9V batteries - what the heck are you good for?
December 19, 2011 9:55 AM Subscribe
Burning Man leftovays: 9V batteries - lots of them! Suggest me some cool $20-$40 or less items that would help me use them up.
Burning Man has come and gone, and for whatever reason, sitting in my fridge unused are probably 40 or 50 9V batteries. My Burning Man partner in crime used them for something, but bought too many and now they sit sadly, uselessly, in my vegetable crisper drawer, staring at me every time I open the fridge. (I always hears that storing batteries in the fridge help them last longer.)
What are some fun things that I can buy for between $20-$40 that would help me use them up? I do love to go camping, so anything that I can use while camping would be good or maybe something to keep me warm? Anything I can use in the kitchen, perhaps? I'm open to all sorts of suggestions, so let 'er rip!
Burning Man has come and gone, and for whatever reason, sitting in my fridge unused are probably 40 or 50 9V batteries. My Burning Man partner in crime used them for something, but bought too many and now they sit sadly, uselessly, in my vegetable crisper drawer, staring at me every time I open the fridge. (I always hears that storing batteries in the fridge help them last longer.)
What are some fun things that I can buy for between $20-$40 that would help me use them up? I do love to go camping, so anything that I can use while camping would be good or maybe something to keep me warm? Anything I can use in the kitchen, perhaps? I'm open to all sorts of suggestions, so let 'er rip!
These little LED lights clip right on a 9V and could be useful camping.
posted by Captain_Science at 10:12 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by Captain_Science at 10:12 AM on December 19, 2011
My vote is donate them to your local food pantry for families that need a working smoke detector but can't spring the $2 for a battery. This fits fun because you'll know you possibly saved someone's life. Also, volunteering to help sort at a food pantry can be a very fun experience, depending on the pantry, and they're always super excited to get donations of things that aren't peanut butter. Bonus points if you spend $20 or $40 on diapers and tampons to bring in with your batteries.
posted by bilabial at 10:24 AM on December 19, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by bilabial at 10:24 AM on December 19, 2011 [5 favorites]
If your local fire department supplies/installs smoke detectors and batteries you might want to donate the batteries to them.
posted by tommasz at 10:49 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by tommasz at 10:49 AM on December 19, 2011
My non-contact thermometer uses 9V batteries. I think a lot of cheaper walkie-talkies use them as well.
posted by Calloused_Foot at 10:58 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by Calloused_Foot at 10:58 AM on December 19, 2011
Response by poster: @Bilabial - I already volunteer with feeding the homeless about every 2 weeks, spending a couple of hours buying and making homecooked meals. I spend about $50 for food each time I do this. We also bring lots of donated items like clothes, personal items, etc. which are gratefully used by them. I'll see if anyone can use a few batteries.
@Tommasz, cool idea. I will contact some fire departments around town and see if some can be used for low-income families seeking smoke detectors which need batteries.
posted by HeyAllie at 12:07 PM on December 19, 2011
@Tommasz, cool idea. I will contact some fire departments around town and see if some can be used for low-income families seeking smoke detectors which need batteries.
posted by HeyAllie at 12:07 PM on December 19, 2011
Yeah I would check with the local FD and see if they are doing (or are interested in doing) smoke-detector battery replacement. This time of year would be the time to do it, too, since it's getting into chimney-fire, overloaded-electrical-circuit, and poorly-maintained-kerosene-heater season.
Incidentally, if you want to power microelectronics, you can disassemble a 9V battery into its six constituent AAAA (quadruple-A) cells, each of which are 1.5V. So if you needed to power a 3V device, you could just give it 2 cells and you'd be able to fit it in a much more compact package. (Or even if you still need 9V, by taking the outer package apart you can flatten them down into a very thin pack.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:16 PM on December 19, 2011
Incidentally, if you want to power microelectronics, you can disassemble a 9V battery into its six constituent AAAA (quadruple-A) cells, each of which are 1.5V. So if you needed to power a 3V device, you could just give it 2 cells and you'd be able to fit it in a much more compact package. (Or even if you still need 9V, by taking the outer package apart you can flatten them down into a very thin pack.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:16 PM on December 19, 2011
Digital scales use 9-volt batteries, or at least, mine does. :)
posted by Lynsey at 10:13 AM on December 20, 2011
posted by Lynsey at 10:13 AM on December 20, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by griphus at 10:08 AM on December 19, 2011 [12 favorites]