Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with batteries

Where to find a battery USB charger?

tomble — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:22:02 -0800

Help me keep my mp3 player charged while I'm travelling! I'm travelling in a couple of months, and taking my mp3 player with me of course. However, with a couple of long flights ahead of me I'm worried that my mp3 player won't last the duration, and that I won't be able to charge it while flying.

What I'm seeking is essentially a battery pack with a USB socket in it, so I can load it up with fresh batteries and then charge from that. I would have thought it was easier to find such a device than it has been, but perhaps my search terms are all wrong.

Where do I get a waterproof battery case?

strangecargo — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:22:36 -0800

Where can I get compact, water(proof|resistant) and somewhat sturdy battery case? Gearfilter: I've recently decided to stop using disposable batteries unless absolutely necessary, so I've started using low self-discharge rechargeable NiMH batteries to power the headlamp that I take with me on climbing trips. I usually keep an extra set of batteries in my pack because it would be Really Bad to be without light while wandering along a cliffside looking for a walkoff in the dark. I used to use a normal retail battery package with the cardboard bits torn off, but now that my spare batteries aren't single-use, I'd like to keep them in something sturdier. What I want is a compact case for at least 3 AAA batteries that will keep them dry and protect them from jostling around in a pack full of hard metal objects.

I apparently fail at Google on this one. I can't seem to find anything made for this purpose. Has anybody seen anything that would work?

NiMH AA and AAA batteries are 1.2V?

knave — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:50:48 -0800

What's the deal with NiMH AA and AAA batteries being 1.2V? I'm frustrated that I bought into these things without knowing they put out a lower voltage than alkaline batteries. Two of my intended uses of the batteries are my LED flashlights and my LED bicycle headlight. Neither of these will power on when I use NiMH batteries (both Rayovac and Sanyo Eneloop).

How is it ok for these batteries to masquerade as AA or AAA, when they are not drop-in replacements for a standard AA or AAA battery? Is there any hope for future rechargeables actually being 1.5V? At this point, I have a dozen battery-shaped objects that are pretty much useless to me.

Battery pack for SAD lightbox (Apollo Health P1)

selfmedicating — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:54:15 -0800

Where in northern Virginia can I get a battery pack for my SAD lightbox? It's the P1 from Apollo Health, and I'm hoping for a battery pack before a trip this weekend. Thanks for any help!

Effective/interesting domestic uses of solar power?

vizsla — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:51:17 -0800

What domestic devices can be operated effectively on solar power these days? Know any interesting alternative uses? Wide open question.

Convenient, extra power for my phone?

illek — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:44:51 -0800

Do those "battery powered emergency phone chargers" work? I was actually looking for an extended life battery for my cell phone and came across the emergency chargers, the kind that run on AA batteries. Do you have any experience with them? They are pretty inexpensive and I'm thinking it would be a handy little thing to have in my bag...if they work. Thanks!

What happens to the energy in a rechargable battery?

smithygreg — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:37:01 -0800

What happens to the energy that is lost from rechargeable batteries when they self discharge? What happens to the energy that is stored in a rechargeable battery as it sits on the shelf and is not used and self-discharges? Is it just stored inside the battery in a different form?

Drunk-friendly camera (with AA batteries)?

knapah — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:40:37 -0800

Waterproof, shockproof camera which takes AA batteries? I am looking to buy a camera for use with a drinking society where chances are the camera will be passed around, dropped on the floor, into pints of ale etc. So I need something durable.

I've seen other threads on this topic such as this one http://ask.metafilter.com/60311/A-shockingly-wet-digital-camera and I was all set to purchase an Olympus 725SW from ebay.

However, I suddenly realised that it doesn't take AA batteries, something which would be distinctly useful for a variety of reasons.

Any ideas?

I'd prefer AAs over buying a spare Lithium battery, but if it comes to that I will

Where can I get a battery-powered LED clock?

ManInSuit — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:53:45 -0800

Where can I get a battery-powered LED clock? I'm looking for a cheap LED clock, ideally with a big bright display, that I can use for an outdoor sign I'll be putting up for a one-time project.

I’ve looked around and found lots of LED clocks w. battery backups, but from what I’ve been able to discern, the battery backup just keeps the clock running, it doesn’t actually keep the numbers lit.

