4
jumper the other side) and turn on the charger. If it will not take current and the
charger is reading voltage, then it is charged. You can check the charger for volts
first and then the battery, then the amps, and then the resting voltage of the
battery.
Battery Connections
The connections from the battery are gold and should never cause a problem.
They are two part connectors which hold the fitting without pulling the wire - use
the handplugs to disconnect. Inside they have set screws holding the wire which
is tinned with silver to go against the gold fitting. At the other ends are merely
high temp connectors, crimped and soldered. The charging port is a simple
Radio Shack connector. The wire is all boat cable, #10 .
Battery Packs
The battery packs need to have their bulkheads spaced properly. The upper
bulkhead needs to be such that the lid can go all the way down without the O-
ring. The nose cone has inserts in it to hold the top of the battery rods in position
so the pack will not move. You can put a piece of foam in there as well. We do
that to keep pressure on the nose cone when the O-ring is out. See the FAQ on
Balancing Your Scooter for more information on battery packs and spacing.
Blades
The blades will eventually wear out and the scooter slow down a little. This is
because the holes that are used to control the pitch wallow out. New blades are
27 per set. It takes a while to wear them out. I have not personally worn any out,
but my hard core divers have. If there is any other change in performance,
sound, or speed, send us the motor immediately, without passing "go". It is either
perfect, or it is not. If not, we fix it.
Body O-Rings
The body O-rings are number 375. They sometimes appear "cracked" on the
outside - ignore this. You may never have to replace these, but they cost about a
buck if you do.
Latches
The latches are sometimes difficult or time consuming to get made, so don't
break them. If you do break them, however, George Irvine will send you more.
Leave the latches closed, as the only time they like to break off or rip out is when
they are open. Closed, the strikes will straighten out before you can sheer those
screws, even in the PVC body. If you mess up the latch holes, you can drill them
all the way through and use a 3/8 " ## 6-32 machine screw and some silicone to
hold you over until a new body can be made (40 bucks for the body). Bill Gavin
used to run them through like that, but it is not necessary for strength, and leaves
open that quick fix option if you do mangle one. The other option for quick fix is to
hot air melt the PVC and put the screw back in. That can also be done with the
Gavin Scooter User’s Manual and FAQ (
George Irvine 2002)
