Fuel rods-- what's the capacity (mAH)

[gillep]

I love my fuel rod. I only use it at WDW and DL, as I have multiple other higher capacity chargers that I use in every day life, but I love how light the fuel rod is compared to the others that I have and it is so easy to swap out at a hotel or park.

 

[bryanb]

Does anyone know anything about the FuelRod company itself? I'm curious about their business model and was fairly impressed with what they're doing. It must have taken a pretty big investment for them to get Disney on board -- talk about prime, expensive real estate! They are definitely providing a service, not just a charger, and I wonder if it is profitable.

 

[loves to dive]

My son got one on our last trip. He used it every day in the parks and just swapped it out any time he was near a place with one. He also has other, bigger ones at home he used to carry in his backpack for school. He now uses the fuel rod at school too. You can recharge them like you can any other portable so he just charges it at home if he used it that day at school. He likes the fact that it fits in his pants pocket and it is barely noticeable while the bigger ones you could tell you were carrying them or he had to put them in his backpack.

 

[AngiTN]

I'm on month three right now, and its still going strong.

IMHO, its only a value if you can swap them out. I looked on Fuel Rod's website a while back, and the closest location is a two hour drive away. I'm willing to bet Fuel Rod is counting on folks NOT swapping them out.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on the so-called value added.

They are all over Disney property, in parks and at resorts so I'm not sure what the "two hour drive" part you are talking about is. Folks do swap them out all the time.

Oh, I never use it outside of Disney World. I have more powerful chargers for that. But I visit Disney often enough that the value added is immense. I thought that is what we were talking about!

Same here. I'd never use our Fuel Rod anywhere BUT Disney. And I'd never carry around our big full size charger at Disney (it pulls my pants down when I put it in my pocket!)

Does anyone know anything about the FuelRod company itself? I'm curious about their business model and was fairly impressed with what they're doing. It must have taken a pretty big investment for them to get Disney on board -- talk about prime, expensive real estate! They are definitely providing a service, not just a charger, and I wonder if it is profitable.

I know they'd been around for a while before Disney got on board, other than that, not much. I'm sure there's an "About Us" on their website.

 

[hmcater]

Are you allowed to switch them out as much as you need throughout the day? There are 6 of us, but I'm hoping I really don't need to buy 6 of them.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I used a fuel rod on my last trip and loved it. So much smaller and lighter thab my other battery packs, and I can just swap it out when empty. Very convenient!

 

[AngiTN]

Are you allowed to switch them out as much as you need throughout the day? There are 6 of us, but I'm hoping I really don't need to buy 6 of them.

Yep, no limit

 

[jo-jo]

Are you allowed to switch them out as much as you need throughout the day? There are 6 of us, but I'm hoping I really don't need to buy 6 of them.

As soon as you get one, start using it to charge something, when you go past a exchange machine , swap it, even if you don't think you need to. Always be charging something. Don't wait until half the phones are almost dead before you start to use it.

Two trips ago we had 4 mini fans and at least 4 phones. We used our fuel rod constantly (with replacements of course).

 

[nemodeb]

Thanks everyone!! Such good replies. I'm still undecided, but leaning toward getting one more due to less weight in my bag than my Anker.

Didn't see them on Amazon, though. I thought they were there awhile ago.

 

[jpeterson]

Fuel rods are a natural fit for the Parks.

For the inexperienced users, it's a one-time expense that you can't necessarily enjoy when you get home, but for the few days that one finds their cell phone a constant companion, it's a wonderful opportunity.

For those who are experienced users, of course it makes more sense to bring in your own - and cheaper too! But at some point you will have to stop and find a charging point!

The only reason we have a fuel rod is because our first trip to Disney World, we had no idea how much we would need to rely on our phones. They kept running out of battery! A helpful cast member pointed us to the fuel rod kiosk and it was awesome! Yes, they are over-priced batteries, but the ability to exchange it was wonderful. We now usually bring our own, but that first trip it was worth the money!

 

[hertamaniac]

As battery capacities continue to increase, it will be interesting if the devices that take advantage of the fuel rod's appeal will start to lose it's value (marketing, real, performance or otherwise). In other words, if my personal battery powered device can last longer, I see the usage of fuel rod's diminishing.

As far as rated capacity, it does not assure that the battery you swap out has the rated capacity; I would argue it probably has less, but not sure to what degree.