Ideally, what I’m looking for would be something like this:

- Cheap (Say, less than $25)
- Big display would be great (over, say 2” high), though I guess not totally critical.
- Bright and visible in the evening (so, I guess: LED not LCD)
- Ideally, can run easily on standard batteries, but if it requires super-minimal hardware hacking, (assembling an external battery pack, cutting a wire or two) that might be okay, too.
- Battery life isn’t a super-big deal I don’t think. The sign will only be up for 12 hours or so. It’s not the end of the world if we have to change the batteries once or even twice during that time.
- I’m in Canada, so- bonus points for naming a supplier who happens to be here, and special Canadian sadness if you name a supplier who won’t ship here.

(For background – I’m doing a series of performance events for Nuit Blanche, an all-night city-wide art event here in Toronto. I want to be able to make a sign that says “next performance at 9:20 [or whatever] with a clock built into the sign, so people can know exactly how long till the next performance. It’ll be nighttime, so I’m imagining an LED clock is the best way to go. But If anyone has other ingenious ideas, I welcome them…)

Stubborn powerbook battery won't charge

Rumple — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:49:25 -0800

The battery in my G4 Powerbook won't charge, and I am a long way from any technical help! I have a Powerbook G4 15 inch 1.67. The battery is about a year old and is not one of the recalled ones. I left my computer in hibernate mode while away for a week and when I came back the battery was drained, which is not uncommon. However, now the battery will not take a charge at all. Some relevant symptoms:
- menubar indicator shows 0%,"calculating until full", which never changes
- the lights on the battery do not blink
- depressing the battery button produces the flickering green "battery empty" signal
- the computer will only boot if the PMU is reset, but will soft reboot without that step
- it runs fine with the battery in or out, but of course dies immediately the power cord is pulled out

I have googled around and done the PMU reset and also tried:
command-option-p-r (reset PRAM) (whatever that is) and
command-option-o-f; reset-nvram; set-default; reset-all

One potential confound is I am using an aftermarket power adapter which apparently only puts out 50 watts not the 65 of the stock model. This is preventing me from updating the firmware - it demands 65 watt adapter. However, I have never had a problem with this adapter and it shows as charging.

Sytem profiler:

Battery Information:

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 3421
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 0
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 9831
Cycle Count: 293

AC Charger Information:

AC Charger (Watts): 50
Connected: Yes
Charging: No

So, any ideas, hive mind? Software, hardware, battery itself? I am in a town (pop. 800) with internet for one day, then back into the bush for three weeks, where I would like to have use of this battery!

How can I get my batteries to charge?

drezdn — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:58:31 -0800

Fixing problems with a 14.4 V cordless tool charger, or if that doesn't work, turning it into a "corded tool." I received a set of 14.4V durabuilt (target brand) power tools for my birthday roughly 2 years ago. The problem is both of the included battery packs are dead, and the charger won't even try to charge them.

(On the charger there's an on light, an off light and a set button, no matter how worn down the battery, the on light won't go on).

Is there something I can do to fix this (even if just tweaking the electronics)?

If not, would there be any reason why I shouldn't build a 14.4V XAmp power supply into one of the battery packs and make it so I can at least use the tools with a cord?

Looking for the best value AA battery available (or "Let's Have Some Truth in Battery Advertising")

zaebiz — Sun, 13 May 2007 00:08:56 -0800

So Energizer or Duracell? Or some other brand? I'm confused. Apparently they are both 5 times more powerful than the other. I'm looking for the best value-for-money AA battery on the market (i.e. battery hours per dollar). I understand it depends to some extent on the device. Let's say two devices - the TV remote control - and a digital camerra. Anyone have a link to the definitive report? (Oh and I heard of an excellent report on Which.co.uk but cannot purchase it because my credit card doesn't have a UK address. Anyone want to buy it and have me reimburse them by PayPal, and get to use the whole site for nothing for a few days?)

Help me find out what song this is

913 — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 00:49:05 -0800

Music video song filter: I believe the song/video was released in 1999. The music video consisted of people walking around with batteries strapped to their backs and I believe one of them was in the brain of a mini-robot. The song was on the charts the same time Britney Spears released, "Baby One More Time" but it was dramatically different than anything she would ever put out. I believe it was a male group.

