Questions with charging an i2
 

I just got an i2 today, Im not new to riding Segways but I'm a new owner. Ive read in the manual that its best to keep the unit plugged in whenever it's not in use. Is this true? If not, what is the best practice? Also, I realized that my right wheel is a little off center. The tires are brand new, so I took the wheel off and inspected it and the hub. Both seem fine, my only guess is that the tire is mounted on the wheel a little off, will this be a problem? there is probably an 1/8-1/4 inch wobble in it. Any advice is appreciated, thanks a lot.

Yes, but... it is also wise to disconnect/reconnect it frequently, so that the charger re-starts its sequence. If you use the i2 every few days, that takes care of it. But if you're not going to be using it for a longer period of time, then plug it into a timer that's set to turn off for a while every day.

I plug both of mine in once every 6 weeks or so when we're not using them and let them charge until the lights come on steady and then unplug them. Others here will swear this isn't the way to do it, but it works for me, so your experience may vary

I think the ideal way to do it would be to discharge your batteries to half-way and then use a timer to give them about 10 minutes of charge every day. Fully recharge just before you go gliding. Lithiums like to be stored with lower SOC's to give you the longest life

For long term storage, if you remove the batteries they'll be fine if you put them back on and recharge them once every 6 months or so - They self discharge very little when not on the machine. I have 2 spare batteries that I've been doing this with. I do check the voltage on those two every couple months and they're always above 75 volts

A wheel wobble is probably a bent axle - A long time Seg Polo player said this happens all the time and the solution is to lay the Seg on it's side with the bent wheel up and rotate the wheel to find the high spot and then sit on it with all your weight - Bounce up and down as needed until there is no longer a high spot. Worked for me as well

Don

That works fine, if you remember to do it.

Bent Wheel, Battery Charging advice
 

I am a Segway dealer and ran a tour operation for 5 years. Your bent wheel is common and no big deal. Your tire issue is most likely caused by the center flange in your wheel being slightly bent. The wheels are plastic and the center is metal and it sometimes gets bent. it is designed to bend before the flange on your transmission does as a wheel is cheaper to replace than the transmission. this is very common dont worry about it unless the tire is rubbing the fender. If you are running a factory tire there is actually a line built into the tread that is designed to run in line with the fender edge to show you if your tire is wobbling. As a tour operator we used this line to find the "high point" of the tire and would kick it back in place (bend the flange by kicking it) to straighten the wheel flange out if the was too far out of whack.

As for charging, always leave your machine plugged in. Your battery charger will not overcharge your battery. If you are not using the machine for extended periods of time pull it out on your day off, turn it on, and lean it up against the wall for a day. Its good to cycle the batteries at least once a month.

Someone said to occasionally reset the charger, this is incorrect, kind of. when the SE model launched there was some software problems with a few of the units and it did cause the charger to shut down once full charge was reached and it would not come back on. Only a handful of segways suffer from this malfunction. Segways answer was to put them on a light timer ($5 at walmart) or send the unit back in.

Also be sure to swap your batteries front to back periodically. The rear battery wears out faster than the front one as the radio board is constantly drawing a small amount from it to look for the key. it adds up over 5 years of a batteries life. every say year or two swap the batteries to distribute this stress evenly among them.

If you have any additional questions visit our website

BuyaSegway (cant put links in here cause im new but you can figure out what comes after buyasegway)

we have a blog and sell products and would love to answer any questions you or someone else may have.