Since I became unable to walk 7 years ago I have worn out 5 inexpensive wheelchairs that had bicycle-type wheels, the kind with wires. Every one ended up with broken spokes.
I could still use crutches so I could do without a wheelchair a lot of the time but as I aged a bit I had to use a chair all the time so I finally wised up and got a chair with weels that used thick plastic struts.
That one is still like new after two years. It is from Drive Medical, the #1 pick in manual wheelchairs on Amazon. The list price is $135 and it weighs 41.3 lbs with a 300 lb. weight capacity.
if you need one, but this review is about my first electric wheelchair.
I got one when I could no longer wheel myself up the ramps and into my doctor’s office without considerable pain.
Wheelchair – Never from Amazon
I stopped buying large items from Amazon when they stopped accepting returns of broken equipment.
To be clear on that, I ordered a heat pump, the same model as I already had which worked for four years and counting (now into its fifth year). The new one failed fight out of the box and, at three days, it came in easily under the free return but it turned out there was a new hitch in Amazon’s return policy, one which they failed to disclose in advance.
I used to have large items returned by getting them picked up by UPS or left off at the local pickup location.
It is a 55 mile round-trip to the actual UPS office. Previously at worst it would have taken a 13 mile round trip to a UPS pickup point at a local car parts store but now I, a severely disabled, elderly person had to load a 70lb. heat pump into my car and drive to the UPS warehouse/store.
Long story short, I can’t drive 55 miles. I can’t even lift a 70 lb package into my SUV.
So I had to eat a several hundred dollar heat pump which didn’t work right out of the box.
That was the last thing I bought from Amazon that weighed more than 10 lbs. Nothing more ever again but food, online music and movies.
So, no longer trusting Amazon, I went to Walmart, something I really should have done much earlier but I hadn’t realized Walmart sells virtually everything from big companies that Amazon carries.
EazinGo Lightweight Electric Wheelchair
List price is supposedly about $1600 but the sale price then, and still today, is $896 with free shipping. That is listed as a discounted price but has been the same for at least 6 months.
Electric wheelchairs are generally pretty heavy, that comes from the batteries of course.
Since I have to get the chair into my SUV even a few pounds can make a big difference which is why I bought the aluminum version of this chair for about $200 more than the steel version and twenty pounds lighter. (Steel is easier to work with than aluminum which could explain the higher price.)
The Silver – 6013A weighs 64 pounds and costs $689.
The Silver L and Green L models weigh 36 pounds and cost $896.
The Green T is listed as weighing 55 pounds and carries a price of $796.
All four are listed as having a 15 mile range which I found difficult to believe with the different weights until I dug into the full specs and found that the heavier ones have more powerful motors and larger battery capacity.
The weights are a bit all over the place because in the same listing they have different weights but the cheaper ones are definitely much heavier than the more expensive ones.
The listed weight of mine, the one this review covers, is 36 pounds and mine has a – shall we call it a working weight – as only 33 pounds because I don’t need the foot rests and strap so I didn’t install them.
The turn radius isn’t clear on the Walmart listing but in real life use it is zero, that is, the chair turns in its own space.
That is critical for me because I have very little room to move around in my old house.
The listing claims this is all terrain and, of course, it really isn’t, however it does fine around my 2 acre property including in deep grass and weeds.
It also claims a 15 mile range which I presume is on a very smooth, level, and hard surface. I mainly use this around the house and with moderate use I have to recharge it overnight every three days.
I have never run the batteries completely flat so I have to say the 6-8 hour charging time is pretty accurate.
Wheelchair Specs
As for the specifications, read them several times because they aren’t consistent.
For example, in one place, one of the heavy models is listed as weighing 16 lbs and in another 63 lbs. The 16 pound listing is obviously a mistake.
Motor ratings also vary on my model from 2 180 watt motors to 2 200 watt motors but realistically who cares or could even tell the difference.
The led indicators show 5 levels for maximum speed and I seldom set the speed above level 2 and mostly I leave it at the slowest setting.
The joystick control lets you move in any direction or just turn on the spot.
My recommendation is that if you have to load this into a car trunk or back seat get the more expensive/lighter one.
If you will be using it in and around your house and not transporting, save the money and get the cheaper/heavier model.
BTW, it doesn’t state anyplace I can remember but the batteries are NOT removable without taking the chair apart, it is not replaceable to get longer range by carrying a spare.
Wheelchair Problems
First, this is a great chair and I recommended it to several friends (kids I went to high school with are in their late 70s so I know a lot of people who need a wheelchair in their families).
In addition to the problems with the specs and the pictures which shows two battery packs for my model when there is really only one, I did have a problem which you can avoid easily.
These chairs come with a small tool kit which includes allen wrenches which you will definitely need, or at least I did. Actually as a former mechanic I have much higher quality tools than the ones supplied, but it is a nice touch to include a toolkit – many people won’t have thousands of tools already and may need one or two.
The bolts on one wheel kept getting loose and had to be retightened every few hours of use which was every few days for me.
