The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

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Janitor Tzap
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The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Well the stupid smoke detectors are beeping again.

Time to replace the 9V Batteries.
But I'm all out of 9V's in the battery drawer.
So, it's off to the local hardware store.
I get there, and find they only sell the Duracell 9V at $7.99 each! :shock:
And I'm going to need like 8 batteries!

I then went to the local grocery store.
All kinds of AA or AAA batteries, but no 9V's.

Stopped at the local drug store.
Same thing....
All kinds of AA or AAA batteries, but no 9V's.

Finally went into the closest major town.
It had a RadioShack.
So, I figured I could pickup some cheap store brand 9V's.
Well, they don't sell the cheap carbon batteries any more.
The best I could do was $10.99 a four pack of Alkaline Batteries.

I then went to Northern Tool & Equipment,
Remembering that they had lots of C cell batteries on sale for .88 cents a two pack.
So, I figured I look at what they had.
Found 8 packs of 9V Alkaline Batteries for $7.99.
That was a way better price, then just for one 9V the hardware store wanted. :grin:

I looked also for D Cells, while I was hunting for the 9V's.
Because I have an old 5 D cell Flash light,
and an old 4 D cell fluorescent lantern that uses them.

But like the 9V's they are hard to come by, and pricy.

This little adventure has me somewhat worried.
For almost all the new Flash Lights, and Battery powered radios,
Clocks, and Toys are using AA or AAA cell batteries.
Thus, the battery manufacturers are cutting back,
or simply dropping the C, D, and 9V batteries altogether.
Leaving us people with older battery powered equipment,
out of power, or paying through the nose for those batteries. :(


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CeaSaR
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by CeaSaR »

For my 9V needs, I look to my local dollar type store and the 99 cent aisle in my one local grocery store.
The dollar type store carries all styles (AAA, AA, C, D, 9V and some button types) from Sunbeam. They
are good enough for the low drain devices or semi used ones. For better longevity, I use the Kodak alkalines
in the 99 cent aisle (9V & D, not sure of the others). Still, I despise the disappearing act that battery
companies have done with the once common sizes and types, especially the reduction of quantity in the
multi-packs - I usually need 4 batteries, not the 3 that come in the package. C cells D Cells

CeaSaR
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dacflyer
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by dacflyer »

i hate it when they make a odd count pack..so your forced to buy another pack instead.
same thing with nuts and bolts and other fasteners.. Grrrrrr
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by ringo47stars »

You should shop online first. The old type batteries are not being dropped but they are not the biggest sellers in my opinion. If you had to rely on batteries for power more often then the cost of replacing them gets to be too much so recharge-ables are a better deal.
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by Dean Huster »

For better longevity, I use the Kodak alkalines
The only time I've ever used Kodak alkalines, they nearly ruined my Maglite. They leaked within four months of purchasing them. Fool me once ....
Dean Huster, Electronics Curmudgeon
Contributing Editor emeritus, "Q & A", of the former "Poptronics" magazine (formerly "Popular Electronics" and "Electronics Now" magazines).

R.I.P.
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Janitor Tzap
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by Janitor Tzap »

ringo47stars wrote:You should shop online first. The old type batteries are not being dropped but they are not the biggest sellers in my opinion. If you had to rely on batteries for power more often then the cost of replacing them gets to be too much so recharge-ables are a better deal.
Shopping on line for batteries doesn't make a lot of sense.
For if your just going to buy say a 8 pack of Alkaline 9V batteries at $4.99.
Plus you add in the shipping and handling; normally $5 to $6 dollars more.
The cost quickly goes over the local cost of the same 8 pack of Alkaline 9V batteries $7.99.

Recharge-ables have their good points, and bad.
For something like a smoke or carbon monoxide detector.
No.
Even though the current draw is low, the need for them to be recharged.
Means having a spare charged 9V on hand ready to be put into service.
Friend was doing this with his smoke detectors.
He was changing out the rechargeable batteries almost every three months.
I looked at the batteries, and saw that they were not true 9V batteries.
But 8.4V when fully charged. :razz:
He then got actual 9V rechargeable batteries.
But as they aged, the useable time went down like the lower voltage ones.
Tired of having to mess with them every few months.
He got a bunch of 9V Lithium batteries, and put them in.

I've yet to come across a smoke/carbon monoxide detector that is setup
to recharge a Nicad, NiMH, or Lithium Ion battery.

I wouldn't mind taking my old fluorescent lantern and putting in a rechargeable pack.
Just trying figure out what type of rechargeable,
and maybe a charging circuit built into the case as well. :)
Dean Huster wrote:
For better longevity, I use the Kodak alkalines
The only time I've ever used Kodak alkalines, they nearly ruined my Maglite. They leaked within four months of purchasing them. Fool me once ....
I saved my 2 AA Cell Maglite from that fate.
First took WD-40 and soaked the inside really good.
Drilled the center of the dead battery out.
Then with an Easy-Out into the dead battery.
I placed the FlashLight in a bench vice,
and with more WD-40 sprayed into the cylinder.
I slowly turned and pushed & pulled,
till I got the battery out.
I then got my Dremel tool and put on a wire brush.
Then cleaned and polished the inside of the cylinder.
Wiped it out real good.
Put in new batteries, works great. :grin:


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CeaSaR
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by CeaSaR »

Dean Huster wrote:
For better longevity, I use the Kodak alkalines
The only time I've ever used Kodak alkalines, they nearly ruined my Maglite. They leaked within four months of purchasing them. Fool me once ....
Let me rephrase that:

For higher drain...

