Gearboxes

Traveling across the beach on wet and salty sand inevitable leads to corrosion of metal parts. The most vulnerable bits on a Segway are the gearbox drive shafts. The shafts emerge from the aluminium gearbox case through rubber seals. Corrosion on the shafts make for leaking seals so with a replacement core Segway fitted to my Genny (see previous post) I have sent my old leaking gearboxes off for repair

I have found a company who specialise in all things Segway. The company is called PT Pro and they are based in Amburg Germany. They have been great at supplying various parts over the last year and I am starting to build a relationship with one of the engineers. Isn't it amazing that many Europeans speak fantastic English - puts us all to shame

PT Pro have a great website where they have many resources and are able to offer services that aren't available in the UK. Things cost a lot and postage from Germany seems to be expensive but they are quick to process your orders and parts arrive when they are due. There are many simple repairs and modifications that can be made by someone with very limited knowledge and simple tools. I have highlighted some modifications in my Genny Mods page
 

A small and easy modification I wish I had made 5000 miles back was to change the type of oil and add magnetic drain plugs to the gearboxes. These easy to change items have a small magnet that collects the tiny metal particles that get suspended in the Segway gearbox oil bath. These items are available through PT Pro and are likely to extend the life of your gearbox. The parts required are: magnetic drain plug and gearbox oil. You will need one magnetic drain plug and 70 - 80ml of oil for each gearbox of which there are two on your Genny

PT Pro have have great information about the care and repair of Segways particularly in relation to GEARBOXES and BATTERIES, They can also sell new wheels and tyres as well as being able to repair those delicate buttons on you Infokey

Here is a picture of the corrosion on my Segway driveshaft after being sandblasted to remove the rust. The pitting will stop any effective seal leading to a loss of oil which is not a good outcome for a metal gearbox.

Antigua 2020

How fantastic to be back in winter sunshine and warm water again. I love this island, it's another world and a home from home. Being my 4th visit and on such a noticeable vehicle I am now well known on the island. To see my other Antiguan posts follow these links: 2018, 2019

The same familiar route enables me to leave home at 6:00 for a 7:05 flight morning flight. Collecting my wheels just inside the terminal I have time to shed some winter cloths, grab some hot porridge and a milky coffee before cruising to the departure gate. The usual discussions about lithium power cells and isolating batteries and I am boarded. The 8 hour flight arrives just in time to grab a quick swim before a fresh fish supper and several 'rum and Ting's'

A freshly polished Genny at Gatwick airport

Two and a half weeks swimming with colorful tropical fish and turtles in 27° water, fresh food and casual easy living is a great recipe for shortening the winter



I did a lot of small dingy sailing this holiday which was great fun. I first learned to sail aged 11 at school and have owned several dinghies over the years but have not sailed at all for at least the last 25 years. Getting back on the water under sail was a delight and Antigua, being one of the Windward Islands, was ideal. I was able to rent a small dingy from local National Academy of Sailing which was 4 doors down the road from where I stay. The Academy is based in Falmouth Harbour which is a a substantial area of enclosed shallow water ideal for sailing. Within 5 minutes I had capsized but was able to remember the drill and was upright again within minutes

View from the supermarket jetty in English Harbor

Parts

In the uncertain time when Genny Mobility was not in production I decided it was a good idea to get what parts I could together to keep my Genny running. My gearboxes were getting increasingly noisy and although I had changed the oil and various other components in the drive train, they were a worry

As a backup I purchased a very low mileage second hand Segway at the end of last year (2019). It was a 2009 model and came with an 1 extra faulty battery. I was very cautious as that is old, particularly for the batteries, but I was reassured the see that it has less than 200 miles on the clock. It had had a very quiet previous life at a shortcut to the village pub

It was great to have a play on a stand-up Segway but my interest was mainly about it as parts. My mobility is now such that although I can get around in a limited way, I would be lost without my wheels

