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From: Tom.Rutherford@f176.n2240.z1.fidonet.org (Tom Rutherford)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Angry as Hell!
Message-ID: <17136@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 23 Jan 91 15:25:20 GMT
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Index Number: 13147

 JB>
 JB>      While eating lunch yesterday with a friend at the Golden
 JB>      Arches (McDonalds), he mentioned that the batteries in his
 JB>  wheelchair were going bad.  Jim had called a company to check on
 JB>  prices and was told he would have to pay for the batteries plus a
 JB>  50 dollar installation charge up front and they would send the
 JB>  paper work to Medicade.  He had decided to buy the batteries
 JB>  elsewhere and get one of his friends to install them, but didn't
 JB>  know what model number to ask for on the phone.  I was going to
 JB>  check for him, but got distracted when we returned to his home
 JB>  and forgot.

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 JB>      Today, while returning from an appointment, I remembered Jim's
 JB> batteries and dropped in.  After getting the battery number, I
 JB> popped the caps to check the water level.  All 12 cells (2
 JB> batteries) were completely dry in these MAINTENANCE FREE
 JB> batteries.  I put in between 2 1/2 and 3 qts. of water into these
 JB> MAINTENANCE FREE batteries.  MAINTENANCE FREE, my patunia!
 JB>
 JB>      Jim was told by his dealer that he NEVER had to check the
 JB>  water in his MAINTENANCE FREE batteries.  Maintenance Free
 JB>  batteries are nothing but a SCAM by the manufactuers and those
 JB>  who sell them.  If batteries are not maintained properly, they
 JB>  will go bad prematurely and more batteries can be sold.  When
 JB>  Jim's dealer told him that he didn't have to check his water, he
 JB>  was being taken advantage of.  This situation makes me ANGRY AS
 JB>  HELL!  ***** CHECK YOUR BATTERY WATER *****  irregardless of what
 JB>  anybody may tell you otherwise!

There is such a thing as maintenance-free batteries, but evidently, your
friend didn't get 'em.  If they had removable caps, they weren't
maintenance-free, obviously.  I'd say that your friend should find the
receipts where he bought those things, any literature on them, etc.,
etc., and take it all to the District Attorney's office in your city.

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