteries are a compromise, said AbleData.com, priced between gel cell and wet cell batteries. They eliminate maintenance and pose minimal risk of spillage or explosion. Often, batteries are not included in the base price of a mobility scooter, so each owner will usually pick the battery option best for their financial and physical situation.