It turned out that this Segway was in fantastic condition apart from the batteries. I think at some point is had probably been left for a considerable period and that one of the batteries had dropped below a point it could be recovered. So this was why there were 3 batteries, one built in 2015 and the original 2 batteries that had been constructed in 2008 one of which didn't work

Although a shame about the batteries, the rest of the Segway was pristine so I changed the entire unit for my original and was cruising with less than 200 miles on the clock again. I had plans to rejuvenate my own unit and had another trip to Antigua lined up in February so needed something I could depend on

Another small modification I made was to change the cool looking tubeless tyre valve units for some proper inner tubes. Although less pretty to look at they have been fantastic and I haven't needed to check tyres since

chasing the tide

Living next to the beach is fantastic and I try and plan journeys to cross the sand but this is somewhat dependant on the state of the tides

Jersey has one of the worlds biggest tidal ranges with over 12m on some spring tides between low and high water. The beach I normally cross is divided by a small rocky headland that is only navigable below half tide

If I miss the tidal slot I need to take the road which although generally quicker is not as scenic. I am forever chasing across the beach last minute trying to get past the middle rocks



Tidal flow is not linear and the fastest part of the tide is mid-range where the rocks divide the beach. Tearing across the sand I frequently end up crossing shallow water between waves from one side to the other

Soft sinky sand and rock pool depressions make for a chancy race at times but Genny seems to cope with minor dousing in sea water

Dragging my wheels out of the soft sand through rising water is my worst nightmare

5000 Miles

Today I hit the 5000 miles mark on my wheels. This is in a little over 3 years so am clocking up the miles. Apart from an issue with the core Segway detailed HERE Genny has been fantastically reliable despite repeated use across the beach in sandy and saltwater conditions

I have fitted a new set of covers and tyres and a wheel that I buckled accidentally dropping Genny out the back of the car whilst loading. I have also recently fitted new couplings and elastomers that had been recommended to quieten down the gearboxes which are a little bit noisy. This made little difference to the noise so was unnecessary

I have also recently got hold of a secondhand Segway i2 with just 164 miles on the clock that I will use for spares as and when required. I made this investment as the current build Segway i2 SE is slightly different in design from the original i2 my wheels have been built to

I am hoping the next 5000 miles goes as well as the first

Les machines de l'île

Located on an island in the Loire River right in the centre of Nantes is 'Les machines de l'île' project. The exhibition, show, concept is the vision of two artists and according to Wikipedia: "The projects aim to promote the city's image and intend to build an identity for it as a creative metropolis of dream and of fantasy"

The Great Elephant is a moving mechanical model, 12m high and 8m wide. It is made from 45 tons of wood and steel. It can take up to 49 passengers

There are several versions of these humming birds in varying colours. They are brilliantly animated with one approaching a flower

The design and detail is inspired

This enormous spider climbs from a hole in the exhibition floor



The Heron is controlled by 2 people on its back and carries 2 more in baskets at its feet

Subjects chosen for the structures are the strange and macabre in nature and have a steampunk element

Definitely worth a visit - Genny often stands out in the crowd but didn't get a look in here

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is the small French town where pilgrimage routes from across North Western Europe converge, prior to crossing the Pyrenean foothills into Spain on route to Santiago de Compostela. Both the French Way (Camino Francés) and the Routes of Northern Spain are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites

This small town is on the river Nive and is only 8km from the Spanish border. It is the gateway to the Roncevaux Pass and the last stop before the arduous mountain crossing at over 1,000m

Pilgrims across the centuries have entered through La Porte Notre-Dame before crossing the river to the rue de d'Espagne. There has been a bridge here since at lease the 14th century



Initial steps from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port cross this bridge

Genny at La Porte Notre-Dame immediately before the bridge

Carcassonne

This trip seems to have turned into a medieval tour of Europe. Today I visited Carcassonne

Carcassonne is another UNESCO world heritage site with its roots in neolithic times

There are buildings from many periods making up this citadel but I particularly enjoyed the gargoyles on the 11th century church, the Basilique des Saints Nazaire et Celse. Apparently it is a gothic development of the 6th century Visigoth building

The inner walled town is lovely with fine buildings

In true commercial tourist style there are shops dedicated for all your present day crusading requirements

Étang de Montady

How cool is that?

