I Hate Batteries

[Raj]

What I would love to see is a standard moving towards lithium ion. 18650 and similar cells.  Maybe have one the size of an AAA but not quite same size, and then 18650 for larger devices. 

Or another thing would be for devices to be designed around the voltage of rechargeable alkaline replacements instead of non rechargeable.  The lower voltage of Ni-MH compared to alkaline usually means the device won't perform or last as long as it will hit the low voltage cut off sooner.  Especially devices that need 4+ in series as the voltage drop adds up.  I try to use rechargeables where I can though.  There are places I found where they just don't work, like Wii remotes.  Would be interesting to see if you could retro fit lithium ion in those. Not sure what the voltage tolerance is though.  A single lithium cell is going to be a little bit more voltage than two alkalines and it might not like that and it might let the magic smoke out.

You know, if you have a lathe, you can actually get an E-cigarette battery that fits alongside additional circuitry in a package as small as AAA.
Also, Chinese make lithium battery that act like AAA but are chargeable via usb

also, since this is an EE fourm, you can always look on other threads and learn how to convert wiimote to usb rechargeable,internal but swappable lipoly based controller

fellow battery hater here. Some folks love "cordless" things. I will go out of my way to find corded things. I hate how you have to worry if they are going to work and about when they are going to run out. The voltage testing. The leaking electrolyte in my damn Garmin. Ugh. I've recently dealt with multiple car batteries dying due to age and failed auto electronics. Also we've got a young child at home and they have many battery-powered toys. We buy great bricks of alkaline AA & AAA cells every other time we go to the store.

I have to thank Jogri for his post in this thread. I've just ordered some rechargeable AAs and AAAs. I forgot that I've already got a nice Powerex charger and I also noticed that my new R/C-vehicle-battery charger will apparently charge any rechargeable battery chemistry. Yes, the ISDT chargers look nice.

Now, I have been softening. I used to love my pneumatic impact wrench (AKA rattle gun) for removing lug nuts, but a cow-orker sold me on cordless. He went Milwaukee 12v and I went Makita 18v. My god, these are handy as hell. I use my Makita impact driver and Makita LED flashlight every single day. A charge lasts months (I bought the big-mama packs) and recharging is quick and painless. I guess I'm totally OK with the Makita 18v system but I still hate AAs and AAAs with a passion.

I didn't realize that Fluke DMMs had low-battery indicators (yes, if anything had one, it would be a Fluke DMM - thanks eevblog forum!). That makes me feel better about the 9V batteries that have been in there for years (I still check them annually for leaking electrolyte)

No cordless drill can compete with my 900W dewalt drill. Similarly, Corded tools often are more durable and powerful than cordless ones. If you don't have outlet access everywhere you stand, either you're limited by law, or your house design was bad. (I have so many outlets, that if the government were to know of it, they'll start charging me industrial rates, despite the fact that I consume the least in my locality)

Probably 99% of 'AAA' batteries are used in Remote controls!!
Probably 99% of THOSE batteries are SHIT ones that come with the device!
Probably 99% of people have SWAPPED those from other less used Remotes!!
Probably 99% of people have 'AA' batteries as spares, rechargeable or not.
Probably 99% of peoples Rechargeable 'AA's are flat, & can't find the Charger!

That's why, switch to using phone with Ir blasting capability, Like an samsung s4, be it 24x7 offline for security and single purpose only, since it's too old to do anything else.

[ogden]

If you don't have outlet access everywhere you stand, either you're limited by law, or your house design was bad.

On planet earth we use drills outside our house as well

[coppercone2]

If you don't have outlet access everywhere you stand, either you're limited by law, or your house design was bad.

On planet earth we use drills outside our house as well

I think cordless tools are work especially grinders for hot work and working around welding type stuff (so many burrs and filings and dust and crap the extension cords are a hazard). Downside you need a few expensive dewalt 60V batteries to do a reasonable amount of work.. or just take breaks since its extremely nasty work

I kind of see how many pounds of freaking material the people that complain about battery tools in non production jobs have to grind! These people must be repairing earth movers and fixing battle ships!


I think some people still have PTSD from brushed motors + nicad

Brushless lithium tools are GREAT. And you learn to work efficiently (hold grinder correctly, check to see if the disks are in good shape). with a cord you can sit there all day doing nothing on a flat wheel. If you need a really strong drill chances are its not the right tool for the job (i.e. use a magnetic drill).

