3
Access Port Plug
Be sure the access port plug is all the way down before use, or it could leak
hydrogen. If the fittings get disturbed for some reason, they could back out of
their threaded slots slightly and leak. This has not yet happened, but some
people must tinker with things, so be aware that these are threaded through the
lid and must be held firm from the top when tightening the bolts.
Batteries
Batteries can be quite frustrating. They will test perfectly and then fail for no
apparent reason. They can not tolerate heat. Do not store them in your car or in a
hot place. 110 degrees F is all it takes to kill them. They otherwise should get
200 cycles, but we throw ours away after less than 100, or if the burn test falls
more than five minutes short of optimal.
If you get bad ones from us, we can have our supplier ship new ones right to you.
Best to get them locally so you can take them in and exchange them. This saves
weight in shipping which costs more and may damage the scooter.
The other thing to remember is that all batteries offgas - even Ni-Cads Never
leave your scooter sealed or pull the trigger out of the water. If you leave it
sealed, it may blow up and that can be extremely dangerous and cause serious
injury.
Battery Charging
You will need a 24V Battery Charger to charge your scooter batteries. Sears has
one with 12 and 25 volt settings, gel cell settings, fast, normal or maintain charge
settings, an analog ammeter, 2,10 or 20 max amp settings, etc., and it is in a
proper case for good ventilation and costs about $80 in the automotive section.
The Interactor charger does not offer settings, therefore allowing no control of the
charge process, and is overpriced at $110. Xenotronics has a high quality
charger for about $400, but the Sears charger is more than adequate.
With the Sears charger you must be sure the "gel" switch setting is in the right
place or it will put out too much and give you all kinds of bad signals, not to
mention improper charging.
They also give bad signals if the connection is not perfect. Make sure your
charging port plugs are not getting loose or oxidized.
Brownies has some chargers they found that seem to work . We ordered one but
have not tried it.
To check to see if the batteries are charged if you are not sure that the charger is
telling the truth , put your multimeter on amp dc and move the non com plug to
the amp slot and then clip in in between one side of the circuit (you will need to
Gavin Scooter User’s Manual and FAQ (
George Irvine 2002)
