Wheelchairs Wheelchair Maintenance: Tyres, Brakes and Batteries
By Wheelchairs Kenya · Updated June 2026 · Nairobi, Kenya
A maintained wheelchair lasts twice as long
Kenyan conditions are honest but hard on wheelchairs: dust works into bearings, rough paths shake bolts loose, rain rusts unwiped frames, and heat shortens battery life. None of this is a problem if you spend fifteen minutes a month on the chair. Neglect it, and small issues become a chair that is unsafe to use. A loose brake becomes a fall; a soft tyre becomes a bent rim.
Monthly maintenance list (manual and electric)
- Tyres: press them. Soft tyres make pushing heavy and brakes useless. Pump pneumatic tyres to the pressure printed on the sidewall; check tread for cuts and embedded stones.
- Brakes: with the user seated, lock both brakes and push the chair. The wheels must not turn. Brakes that slip usually just need the adjustment bolt tightened a few millimetres.
- Castors (front wheels): flip the chair and remove wrapped hair, thread and dirt from the castor stems. Wrapped hair is the most common cause of wobble and hard steering.
- Bolts and screws: check armrests, footrests, backrest canes and wheel axles; hand-tighten anything loose.
- Frame and upholstery: wipe the frame dry after rain or washing; look for cracks at welds; check the seat sling for tears and sagging.
- Fold mechanism: fold and open fully; a drop of oil on dry pivot points (keep oil off brakes and tyres).
Electric wheelchair battery care
- Charge every night, even after light use; deep discharges age batteries fastest
- Never store the chair with a flat battery; if storing weeks, charge fully and top up fortnightly
- Charge in the shade or indoors; heat kills batteries; never charge a wet chair
- Keep the charger that came with the chair; wrong chargers ruin batteries
- Expect 18 to 36 months of battery life; budget for replacement and buy from a supplier with local stock
When to stop using the chair
Stop and WhatsApp us if the chair is still under the 12-month warranty and: it pulls to one side, a wheel wobbles after castor cleaning, brakes will not hold after adjustment, the battery range suddenly halves, the joystick behaves erratically, or any crack appears in the frame. Defective chairs we sold are replaced at no cost during the warranty period.
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