[rsjsouza]

20 years ago my father gave me a corded Makita impact drill, which was excellent for the masonry work that I needed back in my home country (where houses are built the way they should). Fast forward many years later (and living in the US), he gave me a Hitachi cordless impact drill, which is quite excellent for various jobs, especially in the tight spaces in the attic. However, in the rare occasions I need it to actually go through a masonry wall, it loses to the Makita by a large margin. 

Anecdoctal? Yes, but that shows me that both have their place.

(BTW, the Hitachi came with a pair of batteries - a life saver!)

[ogden]

Today better pair is decent brushless impact drill for "everyday jobs" and corded SDS+ hammer drill - when you occasionally have to "go through" masonry/concrete/brisks. There are excellent cordless hammer drills as well like Bosch GBH36VF-LI, but price is prohibitive for home users.

[schmitt trigger]

Back this last December, my family and my brother's family were enjoying a dinner together, an evening a few days before Christmas.

Suddenly some of the lights became very bright, while others dimmed considerably. Because the mains service here is 120v-neutral-120v, I immediately recognized it as a phase unbalance.
I instructed to turn off all the lights and unplug all electrical devices.

In the dark, with the assistance of battery powered torches, my bother and I went to the electrical box. With the help of a battery powered DMM, we quickly determined that the neutral wire had an intermittent connection with the bus bar.

The set screw holding the wire was perhaps dirty or corroded and we could not loosen it, no matter how hard we tried. But my brother remembered that an acquaintance nearby was a contractor and had many power tools. So with his battery powered mobile phone gave him a call to see if he was available.

He was, thus we hoped to my car, which has a battery powered starter, drove there, and borrowed a heavy-duty battery powered Bosch screwdriver.

Drove back to my brother's home, and with the Bosch screwdriver we were able to remove the stubborn set screw, clean it up and tighten it again.
A few moments we were back enjoying our dinner.

So I agree with the thread starter: Batteries are useless.

[themadhippy]

Anybody got a spare time machine to nip back to the mid 1980's when tandys (radio shack) were selling a battery charger,not that uncommon,until you realised it charged disposable batteries,i dont think it lasted long as they realised it was costing them money. A few years later one of the electronics mags published a circuit for a similar thing,from memory it used  AC pulses to reverse the chemical action,often wonder whether it worked?  An  ancient trick  i remember as a kid was putting used batteries in  a warm oven to get a bit more out of them .

[engrguy42]

So I agree with the thread starter: Batteries are useless.

How did "annoying and stupid" (the very first line of the very first post of the thread) get translated into "useless"?

 

I'm wondering if people actually read posts and threads. Could it be that they just scan a few words here and there and make up their minds about what point is being made?

Nah, that can't be true can it? 

BTW, the other day I received the universal charger ($20) I was talking about, as well as some rechargeable AAA, AA, C, and 9V batteries, and it seems like a BIG help in counteracting some of my hatred of batteries. It charges all of them. Although I still don't have nearly enough batteries on hand to replace the 40-some batteries in all my devices. And I just tossed two AAA's because my multimeter batteries died and my replacements were dead too. But who the hell knows the status of your non-rechargeables? 

I hate 'em.

 

[coppercone2]

Anybody got a spare time machine to nip back to the mid 1980's when tandys (radio shack) were selling a battery charger,not that uncommon,until you realised it charged disposable batteries,i dont think it lasted long as they realised it was costing them money. A few years later one of the electronics mags published a circuit for a similar thing,from memory it used  AC pulses to reverse the chemical action,often wonder whether it worked?  An  ancient trick  i remember as a kid was putting used batteries in  a warm oven to get a bit more out of them .

there were actually rechargable alkaline batteries made at one point
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_alkaline_battery

[SiliconWizard]

Yeah, but the OP hates them.

[Raj]

If you don't have outlet access everywhere you stand, either you're limited by law, or your house design was bad.

On planet earth we use drills outside our house as well

I think cordless tools are work especially grinders for hot work and working around welding type stuff (so many burrs and filings and dust and crap the extension cords are a hazard). Downside you need a few expensive dewalt 60V batteries to do a reasonable amount of work.. or just take breaks since its extremely nasty work

I kind of see how many pounds of freaking material the people that complain about battery tools in non production jobs have to grind! These people must be repairing earth movers and fixing battle ships!


I think some people still have PTSD from brushed motors + nicad

Brushless lithium tools are GREAT. And you learn to work efficiently (hold grinder correctly, check to see if the disks are in good shape). with a cord you can sit there all day doing nothing on a flat wheel. If you need a really strong drill chances are its not the right tool for the job (i.e. use a magnetic drill).

If you don't have outlet access everywhere you stand, either you're limited by law, or your house design was bad.

