Hoverboards? What are they?
Hoverboards became a huge trend over the past year or so, and more and more people are causing crowd’s amusement when casually riding their own hoverboard on the sidewalks and in parks, while only recently they would have caught quite weird looks and stares. Despite the fact that they don’t levitate in the air as it was predicted in one of the famous movies back in the 80s, hoverboards are still much more fun to ride than normal scooters, skateboards and even mini Seagways.
They allow you to roll along the streets and other places smoothly and with the minimum effort from your side. It’s just a self-balancing battery-powered scooter you can charge and have fun with both outside and inside. One thing is that it’s kind of tricky to get used to in the beginning, as a hoverboard doesn’t have an upright handle and it turns on the moment you stand on the foot pads. That makes it difficult not to jump off the scooter or bump into something when you haven’t ridden it a whole lot.
But once you get the concept and stop mounting the hoverboard absolutely terrified of it starting moving, it becomes quite easy to maneuver. You can make it go forwards or backwards by the slightest tilt of your legs or lean in a particular direction. And, you may also spin on hoverboard as well. At first, your thighs and feet will hurt and burn, as you’ll have to use the muscles to stay balanced and maneuver the hoverboard. But it will go away after some time, just like your abdominal hurts less and less the more your exercise.
Hoverboard is good for long-distance ‘walks’ in the fresh air with your favorite music playing in the headphones and just to have fun with your friends. They’re especially cool for themed parties. And, they actually make kids want to go outside. What a miracle!
Sensory foot pads, cool lights and smooth movements of a hoverboard and perception that you control the thing with your mind, but not body, makes you feel like you are riding the future. That’s also what makes this gadget so popular among the customers, especially among the young people.
However, as hoverboards are kind of a new sensation that has been produced for several years by far, there’re several manufacturing flaws and bugs that cause further hoverboard’s breakdowns and malfunctions dedicated customers have to deal with. They range from annoying scratches on the hoverboard’s shell that don’t actually influence its performance to battery problems and inflammation. Some failures may be avoided and some of them just have to be fixed. If you’re not that kind of person who magically knows how to deal with the gadgets’ ‘meltdowns’, you can easily address hoverboard repair services, which are mainly provided by automobile or motorcycle repairers, hoverboard and segway repair shops or hoverboard’s manufacturer if you still have a valid warranty on your gadget.
If that’s not an option, don’t get fooled by the impulse to throw your hoverboard against the wall or crash and smash it on the asphalt and order a new one. The moment of satisfaction will be really great and relieving, but it won’t last for too long, you know. First of all, take pity on the wall. That’s not its fault. Then, think of how much you’ve paid for that gadget and how much fun you had riding it and pity yourself. After all, think of what you can do to fix the problem aside from buying a new hoverboard or abandoning the idea of using it. And, that’s where I’ll help you out.
How to cover up scratches on hoverboard and apply protection
Scratches on hoverboard are not something to worry about when it comes to the normal work of your device, but they definitely mess up its look unless you prefer it being rough and slightly beaten up for a tough self-creating design. But most people are disappointed because of this malfunction. Customers don’t like this cosmetic side effect of active use of hoverboard, so they search for the ways to restore the initial look of their beloved gadget. Fair enough, a couple of scratches or even a lot of them shouldn’t be a reason of purchasing a new device.
However, if you’re going to ride a hoverboard, but not display it in a full-covered glass protected showcase, there’s no chance you’ll avoid scratching it. The matter is that most producers provide hoverboards in different colors and designs, but they actually make all scooters out of white plastic, even black ones. It’s crazy, I know. And, they cover that white plastic with only one coat of paint or so, no primer or finish. That’s why if you take your hoverboard to the big road or simply bump into things, you’ll find scratches on it sooner or later.
Some people pull out sharpies and try to color those scratches in. But, there’re several complaints about this method. First of all, how are you going to find a sharpie that matches the hoverboard’s color perfectly? Then, some respondents noted that black sharpie turns dark purple on black hoverboards and that, eventually, it wears off.
The more long-lasting option is to paint and scratch-proof a hoverboard that has been actually used. You can ask a handyman to do the job, or try to do that on your own. You’ll need a piece of sand paper and a rag, foil, duct tape, a screwdriver, spray plastic primer and scratch-proof truck bed liner for extra protection.
