I found this easily read article comparing battery types whilst investigating if (and how) I could swap Lead Acid for Lithium Batteries in an old style Mobility Scooter.

It contains some interesting facts on the differences.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55d...um+ion.pdf

PS I found that it would cost 4 times as much (£400 v £100) to upgrade batteries plus I would need a new 24v (Lithium) Charger. It would more than halve the Battery Pack weight and more than double the expected projected battery life (5 year warranty) FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

I recently looked at replacing the gel batteries in our mobility scooter but the cost in total was horrendous, I might just upgrade the standard batteries in ours to the larger capacity gel batteries instead, mind you that’s not cheap as it needs a new housing as well.

Might get my slightly less than sylph like figure up the hills easier  Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

If your lead battery currently does the job then stick with it. If you go with lithium apart from all the battery which have too little mass for their stated AH. Lithium batteries need good quality BMS. You also need a lithium charger which actually stops charging when full. Absolutely no trickle charging or charging if below 5°C. If you are not using your lithium battery for awhile, discharge about 50% for longer life.


Victron battery.


No name Chinese battery filled with foam, often using C grade cells.


If you need to use the full capacity of a lead battery, use it. If you do this once a month over 5 years it's only 60 cycles, the battery is not going to drop off a cliff. Charge it up as soon as possible. Lead batteries like to be topped up regularly for storage. Just leave in on a smart charger. You could just connect a 5 watts solar panel with diode as a trickle charger.

I have four 26AH gel batteries for accessories. Also having four allows for jump starting at 360amps for 5 minutes or 1040 amps briefly. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Boxbrownie wrote:

I might just upgrade the standard batteries in ours to the larger capacity gel batteries instead, mind you that’s not cheap as it needs a new housing as well.

Just get a second battery sit in in the basket & plug it in when needed with a jumper lead. If you want to use the old battery unplug it after use as its resting voltage will be different to the new one.

 Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

It’s not the longevity of the present batteries which is the issue, it is the fact they just don’t have the amperage in reserve for the occasional hill climb, it won’t help much as it’s the same motor obviously but a larger battery would help a bit before the fuse goes pop each time it wants me to get off and push

I don’t fancy putting/leaving an expensive battery in the carrying basket (not that we have one), easiest for us will be the larger pack which is designed for the buggy. Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

Possibly a stupid question but does the battery form part of the ballast?
As in does it stop the vehicle from tipping over? In which case lighter lithium might be a bad idea. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

It was the weight of the battery, lifting it in and out of the car, that I was trying to overcome.

I already have a lighter weight lithium battery foldable scooter, which is reasonably easy to load/unload, but my wife has an older style lead acid scooter, which is more sturdy, and dismantles into 5 (quite heavy) bits to put into car.

You are correct to point out that the quality of the batteries will most likely vary, as ever since I have been in the electronics industry all components have been tested, and categorised, and sold on at various prices which reflect their accuracy and probable durability.

That means you normally get what you were willing to pay for.

Andy, not a stupid question, you are right, my wife's scooter is much more stable than mine. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

I don't know what size batteries scooters have, but a 26AH gel battery is only 8.5kg. Make a simple bracket to tie it down.

If you draw down lead batteries at a high rate their AH is actually less. So if you add another battery you will in effect have a bit more than double the AH because the batteries are drawn down at half the rate.

26AH battery:
20 hour rate (1.3 amps) 26AH
10 hour rate (2.11 amps) 21.1AH
5 hour rate (3.74 amps) 18.7AH
1 hour rate (14 amps) 14AH Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

The battery pack consists of 2 12v 22Ah Lead Acid Batteries (serially 24v 22ah) and weighs 32lbs (14.5 Kg). From what I gather in various adverts, converting to Lithium will halve this.

Its heavy at arms reach when loading into boot, that would possibly allow me to load scooter in, complete with battery installed, and use scooter wheels to manoeuvre across boot.

Click image to enlarge

In this situation for OH&S I would go lithium regardless of the price, doing your back in will be a far more expensive exercise in every aspect. Even if you still have to load seperatly I would still go for lithium.

It's the reason I use 10 litre fuel containers on the roof when in the outback. With petrol each weigh 9kg. I would not want to be lifting 20 litres into a cradle on the roof. My solar panels weigh 13.5kg & I have designed their cradle so they slide onto & in. The 6th wheel at 30kg I pray we don't get punctures that I can't repair as it is an accident waiting to happen getting the wheel on or off the roof. It's hard enough getting a wheel out of the boot. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18