kids 12v battery

[tomatolord]

OK I have had it with the fisher price 12v batteries!!<br /><br />They last about 6 months and then die<br /><br />Could I just get a regular gel batteryand put it in my kids electric bike??<br /><br />I could just put different clips on to the battery.<br /><br />THanks!!

 

[ZmOz]

Re: kids 12v battery

Yes. SLA batteries are very cheap on ebay.

 

[timfromfc]

Re: kids 12v battery

It's not just volts you need to be concerned with. Amps matter too. In principle, as long as the volts and amps match, you should be fine. Jack up the amps, and you could get more speed out of it, which would be cool! However, in this day and age where everyone sues everyone else, I'd stay far away from this one. One little "mishap" involving one of your kids' friends, and their parents are the proud owners of your house. I say you suck it up and but the correct replacement, or look to see if someone makes a no-name with the correct connections.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: kids 12v battery

The amps of the battery has absolutely nothing to do with speed. The more amp hours your battery is, the longer it will last between charges.

 

[timfromfc]

Re: kids 12v battery

Yes, you are correct. My neighbor (who is an electrical engineer) and I had this conversation a while back. Unfortunately, there were maybe a few too many cold beverages so I needed a slight "memory jogger"! I do however, very clearly remember him saying that it would work, but some idiot could sue you if something ever went wrong. To me, it's just not worth it.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: kids 12v battery

Nothing could possibly go wrong from using a higher amp hour battery. Except maybe the battery wouldn't fit wherever it goes in the bike.

 

[timfromfc]

Re: kids 12v battery

ZmOz, It's my understanding that the higher the amps, the more pain that would come from a shock. You no doubt know more about electricty that me, but you never mentioned anything about risks that could come from a child playing with a modified battery. Kids like to open the cool compartments. They like to "fix" their car, just like dad.<br /><br />All I'm saying is that if a person can sue McDonalds because MCD failed to tell the customer that their coffee was hot, than anything is possible. FP designed the battery for minimun risk to the child, and ultimately to FP itself. Tomatolord is probably smart enough to put things together correctly, but there could be consequences from modifying and potentially bypassing safety mechanisms. Granted, Tomatolord only asked if it would work, but my post was mearly meant to offer another point of view, in case he hadn't thought about it. Peace!

 

[ZmOz]

Re: kids 12v battery

No...really. There is no risk of any sort when installing a larger size battery. You cannot get shocked from a 12v battery unless you intentionally stab leads into your skin and attach them to the battery. Even if you did that, it wouldn't matter if the battery was 5ah or 500...the effect would be the same.

 

[Bondo]

Re: kids 12v battery

You'd have to Increase Voltage to Go Faster........

 

[timfromfc]

Re: kids 12v battery

I may be a bit off base here, but say someone tried to install a car battery into one of those things (not TomotoLord) - it could happen. Are you saying that if a child touched the + and -, they wouldn't get shocked and it wouldn't hurt? If that is the case, then I have been way off base, and have learned something new. This may be an extreme example, but I'm sure someone has at least thought about doing it.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: kids 12v battery

Originally posted by Tim's Floater:<br />Are you saying that if a child touched the + and -, they wouldn't get shocked and it wouldn't hurt?

Nope. That's why batteries in cars almost allways have uninsulated terminals. Go out and try it yourself...you can have my boat if you get shocked. The resistance of human skin is very high, even when wet. You need alot of voltage to overcome that resistance.

 

[timfromfc]

Re: kids 12v battery

Than I have learned something new - thank you! I will defer to your opinion on safety

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: kids 12v battery

Reading the last couple of comments reminded me of something....<br /><br />When I test a typical 9V battery used in electronic items, I always stick it on my tongue and judge its remaining strength by the tingling sensation. Does anyone else do that ?<br /><br />As a side note:<br />Typical 12V automotive batteries CAN be dangerous. While it is true you can grab both unsheilded terminals with your bare hands and suffer no ill effects, you must use caution with metallic items (tools).<br /><br />I had a close friend almost lose a finger when his ring bridged the gap between a wrench and the opposing battery terminal. The ring around his finger turned bright red in a millisecond, instantly the color of your stove element on high. Those electrons whizzing around the ring made it heat up in an instant. Removing the glowing red ring was no easy task. Fortunately weeks of medical treatment resulted in saving his finger. We were in the back of the property tightening the connections on a marine battery when it happened, with no running water in sight. In true Canadian fashion, I was able to quench the glowing smoking ring with my beer, enough for him to pull it off. Use caution when working on any power source. AC or DC.<br /><br />My 2 cents.

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Re: kids 12v battery

Ouch.

 

[one more cast]

Re: kids 12v battery

Also lead acid batteries are vented and a spark can ignite the gas coming from the vent.BOOM and then your blind. That is why when hooking up jumper cables the last hook up should always be hooked to grounded metal and not the battery.

 

[rwise]

Re: kids 12v battery

A few years back we bought one of those electric jeeps for our kids. The day we let them have it my son (just barly walking good) finds the high speed disabled and stops, get under the dash and plugs in the wire that I had pulled. They had a blast with that thing. burned out the batterys, replaced, again new batterys, put a car battery in it (third time) burned out the switches, replaced, burned them out again, replaced them with heavy switches from an industrial tool supply/repair shop I worked for at the time. Ran great, then one day they came in and said there was a problem with it again, went out to find they moters were smoking! We lived out in the country and there was a hill, got a hammer and removed the moters, pulled the battery, they used it like that until it broke in half!<br /><br />So you can put heavy batteries in, but there are drawbacks. Man they had fun with that thing!

 

[tomatolord]

Re: kids 12v battery

OK cool<br /><br />I know I have to put GEL batteries in because this bike can lean on its side so water based batteries are out (unless they are sealed so they wont leak)<br /><br />these bikes have 2 circuit boards on them, one attached right to the side of the bike so it can get pounded with everything else....<br /><br />I believe they function to <br />1 prevent tope end speed<br />2 cut out the motor when the brake is applied<br />3 kick out the motor when it overheats (usually from pulling a large load like me around)<br /><br />Thanks!!

 

[Formula1974]

Re: kids 12v battery

I have a side job at toysRus assemblying power wheels/bikes/furniture ect. and have never thought about possible modifications to them. Has anyone tried to wire 2 of the Fisherprice 12 volts to one? As in 24 volts? Obviously this would make it faster....how long would the motor last? how about a Fisherprice 12 volt and a Fisherprice 6 volt together.....in theory this would make 18 volts? This can get interesting.....lol

 

[rwise]

Re: kids 12v battery

Formula1974<br />It would not last long, the over voltage would also cause more amperage to flow, which causes more heat, fast. maybe one race? would be somewhat faster though.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: kids 12v battery

I dont know how a lead acid battery would hold up in this type of use. Usually you run the toy till it runs out of battery, and from what I have heard, this isnt good for lead acid batteries.<br /><br />I will probably be in the same situation soon cause the two year old loves her Harley electric bike.<br /><br />As for shocking, I have personally been shocked by a car battery. No, it didnt give me the tingles, but it did start to get hot. My leg was touching the chrome bumper and my elbow touched the positive battery post. I was sweaty (salt water conducts electricity).<br /><br />Ken