Which type of batteries are best for small electronics when travelling without access to electricity?

shawnmk — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 08:11:56 -0800

I'm trying to figure out what kind of batteries are going to be the best option for several small electronic items that are going with me to Uganda/Sudan next week... I've got a Marantz PMD-660 digital audio recorder, a pair of Hyperdrive HD80 hard drives and 2 Canon 580EX Camera Flashes. All use AA batteries. The trip is 8 days long and there won't be any access to electricity. The PMD-660 is said to last for about 6 hours on a set of batteries, but I haven't seen anywhere whether that's alkaline, nimh or lithium. Similar story for the Hyperdrives. Obviously, if we had plenty of access to power, we could bring several sets of rechargeables and be set. Since we won't, however, it seems that bringing a lot of alkalines would be the cheapest and best solution. However, I know with things like digital cameras that alkaline batteries don't last anywhere near as long as nimh or lithium. Will that be the same case with the recorder, hard drives and flashes? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Why do digital camera batteries conk out in the cold?

schoenbc — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:11:17 -0800

A friend asked why (I thought) his digital camera batteries conk out after 3, 4 or 5 pictures. The situation: he is a real cold weather outdoor enthusiast. He's tried a number of battery types and it happens with each kind. I assume it has to do with the cold, but is keeping it enveloped in warm packaging, yanking it out (risking fogging) then wrapping it up again the only answer. (I tried searching "AskMeta" and could not find a specific repsonse to this problem. Thanks.

How long do batteries last in a Wiimote?

Durhey — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 10:56:05 -0800

Wii owners: How long did your original pack-in Panasonic batteries last in your Wiimote? I've heard reports of the batteries petering out around the 15-hour mark or so. However, I turned off the speaker to the Wiimote after about 8 hours of Midna tinnily cackling at me every ten seconds, and turned off vibration a few hours after that. When the batteries ran out, I added up my total play time (awesome/depressing that I can do that) and came up with 28 hours. I don't expect anyone else was as obsessive about this to get an exact number, but an approximation would be good too.

Clearly the Wiimote drains juice faster than a WaveBird, since it's got to do all sorts of fascinating things the WaveBird does not. What I'm trying to find out is how drastically battery life can be improved by turning some of those things off, so any info in that vein would be helpful too.

And once more: Wiimote
Just so we can all feel comfortable saying it.

Dying CX7300 bogarting the digipix.. ideas?

Quarter Pincher — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:17:16 -0800

I've got a Kodak CX7300 that keeps dying on me, which has a bunch of pics I need to pilfer at some point, preferably before it dies off completely. The batteries are fully charged and usuable (2x AA) in other devices, but when I turn the camera on, it stays on for a little while and then will give me low battery alerts and shut off. If I turn it off and try again, it will stay on again, but then die, this time much quicker. Subsequent attempts result in quicker deaths, unless I leave it alone for a day, and then it does the same thing with a longer life until finally dying, shorter and shorter lifespans again, etc. The longest it stays on is about 2 minutes give or take. If I take the batteries out and test them, they're still properly charged up, so it's not just draining them really fast. Tried different batteries, alkaline and rechargeable, standard and NiMH, etc.

To my knowledge there is not an AC adapter option, and the Kodak site is no help. I've got a bunch of junk on it I need to get off, but it never stays on long enough for me to yank stuff off in time =PP

"Say cheese on three! One, two--oh, shoot, the battery died."

ElectricBlue — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 09:27:09 -0800

Is it safe to use a non-Panasonic CGA-S005 battery in my shiny new Lumix DMC-FX8 camera? What if there are stipulations? I just got a new digital camera for Christmas. I really like it--the quality is excellent--but I'm a bit dissatisfied with the battery life. I need to stockpile some batteries so I don't have my camera die on me.

I checked the Panasonic site and replacement CGA-S005A batteries are crazy.

On E-bay, they have plenty of off-brand batteries. However, some don't match the same mAh; some are CGA-S005E. Does this matter?

My original battery is 1150mAh, 3.7V, CGA-S005A.

-Is it OK if the mAh is different, as in this item's 1250mAh? What about this item's 1600mAh? What does the mAh control, exactly?
-Is it OK if the battery is CGA-S005E instead of CGA-S005A, as with this item?

Heck, a lesson in batteries is fine with me.

Please, MeFi, you're my only hope! My camera's current battery only has one bar left!

Long shelf life batteries?

krisjohn — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 04:59:06 -0800

Are there any (disposable, AA) batteries that specifically have a long shelf life? I'm looking to put together an emergency kit and I'd like to include a couple of packs of double As, but I don't want them leaking or discharging if they're not used/checked over, say, a five year period. Are there any AAs advertised as having a long shelf life?

