Battery conservation....
 

Awl --

I have discovered that some things, like wireless mouses, can take a battery
that appears dead in another device, and run *for months*.

I just took two AA batts out of my mouse, and I have never seen a battery
test so "dead". Replaced them with "normally dead" batteries! Mouse works
fine.

So if you have a battery tester, you can separate batteries by "degrees of
deadness", and still get some use out of them.

fwiw.... carbon footprints, donchaknow....

Oh yeah, I keep all batts in the freezer.

--

EA

Battery conservation....
 

Existential Angst wrote:
Awl --

I have discovered that some things, like wireless mouses, can take a
battery that appears dead in another device, and run *for months*.

I just took two AA batts out of my mouse, and I have never seen a
battery test so "dead". Replaced them with "normally dead"
batteries! Mouse works fine.

So if you have a battery tester, you can separate batteries by
"degrees of deadness", and still get some use out of them.

fwiw.... carbon footprints, donchaknow....

Oh yeah, I keep all batts in the freezer.

--

EA

I use rechargeables in my most everything but one wall clock . I would there
too if I had a charger for "C" cells .

--
Snag
Wannabe Machinist

Battery conservation....
 

"Snag" wrote in message
...
Existential Angst wrote:
Awl --

I have discovered that some things, like wireless mouses, can take a
battery that appears dead in another device, and run *for months*.

I just took two AA batts out of my mouse, and I have never seen a
battery test so "dead". Replaced them with "normally dead"
batteries! Mouse works fine.

So if you have a battery tester, you can separate batteries by
"degrees of deadness", and still get some use out of them.

fwiw.... carbon footprints, donchaknow....

Oh yeah, I keep all batts in the freezer.

--

EA

I use rechargeables in my most everything but one wall clock . I would
there too if I had a charger for "C" cells .

--
Snag
Wannabe Machinist



I found that AA batteries with a new terminal voltage of ~1.5V crap out in
the kids video game controllers at around 1.2V. I reuse them in my battery
powered radio which I have on all night and get a couple of WEEKS out of a
pair of them before they go into the recycling.

Battery conservation....
 

On Mon, 6 Sep 2010 06:05:11 -0500, "Snag"
wrote:

I use rechargeables in my most everything but one wall clock . I would there
too if I had a charger for "C" cells .

There are adapters that will make an AA battery fit into a C slot:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.22595

For clocks (and other very low current applications), though, the use
of rechargeables is probably not cost effective. Rechargeables die of
old age, and by the time you have charged them enough times to cover
the cost, they'll be dead from old age.
--
RoRo

Battery conservation....
 

On Sep 6, 7:48*am, Robert Roland wrote:
...
For clocks (and other very low current applications), though, the use
of rechargeables is probably not cost effective. Rechargeables die of
old age, and by the time you have charged them enough times to cover
the cost, they'll be dead from old age.
--
RoRo

Possibly true, but if you have spares for power outages, clocks and
flashlights are good places to store them. I try to recharge them at
the start of each month. In practice it may be 3 months, which is
enough.

jsw

Battery conservation....
 

On Sep 6, 9:40*am, Black Dragon wrote:
...
As someone else said they do, I use rechargeable NiMH batteries for
everything. *TV remotes, smoke alarms, digital cameras, flashlights,
R/C cars and so on.

Here's the charger I use, does AA, AAA, C and D cells.http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408

Maha's Powerex batteries perform better than anything you'll find on
retailer shelves, also.
...
Dragon

I paid a LOT less than that for 2500mA-H Energizer NiMH batteries and
a CHFM1 charger that fits my camera bag.

jsw

Battery conservation....
 

On 9/6/2010 2:52 AM, Existential Angst wrote:

I just took two AA batts out of my mouse, and I have never seen a battery
test so "dead". Replaced them with "normally dead" batteries! Mouse works
fine.

I have a Logitech rechargeable mouse on my desktop. Uses a cell phone
type battery. After a couple years, it wouldn't hold a charge for even
an hour, and Logitech says not replaceable. Google and the internet said
otherwise, and it's nearly back to new performance.

But... have a wireless mouse for my laptop, runs on 2 AA batteries.
It'll run on the same batteries for over 2 years!


Jon

Battery conservation....
 

Existential Angst wrote:
Awl --

I have discovered that some things, like wireless mouses, can take a battery
that appears dead in another device, and run *for months*.

I just took two AA batts out of my mouse, and I have never seen a battery
test so "dead". Replaced them with "normally dead" batteries! Mouse works
fine.

