Converting Wheelchair to Lithium Ion Batteries Near Bloomington IL—Seeking Local Assistance

Mods, If I am violating a rule here please delete this post. I am a disabled veteran living in Central Illinois looking for help in converting my wheelchair to Lithium Ion batteries. I have been to Illinois State University, University of Illinois, several two year colleges and numerous private manufacturing companies without success. It is my belief that the colleges refuse to help due to liability concerns, which is a valid concern, in my book. I am not looking for financial help with this project, just someone within a few hundred miles of Bloomington Illinois to assist with battery mounting designs, component selections, soldering, and maybe help in designing a Battery Management System (BMS). If there is someone out there who can help or knows how to find this person, please email me at maker(_at_)soon.com. Thanks in advance for your help

I understand why you may want to convert your wheel chair to Lithium Ion. Here is a good article describing the challenges you may face and as you surmise, no organization would be willing to take on the liability associated with the task as a wheel chair is a medical device. You may find someone to assist you in doing the modifications yourself so that they assume no liability.

"Li-ion wheel chair()":http://www.wheelchairjunkie.com/lithiumbatteries.html

Good luck and thank you for your service.

Yes I am aware of the "problems" of Li-Ion batteries however the perceived benefits far out way the down side. I do not wish to use "off the shelf" Li-Ion batteries. If I use individual cells I can pack more amp hours into the limited space. Additionally I could "match" the cells, parts is parts just does not work with these batteries. Doing it this way I am not stuck with pitching the pack due to a bad or mismatched cell.

As to why I want to convert to Li-Ion:
Cost: PB costs me over $500 for about 12-18 months, Lithium is $1500 for 5-10 years.
Power: over 2-3x the amp hrs in the same space over PB. As I am sure you are aware this gives me greater range and torque.

I would like to use lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4) batteries which are the safest batteries, or so I am told.

The downside is not having a working BMS, which would include a safety cutout to avoid over discharging the batteries. Additionally the charging of the batteries would be slightly more complicated, although not impossible. The bottom line is that the range of the chair is my freedom.

I can find Li-Ion battery experts in the hobby shops, but....

Does anyone have any ideas where to look for someone knowledgeable to help with this project?

My bad not sure what I was thinking. Another reason I would really appreciate some face to face help.

You might try electric bike/scooter/wheelchair companies. There seem to be many in the Chicago area.

Just an idea: ask for help from one of the automobile manufacturers that make electric or hybrid cars ?

They might have sympathetic engineer who would be willing to provide some expert assistance.