I have had many different brands leaks - including the big names.

As for the 9V's, I just replaced the battery in 1 of my smoke detectors, and the date
(I write the install date on them) showed it was in there for 4 years. Good old Eveready
Alkaline. I prefer to change the batteries closer to the time they start beeping. When
they are at this point, they will still work, but are showing that it is truly time to change
to a fresh one. So, 4 years at what... probably $3 ??? That's $0.75 a year. Better than
buying cheapies that will end up costing more in the long run.

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haklesup
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by haklesup »

Well, I can believe a given supermarket or drug store not having one at least temporarily but since 9V is still the universal battery for almost all smoke detectors, the stores should have it and a note or mention to the store manager should bring that oversight to their attention. The drug store may have put them behind the counter if they have a theft problem.

However, you should have been able to find one at a hardware store and yes the cheap heavy duty type might be harder to find than the alkaline (I have seen non rechargable lithium too) and yes they generally are expensive due to lower volume sales.
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by MrAl »

Hi,

Another idea for the 9v devices like smoke detectors is to build your own battery pack. You can make it out of AAA cells or AA cells, whichever you prefer, or even a high efficiency boost converter.
If you use 6xAAA cells you'll get roughly TWO times the run time as you would get from a single 9v cell.
If you use 6xAA cells you'll get roughly FOUR times the run time as you would from a single 9v cell.
Pretty nice huh?
All you have to do is get a battery holder that holds at least 6 cells of your preference and a 9v battery clip. Get a good quality battery clip though, not one of those 5 for a dollar types.
For the smoke detector, you can mount the battery holder right on the ceiling next to the unit and run the wires into the unit where the battery goes. If you dont like the batteries showing, use a little plastic case and mount the battery holder right inside the case, then mount the case to the ceiling. If you are feeling cheap that day use duct tape to cover up the batteries :smile:

As to the boost converter instead, you need a high efficiency converter to convert say 2x AA cells to 9v. Doing it this way wont get you as much extra run time however, about 2 times longer than a single 9v battery.
LEDs vs Bulbs, LEDs are winning.
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by MrAl »

[repeat post deleted]
LEDs vs Bulbs, LEDs are winning.
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by Janitor Tzap »

MrAl wrote:Hi,

Another idea for the 9v devices like smoke detectors is to build your own battery pack. You can make it out of AAA cells or AA cells, whichever you prefer, or even a high efficiency boost converter.
If you use 6xAAA cells you'll get roughly TWO times the run time as you would get from a single 9v cell.
If you use 6xAA cells you'll get roughly FOUR times the run time as you would from a single 9v cell.
Pretty nice huh?
All you have to do is get a battery holder that holds at least 6 cells of your preference and a 9v battery clip. Get a good quality battery clip though, not one of those 5 for a dollar types.
For the smoke detector, you can mount the battery holder right on the ceiling next to the unit and run the wires into the unit where the battery goes. If you dont like the batteries showing, use a little plastic case and mount the battery holder right inside the case, then mount the case to the ceiling. If you are feeling cheap that day use duct tape to cover up the batteries :smile:
I did that trick with an old Kiddle 12V Smoke Detector.
At the time Radio Shack sold in they're stores a 12V AA Battery Holder.
Thus, I could just barely squeeze it into the spot where the old tubular 12V Battery was. :lol:
The reason I did it, was that those 12V tubular Batteries had gotten hard to find.
Plus, they were expensive to boot.
With carbon AA batteries being relatively cheap, and easy to find.
It just made sense to switch it over.


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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by rshayes »

If I remember correctly, Home Depot usually has displays selling name brand (usually Duracell, sometimes Eveready)alkaline batteries in several packages. The larger quantity packages are usually AAs or AAAs, but 9V, C, and D cells are usually available in packages from 2 to 4 batteries.

Harbor Freight sells a house brand of alkaline battery in 9v, C, and D sizes in packages of 4 or more cells.
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Re: The disappearing 9V, C, D, Battery?

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Speaking of Carbon Batteries........

Years ago,
I use to be able to recharge them using an old Burgess battery charger.

Though, now a days you can't recharge them.
I don't know if this because the batteries have changed chemically?
Or is it that with the new case design for batteries has changed?
One that uses a steel case instead of card board?
Which makes them more likely to explode,
rather than just split the cell's casing if over charged?

Odd Battery Ideas
Buddy'L came out with an alkaline battery recharger, several years back.
{They use to sell them on late night TV Infomercials.} :P
I got to try one out, but it had certain limitations.
First: It wouldn't recharge a totally dead alkaline battery.
Second: The design of the battery holders for charging,
were flimsy, and tended to break easily.
Third: Alkaline batteries could only stand recharging 20 to 30 times.
Which was far less than the 500 or so times from a Nicad.

Rayovac came out with rechargeable alkaline batteries as well.
I haven't seen any in some time now.
But they also suffered from the same problem of limited number of rechargings.


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