First of all, add a little bit more scratches to the hoverboard and treat its plastic panels with the sand paper, so that the paint grabs onto the plastic better. Take off the bottom panels and disconnect the light cables. Then, duct tape all the parts you don’t want to be painted (lights, foot petals, wheels, middle indicators) and protect the exposed bottom part with the help of foil and tape. Prepare the working area so that the primer and truck bed liner doesn’t get on your floor and other surfaces. Apply 2-3 coats of primer on the detached bottom panel and the top hoverboard’s body. Spray 3 coats of the truck bed liner onto those two parts afterwards not to repeat the manufacturer’s mistake.
Don’t forget to make sure that the part with wheels is stabilized and balanced to avoid paint drips. Also, let each coat of primer and liner dry up before applying another coat. Don’t take off the duct tape and foil protection before the hoverboard is completely dry, so that the paint edges don’t peel off with tape and ruin your job. When you assemble the hoverboard, don’t tighten the screws too much not to make the plastic panels crack.
And, that’s how you can make your beaten up and covered in scratches hoverboard as good as new. Moreover, you may purchase truck liners in different colors and spray paint a cool and unique design on your hoverboard.
The way to prevent scratches or at least reduce their amount is to purchase special rubber protective stickers and vinyl decals or use thick foam tape instead.
Hoverboard battery troubleshooting
Again, I won’t recommend doing this on your own if you haven’t done any gadget repairing before. Just find a repair shop and avoid unpleasant situation involving completely broken hoverboard and crazy hair due to the short circuit.
So, the most common malfunction of hoverboard battery is that it doesn’t charge. The first alarm call is constantly flashing red middle light that indicates low battery charge even after several hours of charging. Consequently, one of the hoverboard’s wheels and sides stop working at all and device becomes useless.
However, when one of the middle lights turns red, it may also mean that hoverboard needs calibration – just balance its two sides till they’re completely parallel and there’s no skewing.
If that doesn’t help, it means that the battery is throwing a tantrum. In order to fix it, make sure that your device is fully charged, balance a hoverboard and turn it off by pressing the power button for several seconds. Then, press this button again and keep pressing for a while even when both signals are green and show that device is turned on. Once you stop holding the power button, you’ll see one of the lights turn red again. Don’t panic and wait for the beeping sound. The stubborn light should turn green after that. Now, you’re good to go.
Motorcycle and electric scooter repair
If such issue occurs too often and the method I’ve described above stops working, you’ll have to look into it deeply and check the battery for more serious battery breakdowns. Then, you may either take the hoverboard apart and see what’s wrong with it, replace or fix broken parts and continue enjoying your rides, or stop playing a gadget whisperer when you’re not that kind of a guy and take your precious scooter to a professional repairer. As I’ve already mentioned, auto and motorcycle repair shops and mechanics usually deal with these problems. Go to HireRush.com to find one in your local area.
Why may hoverboard explode or catch fire and how to avoid such accidents?
As you’ve already guessed, the battery is the source of most of serious hoverboard’s malfunctions. It might just make your device stop working or cause quite dangerous effects, which, unfortunately, aren’t just visual like in movies. This fun and entertaining gadget might catch fire or even explode, which makes it quite unsafe toy for both kids and adults.
Hoverboard repairers and manufacturers explain that a hoverboard is powered by lithium ion battery packs, like a laptop or a mobile phone. It’s extremely convenient, as it’s really small, but holds more energy than other battery types. However, liquid electrolyte those batteries are filled with is highly flammable. So, when the short circuit happens (let’s say that you’ve smashed into something at high speed while riding a hoverboard and a thing plastic divider between positive and negative parts of the battery breaks) that liquid heats up really fast and sets a hoverboard on fire or even makes it explode.
The horrible truth is that even little metal particles a battery sometimes happens to have inside may damage its separator when a hoverboard is charging and cause horrible consequences. The same thing may happen to your phone or tablet. But such cases are quite rare, as we try not to smash, throw or drop those devices.
So, you may avoid such terrible accidents by riding a hoverboard carefully, without bumping and smashing into trees, borders of the sidewalks, etc. and making it overcome crazy obstacles. Besides, don’t keep your hoverboard charging for too long. If the hoverboard’s charger is defective, it fails to indicate when the device is fully charged. Then, the scooter’s battery becomes heavily overcharged and breaks.
Also, if you really like the idea of hoverboards and want to purchase one of them despite the listed dangers, I’d recommend you to stick to the well-known brands and more expensive versions. The matter is that manufacturers that offer low-cost hoverboards use thinner (and more breakable) plastic for battery separators, which are the main reason of hoverboards’ explosions and fires. I won’t insist on the fact that batteries of pricier devices won’t break, but in most cases, they will just make the hoverboard stop working, but not explode.
Be safe and enjoy your ride!
