Things You Must Know About Electric Wheelchairs By Sally Thompson

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels that helps sick, injured and other physical invalids to move around. You may come across a wide variety of wheelchairs such as manual, electric, pediatric, sports or lightweight and wheelchair lifts/vans that have different modes of functioning. Manual wheelchairs used to be the most preferred type for transportation. But today, you would find electric wheelchairs rapidly replacing manual wheelchairs because of their high utility and convenience.

Electric wheelchairs are rapidly gaining popularity because they come with advance features and developed usage patterns created particularly for satisfying your special needs. These are mainly operated by motors or batteries placed under the seat that are mostly rechargeable. You can charge its battery by plugging it into electric sockets.

If you want to buy an electronic wheelchair go for one with wet-cell, gel-cell or AGM batteries. Each has its own advantages. A wet-cell battery is light and cheap, a gel-cell battery is heavier and long-lasting while an AGM battery is heavy, expensive and requires the least maintenance.

Electric wheelchairs are very handy as they come in separate types for both indoor and outdoor usage. You should opt for an electric power wheelchair with a light frame for indoors while one with strong and expensive frames is ideal for outdoors. However, an even more important consideration about purchasing an electric wheelchair is the position of the drive wheels connected to the motor and its turning radii.

In fact, electric wheelchairs could be classified based on the position of their drive wheels:

Rear-Wheel Drive Wheelchairs: This is the most conventional type of electric wheelchair that has the rear wheels as its drive wheels. Its advantage is its high top speed of about 6 mph and largest turning radius. You just need to be careful while using it on steep slants because it has a low balance and could easily overturn.

Front-Wheel Drive Wheelchairs: This has a tight turning radius and is best for indoor use. You will find the drive wheels placed away from the seat while the large wheels are positioned ahead of the seat to ensure maximum smoothness even when you are riding upon an irregular surface. These types of electric wheelchairs have an average speed of 5 mph and might skid at a higher speed.

Mid-Wheel Drive Wheelchairs: In this model the drive wheels are placed at the middle portion of the chair and you can take them under total control. Although these drive wheels have the tightest turning radius, they have a top speed as low as 5½ mph. You should be careful while riding it through uneven surfaces because it could get stuck in the front or rear caster wheels.