If you want to use the wheelchair indoors, you should choose a tight turning radius electric wheelchair because maneuverability is important to access doorways and corners. The power should be sufficient to climb ramps on street corners or to enter your house.



There are several ways to control an electric wheelchair, but a single joystick is perhaps the most common and the easiest one because you can go to any direction with a single controller. There is a cheaper type that uses power controls to move forward and backward with handlebars for steering, but this type can be difficult to control around corners.

An electric wheelchair should be able to be powered manually, thus if the battery fails, the user is not stranded. The wheelchair also should not roll down a ramp on its own if the battery fails. Some kind of braking system should prevent this from happening.

There are three common batteries to power an electric wheelchair. The first one is wet battery that gives power through chemical reaction between lead and sulphuric acid. This battery is light and less susceptible to overcharging, but it needs to be filled up with distilled water, which can create leaking problems. The cost of wet battery is cheaper than others and if maintained properly, it will provide good service.

The second option is gel battery. It does not contain any liquid so you will not experience leaking problems. It also requires only minimum maintenance. The last type is AGM battery, which is new and costs slightly more expensive. AGM battery is susceptible to overcharging.

There are three modes where you can drive your electric wheelchair. Real-wheel drive is the first mode and the most common one. You can move faster on this mode, but the turning capacity is not as good as other modes. The second one is mid-wheel drive. This mode is very good for turning, but it is not suitable for rough surface. In addition, it is a bit unstable on starting and stopping. The last mode is front-wheel drive, which is slower, but steady and has good turning capability.

Choosing a reputable supplier is important if you decide to buy an electric wheelchair. You should check the license and the warranty so you can get services if there is any problem with the wheelchair. Secondhand electric wheelchair may not be a good buy because usually it has some defects. The price of electric wheelchair varies a lot depending on the features that you want to get.

State of the art electric wheelchair

There is a high-tech wheelchair called iBOT. It has unbelievable capabilities including passing curbs, climbing stairs, glide on gravel, and elevate its user to almost a standing height. It can roll on four or two wheels and it has excellent automatic balancing system. You will need a doctor's prescription to buy one of these. You will need to spend a considerable amount of money to buy this wheelchair as the price can reach $30,000.