Recharging Electric Wheelchair In Parks

[seashoreCM]

Let's start a fad!

We need a list of easily reached electric outlets in the parks. Perhaps folks could just add replies to this thread with locations one at a time.

1. Get a Guest Assistance Pass with the notation or stamp "need to wait in shade". Perhaps some day soon Disney will invent the GAC notation "need to use recharging station" and have a stamp for that, and construct more recharging stations.

2. At some rides including rides without Fast Pass you can get a slip with a "come back" time reflecting the standby wait time.

3. Use this waiting time to recharge your wheelchair.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

(This thread started in response to the comment that fetching Fast Passes often involves criss crossing the park multiple times.)

Do not jump start cars with your wheelchair. Get as far away as fast as you can. Just one jump can leave you stranded. PM me for an explanation.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Are you sure you don't have a problem with either your charging unit or batteries? I realize that a power chair is different than an ECV. However, most ECV as designed to go either 10 or 25 miles on a full charge, depending on the size.

I thought that most power chairs were supposed to be capable of at least 20 miles on full charge. This would mean that if you have it in the charger overnight you should have no problem during the day.

I would expect either Andrew, Bill, Linda, Lisa, or Sue to jump in on this.

 

[pugdog]

The DW has never had a problem wilth her powerchair running out. we charge it each night and go all day long. Wehave even spent the day in the parks and then rolled to LBV to have dinner there.
If your having problems with keeping acharge then you need to have it looked at before you come down. You should be able to go atleast 20 miles before a recharge.

 

[SueM in MN]

We olny charge DD's power wheelchair several times a week. She only weighs 85 pounds, so she doesn't put much of a draw on her batery.
Most power wheelchairs can go even farther on one charge than an ECV can. My DD's instruction book says it can go 20 miles on one charge for an average (150 pound) person. I agree with pugdog and Cheshire Figment that most power wheelchairs can go at least that far, if not farther.
Also, depending on your battery, it may not be good for the battery to be continually "topping it off".

If someone does need to plug in during the day, it probably means something is wrong with their wheelchair, charger or battery. If anyone feels they need to plug in, they can ask a CM, especially in restaurants.
If someone is with other people in the parks, they can send someone else in their party to get fastpasses, so having to crisscross the park for fastpasses and maybe run out of power in the process would affect relatively few people (primary those who are traveling alone or with someone else who can't go alone to get fastpasses).

I have never heard of anyone trying to jump start a car with a wheelchair battery and can't believe anyone would try. They are different types of batteries and are not easy for many wheelchair users to access. (car battery used for starting the car engine and providing power to the electrical components of the car and then be recharged continually by the alternator VS wheelchair battery designed to provide a steady supply of power as needed, be discharged and then re-charged).

 

[Andrew Bichard]

My DD's instruction book says it can go 20 miles on one charge for an average (150 pound) person. I agree with pugdog and Cheshire Figment that most power wheelchairs can go at least that far, if not farther.
Also, depending on your battery, it may not be good for the battery to be continually "topping it off".

If someone does need to plug in during the day, it probably means something is wrong with their wheelchair, charger or battery.

I have never heard of anyone trying to jump start a car with a wheelchair battery and can't believe anyone would try. They are different types of batteries

My chair manufactuter claims a driving range of 17 miles for a person of average weight. I am not average weight, but still get 12 to 14 miles provided I don't use the fastest speed setting all the time. I have tried recharging only when flat, and every night to keep them fully topped up all the time. I did not notice any difference in how long a set of batteries lasted.

A car battery is designed to provide a high burst of current for a very short time for example the five seconds it takes to start a car. A wheelchair uses 'deep cycle' batteries which can produce a low current over a long period of time.

There are special batteries that do both. These are popular for boats and for car owners who want to run a lot of equipment (such as powerfull audio systems) with the engine turned off.