So if you have a battery tester, you can separate batteries by "degrees of
deadness", and still get some use out of them.

fwiw.... carbon footprints, donchaknow....

Oh yeah, I keep all batts in the freezer.



I trust you put them in a well sealed plastic bag so condensation won't
form and create an electrical leakage path which will run them down.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.

Battery conservation....
 

Jim Wilkins wrote:

On Sep 6, 9:40*am, Black Dragon wrote:
...
As someone else said they do, I use rechargeable NiMH batteries for
everything. *TV remotes, smoke alarms, digital cameras, flashlights,
R/C cars and so on.

Here's the charger I use, does AA, AAA, C and D cells.http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=408

Maha's Powerex batteries perform better than anything you'll find on
retailer shelves, also.
...
Dragon

I paid a LOT less than that for 2500mA-H Energizer NiMH batteries and
a CHFM1 charger that fits my camera bag.

jsw

Maha makes great chargers. I use this one.

http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/view...?idProduct=423

I've had one AAA battery fail since last winter when I bought this unit. That battery
was subjected to the abuse of cheaper chargers so it was life limited.

Being able to select charge rate keeps you from cooking the battery. I just wish I could
get a 100 ma charge rate for AAA instead of 200 ma which is the lowest available.

Most cheap chargers cook the damn battery and kill it. Great for battery makers though.

Wes

Battery conservation....
 

JR North wrote:

Months? my wireless meese eat AAA NimH for lunch. Only last 3 weeks or
so till recharge.
JR

My Mickeysoft mouse has had the same AA battery in it for 2 years. I do put the usb key
back in the storage pocket that turns it off when I'm not using my craptop. Still,
counting the times I've left it on, I'm getting great life out of it.

3 weeks is rather fast for self discharge with NIMH.


Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Battery conservation....
 

What's that Lassie? You say that Snag fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Mon, 6 Sep 2010 06:05:11 -0500:

I use rechargeables in my most everything but one wall clock . I would there
too if I had a charger for "C" cells .

Just use AA cells and a spacer.
--

Dan H.
northshore MA.

Battery conservation....
 

On Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:52:11 -0400, Wes
wrote:

JR North wrote:

Months? my wireless meese eat AAA NimH for lunch. Only last 3 weeks or
so till recharge.
JR

My Mickeysoft mouse has had the same AA battery in it for 2 years. I do put the usb key
back in the storage pocket that turns it off when I'm not using my craptop. Still,
counting the times I've left it on, I'm getting great life out of it.

3 weeks is rather fast for self discharge with NIMH.

The new NiMH batteries will drop 20% in a year.

Ive put all the old style in none important applications and have gone
over to "enerloop" type NiMH batteries in everything else




Wes


I am the Sword of my Family
and the Shield of my Nation.
If sent, I will crush everything you have built,
burn everything you love,
and kill every one of you.
(Hebrew quote)

Battery conservation....
 

Robert Roland wrote:
On Mon, 6 Sep 2010 06:05:11 -0500, "Snag"
wrote:

I use rechargeables in my most everything but one wall clock . I
would there too if I had a charger for "C" cells .

There are adapters that will make an AA battery fit into a C slot:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.22595

For clocks (and other very low current applications), though, the use
of rechargeables is probably not cost effective. Rechargeables die of
old age, and by the time you have charged them enough times to cover
the cost, they'll be dead from old age.

I've still got some Nicd "D" cells that work, that I got probably in 1971.

Battery conservation....
 

Years ago, I looked on the Duracell and Energizer web sites. They say
fridge is OK, freezer is not.

There is a wall mounted charger called Re-Nu that is supposed to
recharge AA or AAA alkaline cells. I bought one. It does. If the cells
are badly discharged, they will charge back up and then leak a couple
weeks later.

Some times, it's worth the money to put in new batteries. Like before
a camping trip, or working up a ladder where it's not convenient to
come down for more batteries. I remember the one time I was on third
floor of a building with no elevator. Walkie talkie batteries went
dead. I got to hoof down three very tall flight of stairs for new
cells. I learned to carry a change of new alkalines in my coat pocket.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Existential Angst" wrote in message
...
Awl --

I have discovered that some things, like wireless mouses, can take a
battery
that appears dead in another device, and run *for months*.

I just took two AA batts out of my mouse, and I have never seen a
battery
test so "dead". Replaced them with "normally dead" batteries! Mouse
works
fine.

So if you have a battery tester, you can separate batteries by
"degrees of
deadness", and still get some use out of them.

fwiw.... carbon footprints, donchaknow....

Oh yeah, I keep all batts in the freezer.

--

EA