I first discovered this looking around on Google Earth and today I visited the Étang de Montady. This was originally a wetland that was drained by monks in the 13th century. I tried to get to the very middle but was completely defeated by a train line and the Canal du Midi which can both be seen in the bottom right of the image

This is also the site of the Tunnel de Malpas which I had heard about but didn't realise I was going to find as well




The Tunnel was excavated in 1679 and was Europe's first navigable tunnel. It is 165m long and passes through the same hill that was tunneled by the monks in order to drain the Étang de Montady. In the nineteenth century, a third tunnel was excavated, passing through the Hill d'Ensérune beneath the Malpas tunnel to house the railway.

Charging Genny from 12 volt DC

If you travel with your Genny Mobility chair you have the issue of potentially different mains voltages or even no mains at all. Genny has the capacity to charge with between 100 - 240 V Ac 50 or 60hz, so as long as you have the appropriate adaptor to cope with differing sockets, it should charge. This post is about my experiences with charging from a vehicle battery

Charging with DC to AC inverter plugged into 12 cigarette lighter socket

I have a VW van with a rear hoist that can carry my wheels. Although not kitted out as a camper van it is big enough to take a small mattress and other bits to travel as I wish. Having my wheels with me enables me to do much more active holidays

My wheels have above 4,500 miles on the clock and I notice I am not getting the range I got when it was new. I am more conscious of how much life I have in the batteries and I would hate to run flat

In considering power options for my camper van I was not sure where to go with charging my wheels. Most camper vans would have an additional dedicated leisure battery that would power your fridge, TV etc. usually mounted under one of the front seats. It would be setup to charge from the vehicles alternator with maybe the addition of a solar panel. People use various charge splitting systems that ensure the main vehicle battery is always fully charged to avoid flat batteries when starting the vehicle

To turn 12vdc into something that will charge a Genny you need a DC to AC inverter which come in different sizes and qualities. I purchased the following inverter which I think is beyond the requirments but it was small and quoted to be about 90% efficient (LINK)

Genny is powered by 2 main batteries of 5.8Ah at 73.6vdc and a small 5Ah at 12vdc. I have read a number of forum posts on the charge consumption and I understand that a Segway requires about 180w to charge. I have assumed that Genny will require a maximum of 200w to charge for about 6 hours for a substantial charge

There are equations to work out the theoretical requirement for a vehicle battery that will deliver this level of charge rate. Unfortunately I don't know how to come up with the answer but I have some experience of getting it wrong

I did 2 charge sessions on my wheels, each of about 2 1/2 hours over 2 days with a run of about 10 miles to recharge the vehicle. This was done just using my main and only 95Ahr vehicle battery. When I came to start the van later it didn't have the power to start

I have not made up my mind what to do about an additional leisure battery for my van. There are various considerations like where it will live in the van as I have swivelling front seats that mean I can only use a short battery. Do I go for a standard or deep-cycle battery, how about lithium etc.

How I am coping is I only charge Genny when the van motor and therefore alternator, is running. I have also discovered you can get a very small but high capacity lithium jump start power pack something like the following (Link) I was rescued by a fellow camper with one of these packs and I couldn't believe that it worked. His pack was half the capacity of the one I have linked too

Lithium jump start power pack

Bonificio

Bonificio is an ancient town built on the southern limestone cliffs next to a fantastic natural Harbor. It bears a similarity to Mdina in Malta but is about 1000 years younger dating to 800 AD

It's ancient buildings are made from the local stone, many carved into the rock itself. Having my wheels enabled me to access the town surprisingly well and there was only a few bits inaccessible to me. It would of course be different if I wanted to enter some of the shops and restaurants but there is a lot happening on the street. I was able to see the sights and eat ice-cream

Corsican mountain villages

The central mountainous areas of Corsica have a mass of charming villages terraced into the hillsides