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Salsa Mini wheelchair battery

Wibbles

I have only had a wheelchair, supplied by NHS, for 2 months - the battery is showing signs that it is too tired to perform 100% !

I charged it fully on Thursday - went 1/2 mile to the shops and other than that, used it in the house to get to the downstairs toilet 10 times per day.

The LED's suddenly went from losing just two greens - to only 3 reds remaining, which rapidly dropped to 2 remaining - and the chair couldn't even climb a 1/2 inch step in to the conservatory !!

I have emailed my NHS contact…. but in the meantime, can't even trust the chair to get to the shops.

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Comments

Rosie_Scope

That's so annoying @Wibbles, and especially since you haven't had it all that long! Hope you can get it sorted quickly and get back out there

Wibbles

Still waiting for a response to yesterdays email to wheelchair "support" !!

The battery is clearly at fault - I could not trust it to hold a charge when I leave the house - even to go to the local shop

I am starting to regret going down the NHS free wheelchair route.

Jimm_Alumni

Does the service give any idea of expected response time at all? They should mention a number of business days?

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/875202#Comment_875202

No nothing made clear to me

Jimm_Alumni

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/875506#Comment_875506

I'd maybe check with the ombudsman that covers this area. I'm not entirely sure which one, since it's the NHS probably the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman? Of course you have to go through a complaints procedure first, but I feel like these are things that should be explained to you. Or at least be very clear in their terms and conditions.

Wibbles

Still nothing.......

Jimm_Alumni

Now, I wouldn't recommend messing with the chair itself, but I did find the manuals on the manufacturers website https://www.sunrisemedical.co.uk/support/documentation?searchtext=Salsa&searchmode=allwords#

It should be in that list as "Owners Manual". Maybe it'll help diagnose the issue to see if, when you do finally get a response, they can fix it faster?

So it's been, three business days so far? I hope they respond to you soon.

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/876116#Comment_876116

Thanks Jimm,

I understand that the manufacturers recommend charging the chair EVERY night - there is one problem with this - my wife has a fire phobia - so there's absolutely no way that we can leave it plugged in overnight.

I had to convince my wife that it was safe to even leave the internet router plugged in overnight - if it was up to her, the only thing left plugged in would be the fridge/freezer !

Even the bedroom TV has to be physically UNPLUGGED before she can sleep !

She has never been in a fire but is terrified of one happening.

and I am supposed to be the disabled one !!

OverlyAnxious

The irony there is that the fridge is the most likely thing to catch fire at night! New ones all need to have a metal backing now to reduce the fire risk. Don't think I've heard of a modern TV catching fire.

The LED system doesn't sound great for that battery. It would be better to show a percentage and potentially even metres/feet of expected range.

If it's a lithium battery it'll prefer to stay between 20% & 80% charge all the time. Below 20% regularly causes long term issues. If it's a lead acid battery then they can sulfate at low charge which reduces the overall capacity over time.

How long does the battery take to charge if it was done each day? Just thinking you could do it early morning or late night while you're both still awake.

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/876496#Comment_876496

They recommend leaving the battery on charge when ever the chair is not being used

michael57

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/876539#Comment_876539

i would have thought the charger would cut out when the batteries are fully charged most chargers have fans to keep them cool while charging and led lights i myself would leave it on charge all night and see if it makes a difference soft tyres and ambient temperature outside will have a detrimental effect on battery usage as well as the ah rating of the batteries

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/876567#Comment_876567

The wife won't allow me to leave it plugged in all night !

michael57

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/876940#Comment_876940

my she who must be obeyed does not let me do lots of things but i find a way in the end good luck in your quest

Wibbles

I will report to PALS, if I continue to be kept in the dark

Wibbles

Update :

I used PALS to ask for help and received a response straight away - and have now heard from the wheelchair team - who have ordered a replacement battery for my chair !!!

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/877476#Comment_877476

But they are unable to provide a time frame for the replacement battery

I can order one myself from any suppliers - but apparently - the NHS is unable to