Any ideas on how to convert a regular wheelchair to electric

[alpharalpha]

Hello All,

Well, I broke my ankle, tib and fib, non-bike related incident. But it's going to be awhile before I'm back biking as it'll require rehab and to not be putting too much weight on it for some time, so since I don't drive and who knows maybe my insurance will provide an electric one but I'm not holding my breath on that one. But I do know they will provide a regular type and I've found using this temp transportation type chair that by lock the left wheel it will turn left and visa versa so steering is not an issue, just how to get what type of electric motor to fit the wheel of the chair?
I can do the wiring and making the battery and throttle etc, it's mainly the fitting of a motor to the wheel of the chair. Any ideas??? I've had an interest in making a comfortable chair with motorized, used to joke with my buddy back in Denver that if we had them we could just go right outside and around downtown, the Cherry Creek Trail etc lounging comfortably so this'll be a fun project since I have to do it anyways as pushing with my hands and one foot is ludicrous. Thanks for any input on this project and have a great weekend. Did any of you guys see the lunar eclipse? I had to chair it down the street to get away from all our oak trees found a clearing by the credit union's drive thru, laid back on the medium there and waited out the clouds--FL--by 11:30 the wind that was blowing southwest cleared out the clouds and I got the following, just wanted to share. Would send more but not up to resizing more than one right now.

 

[Icewrench]

When a friend was busted up I found an old used 3 wheel mobility scooter in the ads for 200 bux.
It served him well.
Heal up quick man.

 

[Chalo]

That's not only a stub axle wheel, it's a stationary stub axle with bearings in the hub. So it's not compatible with any hub motor I'm aware of.

You could potentially mount a v-belt sprocket on the wheel and hang a shafted motor from the bottom of the frame. That's a lot of work for a short term solution, though.

 

[spinningmagnets]

Theres a dozen ways to do it, depending on budget and performance requirements. One idea? get one of these (either new, or...used and cheap with a fried SLA pack that you will convert to lithium). Unbolt the front end, and adapt it onto your rig...If you want a fatter pneumatic tire, or more power? They come in all sizes.

 

[SlowCo]

Spinningmagnets idea is a good one. I would even leave the scooter as is and put your good foot on it while in the wheelchair loose the foot board on that side and get the scooter a little under the chair. You should be able to use the steering of the scooter to change direction. It will take a little practice but it should be good for small distances without too much climb.

Or just use your arm muscles and have a fitness workout while moving the wheelchair manually. Heal up well.

 

[Chalo]

This might be a job for a friction roller drive, or two.

 

[alpharalpha]

Spinning Magnets that's a nifty mod. I did look on Craigslist and living in the retirement capital found some prices on electrics that beat any diy. There's one that's this heavy duty bariatric (for obese up to 750 lbs) one that has the works, Heavy duty shocks, Pnuematic tires, top end controls etc. Now it has two 4 pole Motors and the batteries seem to be two big lead acids that on the unit says 24 vdc 90 ah. So I've emailed the company to find out if these are Brush or Brushless, cause if they're Brush couldn't I just put my bike's lithium pack in there and jump it up to a 36 volt to give it more power? This thing looks like an incredibly well built piece of machinery for only $300. It weighs $285 lbs--probably with those heavy batteries--but still shows how sturdy it is. I won't be back running around after the cast comes off, that both bones down at the ankle, even with plates put in I'll have to do a lot of rehab to build up the muscles around it and give it time to completely heal. I know because I had a car pull out in front of me riding my motorcycle 27 years ago and had a whole bunch of surgeries, that's one reason I set my ebike to only go around 16-20 mph, I know all too well how Kinetic Energy works now lol, and while it feels like we're going slow at that speed have a car pull out and feel the canon like effect of being projected at 20 mph, it's like jumping off a 2 story building but rolling instead of pray to God not slamming into something dead stop. Or wiping out from a pothole or whatever. Anyways this has been the first night in 2 weeks that I actually managed to get something like a full night's sleep so am rambling a bit with my cup of coffee but if anyone knows anything about those 4 pole motors I'd really appreciate any information. Thanks and I hope you all have a restful Sunday.

 

[mettleramiel]

I work in the mobility field and there are already a few options available to you, but they are not cheap.

http://www.invacare.ca/cgi-bin/imhqprd/inv_catalog/prod_cat.jsp?s=0&catOID=-536886177 this is an idea that companies throw around every couple of years to ad power to a manual wheelchair. The wheels actually come on and off with a push button just like a manual chair. They are not big sellers as they add lots of weight to the chair when you do not have power.

http://www.magicwheels.com/ These are a powerless option and are really neat. Again, they can be easily removed with a push button. While they do not have any batteries or motors, they have a gearing system that gives you a 2:1 advantage. They also prevent rolling backwards and you can switch between modes with just the flick of your wrist!

http://riomobility.com/en/powerhandcycle/firefly-benefits.html this system requires a rigid wheelchair, which I doubt that you have as they start at around $3000. I have had a few customers use these in the past with great results. This is the fastest system that I know of to add to a manual wheelchair.

http://www.max-mobility.com/ I've only seen this thing once when a sales rep brought it in. It was a pretty neat system, but I have not had a customer try it out yet. Seemed to work pretty good to me for the short time I tried it out

 

[amberwolf]

There's quite a few ways, some documented here on ES.

I can't recall the membername, but someone in colorado has added a part of a frame from a bicycle to the wheelchair as a quickly-removable "trike" attachment, and a front hubmotor. I think the thread is a year or two old, but I guess it could be older than that.

Ther'es a commercial version of that sort of thing available too, might be called "davinci" or similar; if you find images it might help you figure out how to do yours that way.


A post from yesterday or day before describes a friction drive added to each wheel of a little trike (wheelchair sized) to help push kids around; it'd probably work for yours too.

 

[spinningmagnets]

http://i.imgur.com/D3XRhaT.gifv

 

[alpharalpha]

Yeah kid you better wear a helmet with that rig, some knee and elbow pads too. Gesh. No, can anyone tell me about 4 pole motors??? I'll probably just look at this as a chance to build up my arm muscles, better than lifting weights as it's usable muscles. Hey I'm going into surgery soon but here's the latest xrays. Woo, Happy Halloween. Just hope I'm not a ghost after they put me under, dislike going under, it's too close to the other side for my tastes you know? I've got a 5 yr old son to raise but I've lost 30 lbs and have been drinking my smoothies, doing a banana, carrot and ginger one with my vitamins and supplements, just going to rest today and then get er done.

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[amberwolf]

No, can anyone tell me about 4 pole motors???

If you look around in my early CrazyBike2 thread, and the http://electricle.blogspot.com experiment blog, you'll find test info comparing the 2-pole and 4-pole brushed motors.

But basically, if you had two otherwise identical brushed motors, a 2-pole and a 4-pole, the 2-pole will be faster than the 4-pole, but the 4-pole will have more torque than the 2-pole. (factor of 2 in either case, AFAICR).

 

[alpharalpha]

Thanks, I got a reply from the manufacturer and they are brush motors so that's good more torque and I can up the voltage from 24 to 36 v. Still have to find out if it'll fit in my door. Going in for surgery this morning..

 

[Dauntless]

Been a quiet subject lately, but a few years ago there were some spectacular friction drive projects.

 

[alpharalpha]

Well I found wheels that attach to manual wheelchairs, here's some pics:







They're power assist, not cheap but available thru eBay readily enough.