My strong recommendation is to get something called Loctite which is a professional mechanics’ liquid which you put on the threads of any bolt when you don’t want it to keep working loose.
I always used it when rebuilding gas or diesel engines.
This is inexpensive and you just put a drop on the bolt then tighten it. In a day it will lock the bolt into place against vibrations. Get the removable kind of Loctite so you can remove it for repairs. There are various strengths but do not get the kind that hardens and is very difficult to remove.
I waited too long and the heads of the bolts became worn on two of them so I asked the vendor to send three new bolts to I could replace them and use Loctite.
This took some friendly back and forth and they required me to send a photograph of the bolts which was essentially a photo of the wheel with all three bolts in place – in fact the photograph just above.
OK, so that was silly. To be clear, they didn’t give me a hard time about sending the parts and there is probably some insurance problem which forced them to ask for a photo.
It was also silly on their part that, although I insisted I only needed three inexpensive bolts they insisted on sending the bolts (which appeared to have a lock dab, something like the Loctite which I presume the original ones lacked) AND a new wheel.
I wasn’t charged so the extra wheel and extra shipping cost didn’t matter to me but I really didn’t need a new wheel so I just tossed it.
The new bolts were the correct ones.
I installed them with the Loctite, and three weeks later they are still tight and will probably outlast the rest of the chair.
Once we got it straightened out exactly what I needed to fix the chair myself the replacement parts came in a few days. Even a clutz would have no trouble making the swap.
Just as I finished this review I went to switch to the recharged chair and it was flashing what must be an error code of some sort. I thought I would have to rewrite this positive review but looking at the three or four wires I found that one plug had come loose. I plugged it back in and I am sitting in the chair now as I write this, that was the only problem, just a loose plug anyone could fix in seconds.
This chair comes with a 1 year warranty.
Wheelchair Bottom Line
If you need one and you weigh less than about 220 pounds, buy one of these unless you need some special features like a reclining chair. The handles do fold down but it isn’t really a recliner.
The chair folds in a few seconds, just pull up on the middle of the seat. You may need to fold down the handles to fit in a car, if so just push a button on each and fold them down.
If you don’t need to load it into a car, buy the heavier ones, they probably feel a bit more stable on grass and uneven ground, although I never felt my light one was flimsy in any way – it is solid – but paying more for the light one if you don’t need to transport it, say on an airplane, seems needless.
The heavier models appear to be able to carry a heavier user.
Copied from the Walmart page:
Wheelchair Material: aluminum alloy
Unfolded Dimensions: H:26″ x 36″ x L:42″
Compact Folded Size: H:13″ x14″ x L:38″
Seat height: 20″
Seat width: 20″
Seat depth: 18″
Weight Capacity: 220lbs
Front wheel : Solid tires, 8 inches
Rear wheel: Solid tires, 12inche
Long Range Driving Distance: 20km/15 miles
Motor Type: 24V/200W*2 (pretty sure this should be 2/180W instead – especially since it is different below)
Lithium Battery Type: 24V/12AH
Max Output Current of Controller: 35A
Climbing Capacity: Less than or equal to 12 degrees
- 【Ultra Lightweight】This all terrain electric wheelchair is super lightweight and compact. It can hold 220-260lbs, but only weighs 36lbs with battery. Easy to transport that making it perfect for travel or indoor and outdoor use.
- 【High Quality Material and Durable】This portable electric wheelchair is supported by a high-end aviation aluminum frame, which is ultra light, corrosion-resistant, impact-resistant, sturdy, safe, and requires no special maintenance.
- 【Powerful Wheelchair】Dual 180w powerful motors and 12AH lithium battery provide up to 20km/15 miles moving distance. Non-puncture solid tires of our folding powered wheelchair can drive safely and smoothly on any terrain, including grass, pavement, gravel, etc.
- 【User-Friendly】This chair can be used in electric or manual mode. When you flip the red lever to the manual mode you can push the chair like a traditional wheelchair. The joystick can be mounted on the left or right hand, and the length can be adjusted to fit the user. It has one separate storage，Located on the back of the wheelchair. The wheelchair has a high-density single-cell foam seat that is breathable and can be removed to clean.
- AUTHOR NOTE: There really isn’t any red lever on mine but if you power it off and wait 30 seconds the motors unclutch and it can be pushed.
- 【Quality Warranty】The product warranty period is 1 year. If you have a problem with your foldable power electric wheelchair, please feel free to contact us, we are online 24 hours a day.
- AUTHOR NOTE: I have trouble using the phone where we are in a deep valley but they responded to emails quickly. That shouldn’t be necessary to note here but many companies make it hard to use email and force you to play phone tag. Also, the seat is just a double layer of cloth and would be difficult to remove. That info is probably from some other model and got left in like the different motor descriptions. I spend a lot of time in a chair so I already have a variety of pads anyway as most other wheelchair users probably have.
- https://newsblaze.com/business/technology/high-backed-vs-low-backed-manual-wheelchairs_143712/