Bringing our own ECV – Battery?

[pezheadval]

My dad recently purchased an ECV. He is planning on brining it to Disney World for our next visit. Have any of you brought your own ECV from home? Did that work out ok? We have been to WDW several times and they will be staying at Fort Wilderness. Our last trip he rented a ECV from Disney, so this will be the first trip with his own ECV. He is most concerned about battery life. What happens if the battery dies while in the park?

~ Valerie ~

 

[Talking Hands]

As long as he has his charger cord with him, he can plug it in an charge in the parks. Castmembers are really great about that. EPCOT is the only park I seem to run low.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You might want to check the specifications with the manufacturer. From what I have seen most ECVs have a 25 mile range at maximum weight from full charge. As long as you plug it in to charge overnight there should be no problems.

I have occasionally left the ECV in the car overnight as I have felt I did not do much driving, and did not anticipate much the next day and have not had any problems (and I am very close to the weight limit)..

 

[SueM in MN]

You got some good advice already.
We have not taken my DD's power wheelchair to WDW, but in her regualr use of it, we actually only charge it every few days.
I've seen estimates that the average person walks about 5-8 miles a day at WDW (some probably walk more and some a lot less). If his ecv will go up to 25 miles on one charge, that should be no problem. And, as suggested, if you bring the power cord along, you can plug it in to recharge if needed during the day.

 

[pezheadval]

Thank you for all of your advice.

It's nice to know that Disney will allow us to charge if something happens. And it sounds like if we charge it every night, we should have no problems. Thanks again!

~ Valerie ~

 

[clkelley]

Just charge it every night. We brought our own ECV in November and it is quite old. The charger is a separate unit that plugs into the base and then plugs into the wall. We didn't want to lug that thing around, so we charged every night. My hubby is on the heavy side and he rolled all over WDW every day with no problems.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

My dad is pretty heavy too. He went with us last week and had no problems with battery life. He charged it up every night and didn't even come close to running low.

I did see something interesting at Epcot. We were waiting to go into the handicapped elevator at the America pavillion and they have 2 outlets to recharge scooters near the elevator. I didn't notice that anywhere else in the parks.

 

[pezheadval]

Originally posted by Pooh Girl 71
I did see something interesting at Epcot. We were waiting to go into the handicapped elevator at the America pavillion and they have 2 outlets to recharge scooters near the elevator. I didn't notice that anywhere else in the parks.

Good to Know!
Thanks!

 

[AprilsZoo]

We went to Disneyland over Easter Weekend, and my powerchair batteries were drained by the end of the day. At 1pm I had plugged my charger in while we ate at Blue Bayou for around an hour (cuz I was down to 1 green bar left, and had been for a hour or so, and there happened to be a plug handy) but by 9:30 pm, my last red bar was flashing furiously, and I was afraid I wouldn't make it from the central plaza back to the front. When I got to the fire station, I went into guest services and plugged in in a little room they have to the side. I hobbled around the Emporium for 45 min or so, then met up with DH and DS's, and we were ready to go.

I know I am at least 100 lbs under the weight limit so "load" was not the issue. And I turned it off whenever we were sitting/standing still for more that a minute or 2 (in lines, on riverboat, etc) to conserve power. I really think it was the constant stop-go-stop-go that drained the batt's so quick. I could never go more than a foot or 2 at a time without letting go of the joystick. THREE people managed to trip over me and land right in my lap, even after I had given them plenty of room to get by and tried to get their attention when I saw that they were going to plow into me.

Before we go next time I am planning to buy extra batt's and bring them with me (fully charged) and stow them in a locker to trade out in the late afternoon/evening. It was not a good feeling to wonder if my chair was going to konk out on me right in the middle of Main Street USA!!!!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by AprilsZoo
We went to Disneyland over Easter Weekend, and my powerchair batteries were drained by the end of the day.

I know I am at least 100 lbs under the weight limit so "load" was not the issue. And I turned it off whenever we were sitting/standing still for more that a minute or 2 (in lines, on riverboat, etc) to conserve power.

How long have you had the wheelchair since it had new batteries fitted? One possibility is that your batteries are nearing the end of their working life and need replacing.

