Tell me about fuel rods

The only value with a fuel rod is the ability to swap if you use your phone a lot in the parks.

If you feel you will need to charge often, you can consider something like a portable battery by Anker. They have an 18 month warranty and amazing customer service.

I have the 2nd to the largest one. I can charge my iPhone/my husband's android 7.5 times before I need to recharge the battery. I can charge 2 devices at the same time.
 
The only value with a fuel rod is the ability to swap if you use your phone a lot in the parks.

If you feel you will need to charge often, you can consider something like a portable battery by Anker. They have an 18 month warranty and amazing customer service.

I have the 2nd to the largest one. I can charge my iPhone/my husband's android 7.5 times before I need to recharge the battery. I can charge 2 devices at the same time.
While there are many better batteries out there (we own multiple), the ability to swap can prove invaluable when coupled with the fact that fuel rods are small and light. Those bigger, high capacity batteries can get REALLY heavy REALLY fast when you're carrying them around in your backpack all day out of the possibility you might need them. While by no means cheap or the best battery deal, it's certainly not one to discount, especially for groups with repeated or longer stays at Disney World (or Disneyland).

You can get as many charges in a day from fuel rods because you don't need to bother recharging it, and while they may not charge as quickly, it shouldn't be a problem (even sharing among a couple people) as long as people aren't waiting until their phone is already almost dead.
 
I'm leaning more toward getting one. I'll bring one of my brick ones for use on the plane. But having something lighter for the park and no worries about recharging it, is sounding better and better. The little fans I have are going to be used a lot. They last about 4 hrs on high.

Perhaps a dumb questions, will any usb cord with fit them??? Some have mentioned the cord is rather short. I could bring a longer one along. I like the fact it has the connections for several brands of phones. I believe my DGDs have apple products.

I do wish WDW had more than ONE spot to swap at AK. MK has about 5, EPCOT and DHS has 3 , I believe.
 


I have a cheap one from Walmart that worked fine for my iPhone 5s last year... That was with using it as a camera and having to constantly look at it to gauge where to be next...
 
I recall someone saying they don't wait until their phone is low to recharge, the keep the phone plugged in and drain the fuel rod, so when ever they pass a spot to exchange, they do.

This is the most efficient strategy for all power packs. Battery charging is less than 100% efficient, and most of the energy lost is as heat. Plugging into a battery pack when you're phone is already charged eliminates one power conversion.
 
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I considered using this on my last trip but decided against it. The reason was I didn't know where any kiosks were, and I didn't want to spend time asking and looking for them. I never once noticed one the entirety of our trip, so I'm glad I just went with my personal charger and recharged it at the hotel each night. The idea of not having to worry about recharging it is nice. But the fuel rods hold much less of a charge and I'd rather just limit the use of my phone that have to switch out fuel rods 2-3 times a day.
 


For those who have used it, how fast do they charge your phone? With only one exchange point in AK, it is worth the time, to get a fresh charger, sit and charge for 15-20 mins and turn it in for a fresh one. Will that be enough time drain 20 - 30 % of the first one?
 
I thought of getting a fuel rod when I was there last week, and almost bought one - except that I could not for the life of me find the fuel rod kiosk in AK!

I ended up buying a couple of Mophie 6000 mAh chargers instead. I'm happy to carry around a 6000 mAh charger all day long (it's about the size of my iPhone 7, just a bit thicker), and it charges up my iPhone fully about twice - so easily lasts for a whole day.
 
It's a charger. Supposedly you can exchange your spent one at any FuelRod kiosk, but the only one showing in the WDW area is Daytona.

There are 5 in MK, 3 each in Epcot, DHS, and Disney Springs, one in AK, one in each water park, and at least one in every Disney resort.
 
I think Fuel rod is like anything else, it works for some situations and not for others.
If I were taking one trip to Disney, I'd just buy a charger before I left and be done with it. Why pay more for something that won't benefit you in the long run?
But as a frequent park visitor who once was stuck at MK at 3pm with a dying phone, it made sense for me, because it included a cord (remembering the stupid cord is half the battle) and it's something I can just keep in my park bag all the time one less thing to think about. I don't even need to worry about charging it before I leave.
 
I'm hoping they have them at Phila airport for $20 and save the $5 shipping.

According to the Fuel Rod website, at PHL they are at Gates A4, A17, B11, C26, D Term. Entrance, D9, E9, F24, Int'l Arrivals; Bag Claim A, C & E.
 
Thank you.

About 9 months ago we were going on a SW flight and I think I passed one, but I thought it was a disposable charger as use once and toss. How dumb!!! Didn't realize the concept.
 
I purchased a fuel rod during our vacation in August.