9v battery explosion

snsranch — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:48:02 -0800

Can anyone tell me why a 9v battery would explode? Description of the event... Just a while ago I heard what sounded like a .22 being fired and was sprayed with warm stuff. At first I thought I had been shot but upon inspection it turned out to be a 9v battery that was sitting on a work bench behind me. It's the tiny rectangular kind with the terminals next to each other (the kind you stuck your tongue on when you were a kid).

It wasn't touching anything and the "warm stuff" was gray sticky powder. The part that blew out is opposite the terminals.

Any ideas? This kinda freaked me out.

Where to find a secondary laptop battery?

Darke — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:17:23 -0800

Where can I find a secondary battery for an Acer Travelmate C310 Tablet? When I originally bought my laptop, the Acer promotional material claimed I could get a second battery that would replace my optical drive and double my battery life. I'm trying to find that battery now, and I'm only finding a single site online that sells it. However, that site has a complete lack of information and seems somewhat shady as well as pretty pricey.

Is there anywhere else online I can order this special battery, preferably cheaper?

NiMH so useful, so confusing

tiamat — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 08:15:16 -0800

Another question about NiMH rechargeable batteries: Can I use brand A batteries in a brand B charger? Also, how can I tell a 'smart' charger from the timed version I hear tell of? After reading this previous question about mix[ing] rechargeable batteries with different mAh ratings, I still have the following question.

I have two sets of NiMH batteries, assuming I don't charge the 2000mAh batteries with the 2350mAh batteries can I use both sets in the same charger? The specs and power requirments on the back of both chargers seems to be the same with two key differences...

The charger that was originally for the 2350mAh batteries was bought in the UK, and usually only takes 2-3 hours.

The charger that was originally for the 2000mAh batteries was bought in North America, and usually takes 4-5 hours.

I've been operating under the impression that the charger speed is based on the base voltage they get in the countries they expect to be in - I have not tried the UK charger in North America, although it is speced for 100-240 volts I just haven't bought a adapter for the plug yet. However, it's possible one charger is 'smart' and one isn't - but how would I tell?

Can I use the newer 2350mAh batteries in the charger for the 2000mAh batteries, assuming I don't do them at the same time? Or should I go and buy an adapter for the UK charger - (and if I do that, can I use that charger with the older 2000mAh batteries?)

Where can I recycle my batteries?

stungeye — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:35:22 -0800

BatteryFilter: Where can I recycle my batteries in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada? (Battery Type Alkaline: AAA, AA, C, &c.)

simultaneous homebrew batteries charging/use?

psychobum — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 22:10:24 -0800

Electronics question - can I recharge batteries while using them? I'm building a bicycle generator and I'm trying to figure out the ideal setup. I'd like to be able to have a battery backup and then charge the batteries while I'm using them if possible. The setup is going to be a 12v dc motor used as a generator going to a 140w power inverter meant for a car ciggarette lighter. I have 3 12v 12ah SLA (sealed lead acid) batteries that were initially used for an electric bike but I might hook up in parallel. I also have this UPS but it likes to beep at me whenever its doesnt have enough power and I havent tested out how long it will last but I doubt it will power a laptop very long. I've stumbled across this which has terminals for charging and discharging, which gives me hope. I will probably use this generator to power a laptop/charge my cel phone/ run LED's/ maybe run a fan or a little stereo.

I would like to know if simultaneous recharge/use is possible with SLA, NIMH, NICD, or LION (kind of expensive but will consider) batts. Bonus points for explaining or pointing me to how to accomplish this. Lastly, is my idea for a setup ideal? this guy who is the master of bike generators says that my idea looses efficiency, but he's kind of hard to follow. here's a bunch of extra links about bike generators from 2000

What laptop computer has the longest battery life?

idontlikewords — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 14:11:17 -0800

What specific laptop computer, Mac or PC, has the longest battery life? I am in the research stage of upgrading from an old Mac laptop, which has about 2 minutes of battery life (and yes, I am aware that I could just get a new battery from batterytech.com, but I think it's time to get a machine with a clock speed faster than 500mHz!). I'm thinking that I will get a PC, as I'm totally comfortable with either platform, and price is unfortunately an issue. It's difficult enough to compare models thanks to the 3000 varieties for Intel & AMD chipsets, but really anything that is faster than my current rig will be fine. I'm not interested in playing Quake 4 on this thing, I'm just sick of waiting 30 seconds to load apps.

So tell me, laptop users, what is the best I can hope for with these modern power-guzzlers? 2 hours? 4 hours? Are AMD's better than P4's or vice-versa? Is there some awesome power management software that I should be aware of? What brand makes the best batteries? Anything else I should consider?