Most batteries have a limited number number of charge/discharge cycles before they start to fail. My last batteries started to fail after about two years with symtoms very similar to the ones you describe.

If you are buying new batteries anyway, swap them off with your current ones immediately and see if that solves your problem

Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

I was thinking the same thing as Andrew wrote.
Your wheelchair equipment supplier should be able to tell you if they are no longer capable of holding a full charge. We haven't run into this ye (knowck on wood) with DD's wheelchair, but they told us this would be something to watch for. We have run into it two or 3 times with her Dynavox (a dedicated computerized communication device). After a while, the batteries just don't hold a charge anymore.

 

[AprilsZoo]

I've only had it for about 6 months, and this is the first time I've taken it out anywhere for a real workout. I've mostly only used it around the house and neighborhood (a few blocks at a time) 'cuz my DME supplier messed up ordering the seat and cushion, so it was not fit to me very well to be comfy for more than an hour or so.
It was a real bummer to finally get my chair and still not have any real freedom 'cuz it was too uncomfortable to sit in. But now I have a whole new world open to me.

With my MS, I can start out walking just fine (OK, with a slight limp ) and suddenly my legs turn to jello and refuse to carry me any further. My forearm crutches saved me a few times from literally falling on my face, but my arms are getting weaker too, so it actually got to be exhausting to drag myself around on those. As far as I'm concerned, no one is confined to a wheelchair -- they are liberated by one!!!

Anyway, don't see how it can be the batteries. I've charged them exactly like it said in the manual and they were charged just before we left to drive there. So.... I think it must have been the stop-go that took more energy. I've heard that people who fiddle with their joysticks, sort-of as a fidgety habit, tend to get much lower battery life per charge, so it makes a little sense.
Maybe I will get the DME place to test them though... with my luck, I got defective ones or something

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by AprilsZoo
As far as I'm concerned, no one is confined to a wheelchair -- they are liberated by one!!!

I couldn't agree more. Before I used a wheelchair, I avoided leaving the house because getting about had gotten so difficult. If I left my house at all, it was just to walk a few steps to my car. My whole world was seen through glass, through my windows, or through the windshield of my car. Now I go out most every day, into the garden or down to the local shops. I even get to smell the flowers again. I am free!

Originally posted by AprilsZoo
Anyway, don't see how it can be the batteries. I've charged them exactly like it said in the manual and they were charged just before we left to drive there.

Whilst I still think it sounds as if your batteries are failing, you could have other problems too. On one trip to Disney, the baggage handlers left something switched on when the loaded my chair into the aircraft hold with the result I arrived in Orlando after nine hours with no charge left. By sitting a while with the chair switched off, the batteries recovered just enough to get me onto the bus and then into my hotel room. I actually stopped just inside the door & my wife had to push me the last few feet up to a cord outlet to use my charger.

It is just possible that you have some kind of 'leak' in the electrics that is pulling your charge down.

My chair has two auto sized batteries that will recharge fully overnight. When new, these will give me a range of around fifteen miles which is more than ample for a full day's use. I don't usually turn the power off when stopped.

(except when in crowds for safety - I once had a ten year old run over to me and pull my joystick, catapulting me forward, as I was apologising to the lady I nearly ran down, I could hear him saying "it wasn't me mum, I never touched him")

Andrew

 

[BCV23]

We took our DDs power chair for our Dec trip and rented one in March and had problems like April. Both were Jazzys. Perhaps they are smaller batteries than ECVs? We learned the hard way to have the power cord with us as my DH pushed her through Epcot one night when the power was gone. We now plug it in where ever we dine at Epcot. With the rental one it even started flashing after a day at MK. We never have a problem at home as she tools around her high school. Just be sure to bring your cord and don't be shy about asking for an outlet to recharge.

 

[BCV23]

I probably should have mentionned that my daughter only weighs 90-100 lbs...who knows for sure?

