I purchased an SLA battery for my TravelScoot to use as my second battery. The advantage of having the SLA battery as a backup is that I can leave it in the trunk of my car and if I don't have my lithium ion battery with me, I can still use my scoot. I also like having it available in case I'm by myself and I overload my lithium ion battery and can't get it restarted by myself.
I put the battery in my trunk on Monday, June 22nd. I used it for a short shopping trip at Walmart, a couple of trips to visit my mom's nursing home, and to demonstrate my scoot for friends in my exercise class. On Friday, July 3rd, Alan and I took my scoot to the grocery store. We hooked up the SLA battery and sat the lithium ion battery on top of it (the opposite of how it is in the photo), in case the SLA battery pooped out on me in the store. On the way into the store the battery display went from green to amber when I was going up the incline into the store, then it went back to green. As we went through the store it went from green to a steady amber. We stayed in the store long enough to buy almost $300 in groceries and misc. supplies. By the time we left the store the display went from amber to red. I was still able to drive it out to our van and use it to take the shopping cart back to the store. I never had to use the lithium ion battery that day.
Judging from this test, it looks like I'll need to charge the SLA battery about every 10 - 14 days, depending on how much I use it. I imagine it also loses some charge just from sitting in the trunk.
The SLA battery weighs 20 lbs., but it's easy to lift because of the handle on the fabric pouch. I still prefer the lighter-weight lithium ion battery for regular use, but I like having the SLA as a backup.
Hardy has a page on his website that explains the differences in the batteries. It's at http://www.travelscoot.com/batteries.htm.
I put the battery in my trunk on Monday, June 22nd. I used it for a short shopping trip at Walmart, a couple of trips to visit my mom's nursing home, and to demonstrate my scoot for friends in my exercise class. On Friday, July 3rd, Alan and I took my scoot to the grocery store. We hooked up the SLA battery and sat the lithium ion battery on top of it (the opposite of how it is in the photo), in case the SLA battery pooped out on me in the store. On the way into the store the battery display went from green to amber when I was going up the incline into the store, then it went back to green. As we went through the store it went from green to a steady amber. We stayed in the store long enough to buy almost $300 in groceries and misc. supplies. By the time we left the store the display went from amber to red. I was still able to drive it out to our van and use it to take the shopping cart back to the store. I never had to use the lithium ion battery that day.
Judging from this test, it looks like I'll need to charge the SLA battery about every 10 - 14 days, depending on how much I use it. I imagine it also loses some charge just from sitting in the trunk.
The SLA battery weighs 20 lbs., but it's easy to lift because of the handle on the fabric pouch. I still prefer the lighter-weight lithium ion battery for regular use, but I like having the SLA as a backup.
Hardy has a page on his website that explains the differences in the batteries. It's at http://www.travelscoot.com/batteries.htm.
My original post about the SLA battery is at: http://mytravelscoot.blogspot.com/2009/06/sealed-lead-acid-sla-battery.html.
Posts