Andrew

 

[Nanajo1]

When my chair charge doesn't hold as long as usual I know it is time for new batteries. I get 25 miles or four really good trips to the mall on one charge.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

Okay. I'm really interested in where the recharging stations are. How far a charge "should" go doesn't really help. My DH's chair is only a couple of months old and we can spend all day at the mall without a problem but in huge Fort Wilderness with 4 kids begging rides all day at the parks, I have a sneaking suspicion that we are going to need a little juice by dinner time. In a perfect world with flat ground, and 30 less lbs, the chair would go 25 miles on one charge, but in a perfect world he wouldn't need the chair at all.

 

[Talking Hands]

At Ft Wilderness I have charged it at Trail's End. A lot depends on his mobility and whether he can get out and walk or sit in a regular chair or not. No real charging stations in the parks. You can ask them to recharge at the wheelchair rental and if the have it they will lend you a manual wheelchair.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Okay. I'm really interested in where the recharging stations are.

There are no 'recharging stations' as such. On those very rare ocassions that a chair needed recharging, most people would ask for a table near an electric outlet when they stop for lunch. Make sure you carry your charger unit with you.

If you keep your eyes open, you will find cord outlets in all sorts of unlikely spots. I have even seen them on short posts in flower beds presumably put there so the gardeners can use power tools.

All chairs have power indicators, so you should know when it is time to recharge, or abandon the park.

If your chair is anything like mine, you can sometimes squeeze a tiny bit extra out of flat batteries by parking up for thirty minutes or so to let the batteries rest and get their 'second wind'. Other than that, you can put your chair in free-wheel and have those children push you out of the park.

Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

There are no 'recharging stations' as such. On those very rare ocassions that a chair needed recharging, most people would ask for a table near an electric outlet when they stop for lunch. Make sure you carry your charger unit with you.

If you keep your eyes open, you will find cord outlets in all sorts of unlikely spots. I have even seen them on short posts in flower beds presumably put there so the gardeners can use power tools.

All chairs have power indicators, so you should know when it is time to recharge, or abandon the park.

If your chair is anything like mine, you can sometimes squeeze a tiny bit extra out of flat batteries by parking up for thirty minutes or so to let the batteries rest and get their 'second wind'. Other than that, you can put your chair in free-wheel and have those children push you out of the park.

Andrew

Also, if he needs to, he can go to First Aid and lie down on one of the cots while the chair charges next to him.
I'd suggest before you go, getting real familiar with the power indicator. Have him run it down to almost empty someplace safe like home a few times so he gets familiar with the indicator (like does it stay at one level for a long time and then all of a sudden jump down a few notches?)

 

[BCV23]

Our daughter's Jazzy doesn't go anywhere near 20 miles. We have indeed had problems at WDW and she has had problems at her university including running out of power late at night in the Illinois winter!

Sue, what kind of power chair does your daughter have? Our DD isn't as light weight as yours but she is small.

 

[BCV23]

Oh, and to answer where to recharge off hand I remember recharging at Kona, Rose & Crown, and Chefs. I am pretty confident of finding an outlet at any restaurant. Luckily, our daughter can transfer to a seat at a table while the chair recharges.

She has a new portable power Quickie that we used on our last trip to WDW and I don't remember having problems with this one.

 

[DisneyaHolic23]

My husband and I are taking my in-laws for their first Disney World trip this fall. Both will need some transportion, as they can only walk short distances (especially FIL, who had circulatory surgery last year). We've got very little experience with options, since when we visit them, we simply spend a lot of time sitting and visiting.

Can you all help me?
1. I am reading this charging question with interest - does the scooter indicate when it is getting low?
2. Should we always throw-in the charger?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Nanajo1]

Can you all help me?
1. I am reading this charging question with interest - does the scooter indicate when it is getting low?
2. Should we always throw-in the charger?

Thanks for your help!

