Charging electric wheelchair en route

[Dvanleeu]

My electric wheelchair has a range of 12 miles. Takes 6 hours for full recharge, but a one hour charge could add 2 miles the range. Does anyone have experience plugging in along the way? We’re taking the coastal Portuguese route from Porto. So far my plan is to taxi to accessible sections 7 miles per day as possible. But I might get lucky and more will be accessible. Any thoughts and advice welcome.

 

[SabsP]

My electric wheelchair has a range of 12 miles. Takes 6 hours for full recharge, but a View attachment 119415one hour charge could add 2 miles the range. Does anyone have experience plugging in along the way? We’re taking the coastal Portuguese route from Porto. So far my plan is to taxi to accessible sections 7 miles per day as possible. But I might get lucky and more will be accessible. Any thoughts and advice welcome

Maybe this pilgrim can be of assistance?

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/rolling-in-france-by-wheelchair.71337/#post-952559

All the best and happy planning!

 

[Flog]

I can't help with your wheelchair query, but you should know that there are on-going repairs to the boardwalk north of Porto. I found many sections impassable last September and again as recently as last month. Perhaps someone will have up to date info to help with your planning. Good luck!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Solar panel?

 

[Former member 22438]

I can't help with your wheelchair query, but you should know that there are on-going repairs to the boardwalk north of Porto. I found many sections impassable last September and again as recently as last month. Perhaps someone will have up to date info to help with your planning. Good luck!

It is a brave decission to go. The coastal is not very desolated .Everywhere are villages so there will be places to recharge the batteries Distances from one to the other place are not that long .


Maybe he stays off the boardwalk ou of Porto . there are many roads leading north.
a challenge can be the crossing of the Minho river at Caminha because the ferry is not sailing . Alternative is going on the Ecopista padth along the Minho river from Caminha to Vila Nova de Cerveira where is the international bridge and from there back to A Guarda to the coast snd except from some up and downward hills it is easy to access Santiago .only it is a detour of about 30 kms.
Maybe the fishermen in Caminha can give a hand by hoisting the wheelchair into their boat at both sides of the river although the boat will start and finnish at a sandy beach .
Have good navigation gear and some improvisation skills. And study on the route and know on beforehand what you will encounter. E.g. In A Guarda. You could go around the mountain on the waymarked path but that is a sterpand desolated route but in the A Guarda you could choose for the mainroad direction Baiona and Vigo . After about 4 kms the waymarked path follows the same road .It needs some organisation but is doable in my opinion. The oictureshows the fishingboats and the mountain from A Guarda

 

[AnotherMike]

You don't say where you are from, or any details about your chair.

The electrical infrastructure in Spain is 220-240 volts 50 Hertz. Make sure your wheelchair charger can handle that with nothing more than a plug adapter... (I'm in the USA and our systems are 120 volts 60 Hz and my Camino will be next year... I'm going to have to purchase a few new items before I go).

Another point... I looked up the chair name that was visible in the photo - Forcemech Navigator.

The info I found says it uses a pair of 6.6 amp-hour batteries. It does not say if the batteries can be field-swapped, or if a extra charger is available. Might be worth calling the company. Maybe they use a field-swappable battery pack?

If - and that's a big "if" - the chair battery is field-swappable then it might be worth carrying a second battery then swapping them when the first gets low. Then at night the chair charger can recharge the battery in the chair, and a second charger could simultaneously charge the battery that is not in the chair. This setup could double your daily range (or triple it with a third pack).

If the chair battery pack is not field swappable now then maybe the chair could be modified to make it so? There are a lot of e-bike battery packs that plug in, and your two 6.6 amp-hour batteries are smaller than a number of e-bike field-swappable packs.

History: over a decade ago I did a similar modification for a friend that was chair-bound due to an auto accident and spinal damage. His chair did everything he needed but his church was too far away - the chair battery got him there but died on his way home. There was room under the seat for a second battery, so I added one (the design of his chair made field swapping impossible). The added weight of the second battery limited his acceleration and speed but added 35-40% more range, which is what he needed. The technology back then was lead-acid, your chair uses lithium, and those are MUCH lighter and shouldn't have that problem.

Sorry to run on like this, but I'm a retired engineer, and in engineering details matter...

Buen Camino!

Mike

 

[chinacat]

Hello, @AnotherMike

I can’t help the OP but I just wanted to say welcome to the forum and thank you for such a helpful first post!

Buen Camino for the future!

 

[annb51]

I can't help with your wheelchair query, but you should know that there are on-going repairs to the boardwalk north of Porto. I found many sections impassable last September and again as recently as last month. Perhaps someone will have up to date info to help with your planning. Good luck!

If sections of the boardwalk are impassable do you have to walk on the beach?

 

[Former member 22438]

If sections of the boardwalk are impassable do you have to walk on the beach?

Here is no need to go on the beach. There are roads everywhere . Not waymarked but close to the shore . Look at Google maps . See the path from Matosinhos to Angeiras Almost every where are roads
One of the points to think about is, using the boardwalk is, that the boardwalk also is used by mountainbikers, runners etc and the boardwalks are pretty narrow so you maybe meet people from the opposite way . Or people who are trying to overtake you.
so I should choose-if I were you- for the normal roads

 

[whlchairpilgrim]

I am glad to see this thread. I would like to go with a power wheelchair but mine I think does about 3 miles only. Seeing that about getting a second battery is a good idea. If there are any experiences on charging it along the way I'd be very glad to hear them.

 

[Icacos]

You don't say where you are from, or any details about your chair.

The electrical infrastructure in Spain is 220-240 volts 50 Hertz. Make sure your wheelchair charger can handle that with nothing more than a plug adapter... (I'm in the USA and our systems are 120 volts 60 Hz and my Camino will be next year... I'm going to have to purchase a few new items before I go).

Another point... I looked up the chair name that was visible in the photo - Forcemech Navigator.

The info I found says it uses a pair of 6.6 amp-hour batteries. It does not say if the batteries can be field-swapped, or if a extra charger is available. Might be worth calling the company. Maybe they use a field-swappable battery pack?

If - and that's a big "if" - the chair battery is field-swappable then it might be worth carrying a second battery then swapping them when the first gets low. Then at night the chair charger can recharge the battery in the chair, and a second charger could simultaneously charge the battery that is not in the chair. This setup could double your daily range (or triple it with a third pack).

If the chair battery pack is not field swappable now then maybe the chair could be modified to make it so? There are a lot of e-bike battery packs that plug in, and your two 6.6 amp-hour batteries are smaller than a number of e-bike field-swappable packs.

History: over a decade ago I did a similar modification for a friend that was chair-bound due to an auto accident and spinal damage. His chair did everything he needed but his church was too far away - the chair battery got him there but died on his way home. There was room under the seat for a second battery, so I added one (the design of his chair made field swapping impossible). The added weight of the second battery limited his acceleration and speed but added 35-40% more range, which is what he needed. The technology back then was lead-acid, your chair uses lithium, and those are MUCH lighter and shouldn't have that problem.

Sorry to run on like this, but I'm a retired engineer, and in engineering details matter...

Buen Camino!

Mike

I am not an engineer, but I found all this very interesting. Thank you.