Buyers Guide to Motorized Wheel Chairs Part 1

RE: What you need to consider when purchasing motorized wheel chairs

By trade I am a musician, so I really enjoy hanging around anyone that is into music. This past year I went to New York City waiting on a subway, and I met a man named Dave, that sat in a wheel chair and played guitar while he sang. Dave was pretty cool and allowed me to get my picture taken with him. When I stood behind Dave to get my picture taken I put my hand on his shoulder and I was blown away! Dave's arms, chest and shoulders would make Arnold Schwarzenegger cry with envy. I mean Dave was as solid and muscular as boulders.

Later on the subway, I was talking to someone about Dave and in the course of the conversation I realized that the reason Dave was so strong and solid was he still had a good upper body and how thanks to technology, people that are really disabled from the waste up have a much better life than before the electric motorized wheel chairs came along. I also thought that since I have an electric bikes andscooters site, I might as well commit some time to writing a guide for people looking for motorized wheel chairs, especially of the electric variety.

So, here is a guide to help you decide what types of motorized wheel chairs to buy and how to determine which one is the right one for you.

Go for the highest quality money can buy...

Quality - Quality with motorized wheel chairs is of paramount importance. If you by an important product like this from a foreign country, then you may get a low quality vehicle. My mother used to say, "You get what you pay for." and purchasing cheaper items may be alright for people that are buying spatulas or paper clips but when it comes to high technology and precise instruments like music instruments, for example, I go for the highest quality money can buy. You don't want to get too hung up on price because if you have to constantly fix the motorized wheel chair, then you will have a cost problem. (To read a good story about cost and price and what the difference is click here.) A good way to insure quality with a particular model of electric motorized wheel chair is to use Google's search engine and check around on the internet to see if anyone has any negative comments about the motorized wheel chair. If you find a bunch of negative comments then chances are that there is a problem with it.

I have actually seen motors that are manufactured for 800 watts, but that would be extreme

Motor - This part of motorized wheel chairs is very important. If you intend going up ramps and hills that are steep, or you live in an area like San Francisco, where there a lot of step hills then you will need an electric motor that has a higher wattage. I have actually seen motors that are manufactured for 800 watts, but that would be extreme! Typically, a normal motorized wheel chair will have a motor of between 300 watts and 400 watts and the quality of the motor should be the best that you can buy. This advice goes along with the advice I gave you about quality, you get what you pay for.

Body - There are so many factors to consider when looking at a motorized wheel chair that you can actually get confused about which kind to buy. Do you need arm supports? Will you need a body that is made of a solid body or should it be flexible and foldable?

Climate -Another factor you may want to consider is climate. If you like to be outdoors, you may want an body that will keep the electric motor dry because electric motors and water do not mix! So there are many factors to coinsider when you are looking at a specific body type.

Electric Motorized Wheel Chairs - A Guide Part II