My Travelscoot Lithium battery needs replacing
All 3 of my Travelscoot batteries
I believe County Batteries no longer refurbish Travelscoot batteries. I will update you as more information is confirmed. Please watch this space.
Regular readers know I love my Travelscoot mobility scooter. It even has a nick-name – The Trike. Before lockdown I used it every day so about every 4 years the Travelscoot Lithium battery needs replacing. The cost of buying a new one from Travelscoot always causes a sharp intake of breath.
Travelscoot Lithium battery
For many years I have owned two batteries: one on charge and one on The Trike. I always take the old one to the dump for recycling when I buy a replacement. For a strange reason I decided not recycle the old battery when I last bought a replacement. Come November 2020 I am the proud owner of 3 batteries but none of them has capacity to go more than a mile or two. Soon I was going to have to man-up and buy a new battery from Travelscoot.
Its not cheap
Excluding VAT but including delivery buying a 25.2V 11.25AH battery from Travelscoot costs €712 (£640). Covid has put our little business, (Doggy Day Care), run by The Wife into hibernation. My paltry income working with Universities has also been knocked on the head. Realistically we are living on benefits and her state pension and can not tighten our belt any more notches.
In mid-November I received an email
A fellow Travelscoot user who is a regular reader of these posts emailed me. He asked me if I had heard of Country Batteries, he wanted to know more about them. He told me they can refurbish a Travelscoot Lithium battery for a third the price of a new one. I’m a tad cynical and subscribe to the school of ‘No such thing as a free dinner’ but I was curious to find out more.
This sounds so much more reasonable
I spoke to a few people and none of them said a bad word about County Batteries. I gave then a ring and they know all about refurbishing a Travelscoot battery and told me that it would cost me £225 + VAT. I must pay upfront, they will supply a shipping label and I send the battery and a charger to them by UPS. Within two weeks I will receive what is effectively a new battery. I am exempt from VAT thanks to MS.
Feeling very optimistic
I send the one with the least capacity to County Batteries. Within two weeks I received the refurbished battery and my charger. I have been using this battery since then and it is as good as new. This is a FANTASTIC RESULT. The Wife is also thrilled, she is the bean counter.
Refurbished battery is good
I was not going to spend over three hours scooting around in the miserable cold wintry weather verifying how far I could travel on the refurbished battery. Knowing my MS addled memory I would forget how far I had travelled after 90 minutes. You could call me a wuss but keeping warm in cold weather is as hard as keeping cool in hot weather. Another MS hidden disability?
Excellent result
Refurbishing a Travelscoot battery is only a third the price of buying a new one. This is really good value for money and they refurbish a wide variety of batteries so check their website. My fellow reader now knows that County Batteries are a safe bet and I discovered free dinners can exist.
PS I have not received any payment or benefits to publish this article
Associated Posts
January 2021
I need a battery connector ?
Hello Alan,
If you are in the UK contact http://www.mytravelscoot.co.uk, Europe http://www.travelscoot.com who will be able to tell you about the Australian rep
Talk soon
We have found that County Batteries no longer refurbish Travel Scoot batteries – but we have found someone else who does ! A chap in Bristol who normally rebuilds electric bicycle batteries has now rebuilt two Travel Scoot batteries for us with complete success. One was a later-style yellow battery on which the internal battery management system had failed, and the second was the earlier-style aluminium-cased battery which he rebuilt with better cells so that it has a greater capacity than when new ! And both for a lot less than a new Travel Scoot battery. He arranges pick-up of the old battery by UPS. You just have to pack it well and he e-mails you a label. His contact details are : John Nicolay at Tech-Nic Ltd., Phone: 07564745591 http://www.tech-nic.co.uk
enquiries@tech-nic.co.uk
I must point out that we have no affiliation with this firm other than as very satisfied (and relieved) customers.
Hi – I know this thread is a few years old but I was hoping someone could help. I have a Travelscoot that was my late mothers and I’m trying to get it working for another elder in my family. The battery appears to be dead and the person doesn’t have the $ for a new battery. Where can I go to get the battery either refurbished or a compatible replacement that will work with the connectors on the TS? I know you are all in the UK, I am in the US but I was hoping to at least get started with some ideas or products you have used that I can try to source over here. Thank you
Hello William,
I’m afraid I’m based in the UK. There is a company in the UK called County Batteries (www.countybattery.co.uk) that would recharge the lithium ion cells. I last used it 3 or 4 years ago and it did the refresh for about £250.00. That’s about 1/3 the price of a new battery from Travelscoot. Otherwise I’m unable to offer anything else
I am very pleased with my new lithium battery, it is much livelier and lasts much longer than the old lead acid set did, which may be because they were degraded, although the Scoot came with receipt for them that showed they were less than a year old.
However, I have repurposed one of the old LA batteries to drive my APC Uninterruptible Power Supply that runs my computer, router and landline phone and had recently ceased to function due to the battery having failed.
It didn’t fit in the case so is sitting on the shelf alongside the UPS, so that’s saved a few quid!
As an added bonus it is a 12VA whereas the original was only a 7VA so it should last a good bit longer too, especially if I parallel up the second one.