1.There is an indicator that tells the level of charge left.
2.Some chargers are cumbersome, the size of a small battery. Other scooters have an on board charger which just requires the cord to be carried.
I have been renting an ECV from an off site vendor for 7 years now and have never run out of power. I have done some very long days, from early entry to well after illuminations.

 

[pugdog]

I really think that if you are having a problem with keeping a charge it is either bad batteries or the chair is draining the batteries and needs to be checked out.

Now don't tell Invacare this but I have a cart that I can put on the back of DW's chair to stand on and ride. I know it's not "approved" by Invacare but the warrenty is done with anyways. But even with my 200 pounds and DW's weight and running all over WDW we have NEVER run out of a charge. Yes it does need to be charged that night but never been left high and dry.

Once with the cart we spend the day rolling around EPCOT and then rolled from DTD to Olive Garden in LBV and then back to DTD and never went below 1/3 full.

Her chair is about 6 years old and insurance will pay for new batteries every year so we get new ones every year.

Like I said if your ECV or power WC can't hold a charge all day then you need to have someone look at it and replace the batteries and see if there is something else draining the system.

 

[seashoreCM]

I have a cart that I can put on the back of DW's chair to stand on and ride. I know it's not "approved" by ... but the warrenty is done with anyways. But even with my 200 pounds and DW's weight and running all over WDW we have NEVER run out of a charge. Yes it does need to be charged that night but never been left high and dry.

Her chair is about 6 years old and insurance will pay for new batteries every year so we get new ones every year.

You could have wheel bearing problems or motor burnout problems or other mechanical problems with the chair handling such a heavy load. Even if the warranty has run out, it is still nice to have the product last for decades without the need for repairs which are inconvenient as well as costly.

Better to buy or rent your own wheelchair or scooter even if you don't need to ride it all the time.

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD's is an Invacare Arrow. It is 5 years old and still has the original batteries. It did have a problem a year ago where it was losing power and we thought it was probably the battery. When the battery was tested, it held a full charge (the same as a new battery). The problem was actually the motors; because of spasticity, she sometimes pushes the joystick forward at the same time as she is pulling back on it - not good for the motors.
BCV23, what kind of Jazzy did your DD have? According to what I found on the web on , the Pride Mobility site, all the Jazzy wheelchairs that they currently list have up to a 25 miles battery life.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

Hmmm. It seems to be a trend. DH's chair is a Jazzy and it won't go anywhere close to 25 miles--and its only a couple of months old. I saw that Talking Hands had to charge her Jazzy at Trails End. Maybe the Jazzy isn't so Jazzy after all.

 

[SueM in MN]

Maybe they got ahold of a batch of bad batteries or chargers or something. I would think if they say on their website that they go up to 25 miles, that they have done some testing to validate that. They would probably put the "depending on the weight of the user, speed and terrain" disclaimer, but even with that, if it says up to 25, it should get more than 10!

My DD's Invacare Arrow must have bigger batteries that the Jazzys. I know the top speed her wheelchair is 7 mph (her controller is only set for 60% of the possible speed ). The top speeds of the different Jazzy models vary, but they were between 4 and 5 mph.

 

[BCV23]

Hmmm. It seems to be a trend. DH's chair is a Jazzy and it won't go anywhere close to 25 miles--and its only a couple of months old. I saw that Talking Hands had to charge her Jazzy at Trails End. Maybe the Jazzy isn't so Jazzy after all.

I'm starting to think the same thing!

Sue, my daughters Jazzy is 1143. We bought it about 5 years ago. She did have a new battery this past year and it has been checked out. It will continue to be her primary chair unless we buy a new one because the portable Quickie just wouldn't be as comfortable day in and day out. It is essentially like a sling manual chair with an extra seat cushion. It is great for travel though and gives us all peace of mind as a backup at college.

We have been told by three different dealerships that the type of battery in her chair works best if it is charged and used in the same fashion each day. Well, that is difficult to do for a college student and as she used her walker when possible in HS, it wasn't very practical then either.