During previous trips, I used a 20,000 mah battery bank. It's capacity is huge compared to the fuel rod, but. . . not as impressive as it sounds. My Note 4 has a 3220 mah battery. A bit of quick math might lead you to believe that it would get over 6 full charges from one charge on the battery bank. That is not the case however. It generally was good for about 4 charges from 20 % or so to full. Still not bad, but not nearly as impressive as it's rating implies.

It is convenient to have the battery bank, in that it will charge one device 4 times (not likely to really need that in one day, but . .. ) or charge 4 devices once each (much more likely scenario for a family) and with 2 charging ports, it is possible to charge 2 devices at one time. It also has a charge meter (series of led's) to let you know the state of charge on it, and an led "flash light" built in.

There are down sides to the battery bank approach though. It is large, and heavy, making it burdensome to carry. It gets HOT when discharging, especially if you are charging 2 phones at the same time with it. Because of how much heat it generates, it really is necessary to keep it out of your bag or pocket, so that it can cool down in the air. If you forget to charge it over night, it is going to be of little use the next day. The super convenient flash light somehow always finds a way to turn on in my pocket.

The fuel rod, by comparison, has a relatively small capacity, certainly not more than 3000 mah or so (sadly, they don't make that information available). In practice, it is capable of charging my Note 4 from about 35% or so to full one time. Not nearly as good as the battery bank.

The fuel rod does have some advantages up it's sleeve though. It is small, and relatively light, no big deal to carry. It comes with it's own cord for charging, and for the most part, you can leave it in your pocket (loose, cargo shorts pockets. Not sure I would try that with tight fitting pants) and let it charge with no problems.

The REAL advantage for the fuel rod, however, is the ability to swap it for a fresh one at any kiosk. In MK there are kiosks at Town Square in the Theater building, at Peco's Bill, at the big top circus gift shop, and at the power authority gift shop by Space Mountain. In EPCOT, at the twin gift shops (left one facing world showcase) International gateway, and the camera shop near Spaceship Earth. There are also locations at AK and DHS (didn't go to DHS, and didn't look for the one at AK) as well as Disney Springs (also didn't look for the location there) and all of the resorts. It is quick, and easy to swap the fuel rod out, and this gives you a fresh fuel rod with a full charge on it when ever you need it.

Because of this ability, we had no problem charging 4 different devices during the day in the parks. Also, if I happened to forget to charge the fuel rod over night, it was simple to swap it out when we got to the park in the morning.

There is one other advantage to the fuel rod, which again, has to do with the ability to swap it out. The whole reason I wound up buying the fuel rod in the first place is that my battery bank, after just two years, completely stopped working. It had never been wet, never been dropped or abused, it just died. I understand that this is the nature of rechargeable batteries, however, this is not a problem with the battery bank. Remember, you can swap it for a fresh one any time you want to, that means you aren't going to get stuck with one that no longer holds a charge, because you can simply swap it for another. This means that your investment is protected for as long as those kiosks are in the park.

All things considered, the simple ability to swap that little fuel rod out for a fresh one makes it a great deal, and a smarter choice than owning your own battery bank, as long as the company stays in business.
 
I'm leaning more toward getting one. I'll bring one of my brick ones for use on the plane. But having something lighter for the park and no worries about recharging it, is sounding better and better. The little fans I have are going to be used a lot. They last about 4 hrs on high.

Perhaps a dumb questions, will any usb cord with fit them??? Some have mentioned the cord is rather short. I could bring a longer one along. I like the fact it has the connections for several brands of phones. I believe my DGDs have apple products.

I do wish WDW had more than ONE spot to swap at AK. MK has about 5, EPCOT and DHS has 3 , I believe.

You can plug in any USB cord
 
I bought 3 for me and my family for our recent trip to WDW in August. I think it's great that you can just get a fresh one from the kiosks. It took me a few days before I realized there was a kiosk in my resort. :rolleyes1. I did see a couple of kiosks in the parks. I know there is one in MCO airport, but I didn't see it. My DS is notorious for wasting his phone battery, so this was good to swap out while we were on our way to the buses to the parks. Now I'll have to keep an eye open to see if I notice any where I live. I think they are great for traveling.
 
Buying a fuel rod saved me on my trip. My iPhone battery dies pretty quickly, and despite being fully charged in the morning, it can be pretty low by the afternoon. We were in HS, starting the Star Wars tour and I noticed I only had 30% left. If I didn't buy the fuel rod, I wouldn't have had any charge left to video my daughter in Jedi training! I have a different battery pack as well but like other posters have said, they are heavier and bulkier. I ran and bought one and then had the fuel rod in my shorts charging my phone and it was so easy to just swap it out on the rest of the trip. I live in the UK so although on paper it's not worth the money when compared to other battery packs, I would have paid twice the cost to make sure I could video my child's highlight of the trip! And the size and convenience of swapping whilst you are in Disney is a definite bonus in my opinion...
 

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