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD's power wheelchair has a huge battery - enough to power her wheelchair for a week of use. The book with her wheelchair said it should have enough power to use the wheelchair for 5 to 9 hours of use (for a maximum load of 300 pounds, so we can use it much longer without recharging since she is only about 85-95 pounds).
The Jazzy wheelchairs seem to have smaller batteries than other types of power wheelchairs from what I have seen just looking at them. That might make a difference, but the manufacturer should be able to tell you how long/far you can go without a charge. If it's less than that, there might be something wrong with the batery, the charger or the power consumption. It might even be a flaw that eventually they will do a recall on - who knows. It might also be that the batteries were not fully charged before the first use of the chair. There were a couple of warnings with my DD's wheelchair telling you that if it was not fully charged before the first use, the battery life would be reduced. So, it could be that the Jazzy batteries were not fully charged the first time and are very sensitive to that.
Another thing is if you are using the wheelchair only for in-house use (very little use) and charging it every night, it might never get fully discharged or fully charged. Those kinds of batteries are not supposed to have the memory, but they might anyway. That's one of the reasons we don't charge DD's every night. I just check the guage to see if it still is registering full and don't charge it until we have used some of the power. Even after 2 days use at school, it usually is still registering full.
I'd bring the cord along anyway, but unless the batteries in your ecv/wheelchair are much easier to change than the ones in my DD's power wheelchair, I would not bring an extra set of batteries, just a cord.
For the people who have Jazzy, here's their website:
http://www.pridemobility.com/home.html and I remembered that someone told me there is a users' group at the website.

 

[stonewall]

I took my own ECV to WDW this past February. This was the first time that I had done that as I had previously rented one from an off-site provider. It helps to notify the airline in advance so they can note it on your reservation. The personnel at check-in will take a look at the battery to make sure that it is the "sealed" type(almost all are) and may call ahead to the gate to let them know that you have been "pre-inspected". You can drive right to the boarding gate and someone will take the EVC from you and load it into the belly of the plane; it will be at the gate when you get off on the other end. For your piece of mind, have the ECV and its batteries fully inspected by your local service center before you go on your trip; they can check the battery charge at that time and make sure that you are "good to go". If you charge the battery at night, you should have no problem tooling around the parks. You can't plug in while in the parks due to safety regulations. I was much happier having my own vehicle this time, as I know how it works and the seat is "pre-formed"!! Have a great trip!

 

[Talking Hands]

Stonewall you can plug in while in the parks. The castmembers are very accommodating if you need to plug in. Just go to the area you rent wheelchairs from and they will take care of it for you or ask at the restaurant you are eating at and they will accommodate you. I have never had a problem recharging at the parks when necessary.

 

[AprilsZoo]

I have a Jazzy 1113ATS with standard U-1 batteries. The owner's manual says that the range per charge is "up to 25 miles." It would have to mean with the standard batt's cuz those are the only kind that will fit. Pride says that battery life will vary because of weight, terrain, average speed, programming, charging habits, etc. I only charge my chair every 8-10 days, unless I have used it a lot and then I generally wait until I am down to 1 or 2 yellow bars on the display, to allow them to do the "deep cycle" thing. It depends on whether I need to start out with a full charge the next day or not.

One odd thing I've noticed is that the remaining power is not proportional to the number & color of the bars on the indicator display. I have 3 each green, yellow, and red bars. So you would think that when all 3 green bars are off, you still have 2/3 of the charge in your batteries, and once you are down to the 3 red you still have 1/3 left ... but NO, not so. Once you are down to the 3 red bars, you have at most 10% power remaining and it only goes down faster from there. It is anxiety city wondering when you will stop dead.

I am going to call tomorrow and find out about getting them checked out, cuz I know somewhere, somehow I must be a Murphy -- If anything can go wrong with something I am trying to do/buy/find/get/etc. it definitely will!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by AprilsZoo
I only charge my chair every 8-10 days, unless I have used it a lot and then I generally wait until I am down to 1 or 2 yellow bars on the display, to allow them to do the "deep cycle" thing.

I have been given so much conflicting information about the best way to recharge, that I am totally confused!

With my first set of batteries, I did as you do, and recharged only when I was 'down to red'. My batteries lasted 18 months or so.

When I started out with my new set of batteries I started charging overnight, every night, even if I had just gone in and out of a couple of rooms at home. In twelve months or so, I should know is this prolongs the life of my batteries.

Andrew