Hello David,
This sounds like a win-win
Concerning my post above concerning new lithium battery, I was somewhat delayed in deploying it due to first, being somewhat indisposed and then just before I got round to attaching it to the Travelscoot the motor died…
Such is life!
So after scouring the Internet I finally found a (expensive) replacement in Germany and ordered it.
When it finally came there was also VAT and Customs charges to pay…
Anyway, I have finally got it fitted and wired up and the result is really gratifying.
Not only is the throttle response considerably improved, before to get up the hill to my front door I had to take a run and use full throttle, now I can get up with hardly any throttle at all!
Perhaps the old lead acid batteries or the motor were failing, but the little Scoot is now much improved – RESULT!
Interestingly, I put a glowing report on Amazon concerning the battery and its supplier, seemingly resulting in them adding an extra £40 to the price!
Still, massively cheaper than the Travelscoot equivalent, and around a quarter of the weight of the old batteries which pleases my Missus because it’s her that has to lift it into the motor!
Hello David,
There is now a TravelScoot agency in the UK here’s the url http://www.MyTravelScoot.co.uk. The lead acid batteries Have been dropped completely by TS.
Sadly I don’t think it was your glowing report on Amazon that led to the price increase. Shipping costs have increased dramatically after that tanker got stuck in the Suez Canal plus the batteries may well come through Europe so Brexit may well be involved as well.
These batteries are still cheaper than from TS or if they are reconditioned. I am going to have to buy one sooner rather than later. .Damn I should have made up my mind earlier
Concerning replacement batteries, I have just taken delivery of one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YKH3P9G/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
for the remarkable price of £125.20 including delivery.
It is rated as 24V at 12Ah so comes under the 300Ah limit for personal luggage under IATA rules here:
https://www.iata.org/contentassets/6fea26dd84d24b26a7a1fd5788561d6e/mobility-aid-guidance-document.pdf
Obviously I have not yet had time to evaluate it, however it appears to be well constructed, is complete with a 240V charger and UK powerlead and appears to be fully charged on delivery. It also has a standard 6mm coaxial charge plug and socket socket so obviates the need for changing the plug while charging.
Considering I ordered it on 20/06/21 the delivery was more rapid than I expected.
There is a comment on the Facebook Travelscoot forum from a contributor who has been using one for four years without any problem.
One point of interest is that there is a rectangular secondary module approx. 3″ x 2″ x 1/4″ visible under the encapsulation which I’m hoping is the charge control logic, a pleasant surprise as it will save having to check voltage and charge time.
I shall report further in due course.
Hello David,
Really interesting and useful information. It sounds like a bargain compared to Travelscoot prices. I recently had one refurbished through County batteries and that cost £225.
Further contributions would be of tremendous use.
I have been having issues with my own Travelscoot. There is a blog about it and thee will be more to follow.
Maybe e-bikes do have an advantage after all
I might be interested to sell my TS. In excellent condition and the latest version that has reverse etc. I had the seat recovered so it’s not black and hot in the sun. I live in Quebec, Canada.
Hello Wendy,
I live in the UK so I can not be of any help you. Try eBay, most people in the UK use it to sell their TS and everything else. Good luck
Thanks for this information. I’m in need of new battery and seems Brexi t has made it worse to import from Germany so I rang Country Batteries and they collect the battery tomorrow and return in a week. That’s a big relief.
Hello Claudia,
Sounds like a result. Well done.
Thanks for answering Patrick!
As I’ve already got the appropriate switch and all the necessary wiring connectors etc. I’ll give it a try anyway and report back, it might help someone else!
Hi Patrick.
I have recently acquired a S/H Travelscoot (because of emphysema and COPD)and have as yet only tested it on very short local test runs.
I have one or two ideas about which I’m interested in your opinion.
The first involves batteries, my Scoot has two 12 V lead-acid of these connected in series to give 24 volts, for a few reasons I am considering arranging that I can switch them into parallel mode on demand, in the way that the old U-boats used to group up for speed and down for distance.
Also, given that I will be taking the Scoot travelling in my wife’s Nissan Elgrand which we use for camping, it male it easier to charge the Scoot from the 12V system.
Have you any comments on this idea?
Cheers
Dave
Hello,
I am no handy man and with a very scant knowledge of electrics so I do not feel able to pass any comment on either of these ideas. My Travelscoot uses a lithium ion battery. I have advanced MS and camping is an impossible idea for me because I am unable to walk unaided.
I’m sorry I cannot be more helpful.
That’s a big saving and good to know they are in the UK. Thanks for the information.
Hello Andrew,
I hope you can take advantage of it. Incidentally Country Batteries refurbish a wide range of rechargeable batteries
£640 for a single battery is ludicrous, it’s profiteering! Good though that you could get a reasonable price (well sort of) for refurbishmment!
Hello Andrew,
What really annoys me is that the cost of the raw material has dropped but the cost of a Travelscoot battery has not changed
With regard to the VAT exemption, I have been told that unless the battery is fitted into my scooter by the seller it can’t be exempt from VAT because it could be used for something not connected with my disability. I don’t have lithium batteries but I don’t see why that should make a difference. Am I being given the wrong information?
Hello Sue,
You need to speak to someone else about the finer details of VAT exemption. What you are saying makes sense but realistically could the battery be used for another purpose? Try speaking to CAB