 

[CAS239]

Thanks everyone!! Such good replies. I'm still undecided, but leaning toward getting one more due to less weight in my bag than my Anker.

Didn't see them on Amazon, though. I thought they were there awhile ago.

You really won't find them on eBay or Amazon, at least not for a deal. Sometimes you'll see one listed but it'll be basically for the same price as if you just buy it from a FR kiosk

 

[Selket]

Are they sold in the Orlando airport for $20? (vs the $30 onsite) Just curious because everyone is making me like this more and more lol.

 

[subtchr]

Thanks everyone!! Such good replies. I'm still undecided, but leaning toward getting one more due to less weight in my bag than my Anker.

Didn't see them on Amazon, though. I thought they were there awhile ago.

Not that brand, no. It is not sold on Amazon.

Are they sold in the Orlando airport for $20? (vs the $30 onsite) Just curious because everyone is making me like this more and more lol.

I have been told there is a kiosk in Terminal B, but there is not one in A.

 

[subtchr]

Fuel rods are a natural fit for the Parks.

For the inexperienced users, it's a one-time expense that you can't necessarily enjoy when you get home, but for the few days that one finds their cell phone a constant companion, it's a wonderful opportunity.

For those who are experienced users, of course it makes more sense to bring in your own - and cheaper too! But at some point you will have to stop and find a charging point!

See, I disagree with this. It's the experienced users who get the most value out of a Fuel Rod. I have probably exchanged Fuel Rods 100 times in the parks over the past year. Since I bought it for $20 at an airport, that's an extremely low per-use cost, and I am getting a "new" one every time.

 

[dreiwhit]

They are all over Disney property, in parks and at resorts so I'm not sure what the "two hour drive" part you are talking about is. Folks do swap them out all the time.

I'm not talking about Disney, i'm talking about when i'm not at WDW. The Fuel Rod loses its usefulness when there is no convenient way to swap it out. The closest Fuel Rod location to my home is a two hour drive away, in a neighboring state.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Silly question. Do the Fuel Rods ‘run hot’ when charging your device? Recently bought an Anker oversized lipstick shaped charger and used it in the parks last week. Great capacity, but boy was it hot in my pocket. Borderline uncomfortable.

Don’t have a ton of experience with portable chargers, so not sure of the norm.

Thanks!

 

[AngiTN]

I'm not talking about Disney, i'm talking about when i'm not at WDW. The Fuel Rod loses its usefulness when there is no convenient way to swap it out. The closest Fuel Rod location to my home is a two hour drive away, in a neighboring state.

Oh. Since they have little usefulness anywhere but Disney I've never looked. Anywhere else I carry a purse so I carry my larger, more useful, yet heavier charger. Fuel Rod is for use at Disney only, so I only care where those exchange units are.

Silly question. Do the Fuel Rods ‘run hot’ when charging your device? Recently bought an Anker oversized lipstick shaped charger and used it in the parks last week. Great capacity, but boy was it hot in my pocket. Borderline uncomfortable.

Don’t have a ton of experience with portable chargers, so not sure of the norm.

Thanks!

No, it has never gotten hot. It's really not powerful enough to. Capacity is often where the heat comes from, in my experience at least. But even our two much larger devices don't run really hot. But I bet they are also better insulated as they are not lipstick sized either.

 

[MrPTato]

Curious...when you turn one in, do you put it in the machine to charge, or just drop it into a hole. Also, had anyone ever gone to the kiosk and it was out of charged units? I would think someone from fuel rod would have to be swapping them out all the time, yet I have never seen anyone.

 

[AngiTN]

Curious...when you turn one in, do you put it in the machine to charge, or just drop it into a hole. Also, had anyone ever gone to the kiosk and it was out of charged units? I would think someone from fuel rod would have to be swapping them out all the time, yet I have never seen anyone.

Never had one not have an available charger. You do just drop it in a hole and get a new one back. You don't charge the one you have.
I have no clue for sure but logic tells me it charges the ones that are returned right in the machine, which is why someone doesn't have to come to refill the machine and why they can hardly ever run out. With such small capacity they don't take long to charge. There's always some charging, some ready.

I'm sure they come by to service them at close to make sure there are no dud chargers left in it. If it doesn't charge then knowing Disney they are only going to let them refill them at night, when the parks are closed. So you'd never see it