On planet earth we use drills outside our house as well

Still...a contractor grade chord extension is cheaper than a battery. I just hate buying cordless tools, except screwdrivers, since they are the weakest in their category.
Cordless tools are like, someone uses them, forget to charge them, and a while later you try to use them in an emergency and you can't.

Back this last December, my family and my brother's family were enjoying a dinner together, an evening a few days before Christmas.

Suddenly some of the lights became very bright, while others dimmed considerably. Because the mains service here is 120v-neutral-120v, I immediately recognized it as a phase unbalance.
I instructed to turn off all the lights and unplug all electrical devices.

In the dark, with the assistance of battery powered torches, my bother and I went to the electrical box. With the help of a battery powered DMM, we quickly determined that the neutral wire had an intermittent connection with the bus bar.

The set screw holding the wire was perhaps dirty or corroded and we could not loosen it, no matter how hard we tried. But my brother remembered that an acquaintance nearby was a contractor and had many power tools. So with his battery powered mobile phone gave him a call to see if he was available.

He was, thus we hoped to my car, which has a battery powered starter, drove there, and borrowed a heavy-duty battery powered Bosch screwdriver.

Drove back to my brother's home, and with the Bosch screwdriver we were able to remove the stubborn set screw, clean it up and tighten it again.
A few moments we were back enjoying our dinner.

So I agree with the thread starter: Batteries are useless.

Not completely useless...But the choice for having so many battery types is pretty awful...I'd rather have everything except the car and phone in that case, powered by 18650, and that to replaceable as easy as doing and undoing a door with a screwdriver

Had batteries been useless, they wouldn't have existed 

[hendorog]

Back this last December, my family and my brother's family were enjoying a dinner together, an evening a few days before Christmas.

Suddenly some of the lights became very bright, while others dimmed considerably. Because the mains service here is 120v-neutral-120v, I immediately recognized it as a phase unbalance.
I instructed to turn off all the lights and unplug all electrical devices.

In the dark, with the assistance of battery powered torches, my bother and I went to the electrical box. With the help of a battery powered DMM, we quickly determined that the neutral wire had an intermittent connection with the bus bar.

The set screw holding the wire was perhaps dirty or corroded and we could not loosen it, no matter how hard we tried. But my brother remembered that an acquaintance nearby was a contractor and had many power tools. So with his battery powered mobile phone gave him a call to see if he was available.

He was, thus we hoped to my car, which has a battery powered starter, drove there, and borrowed a heavy-duty battery powered Bosch screwdriver.

Drove back to my brother's home, and with the Bosch screwdriver we were able to remove the stubborn set screw, clean it up and tighten it again.
A few moments we were back enjoying our dinner.

So I agree with the thread starter: Batteries are useless.

You were lucky all those batteries were not dead I guess

[Electro Detective]

I've just come back from another 'AA' meeting and this is how my speech went:   

"I hate batteries a bit less lately

Only because I now buy cheapies and knockoffs which are same or better quality than the decadent brand names

Brand names that blow their quality control and R+D budgets on keeping the advert Enerjizzer/DurexCell Bunnies and stunt doubles going
with ample supply of vegan food, booze, coke, and 60 inch TVs to toss out hotel windows 

The cheapies and knockoffs leak less or same, so hey, why not pocket the difference
and get some money back as compensation for past battery chewed gear 

fwiw I remove batteries in most cases and have a cheap appropriate screwdriver with a set of batteries with each meter that cops occasional or specialisticized use 
so it's less a hassle finding a screwdriver tool when you need it"


Anyway that's how my mild curry Hate Speech on batteries went at 'AA' 
 

[engrguy42]

Here's the REAL "AA" meeting speech for this group:

"Okay, I admit it....I'm a battery fanboy. They're fun. Hours of endless research and playing. I love 'em. And if anyone says otherwise, well, it hurts my feelings. Cuz I like 'em. So nobody can disagree with me. It hurts my ego. So if anyone says anything bad about batteries, be prepared to incur the Wrath of the Bruised Egos".

 

Actually, you could replace "batteries" in that speech with anything that people have decided they like. 

[Electro Detective]

LOL, you did not include the small few that exercise 'Report to moderator' tendencies when the Bruised Egos (great band name!) 
want immediate 'Satisfaction' but without swords, pistols or straight shooter talk 

 

[engrguy42]

LOL, you did not include the small few that exercise 'Report to moderator' tendencies when the Bruised Egos (great band name!) 
want immediate 'Satisfaction' but without swords, pistols or straight shooter talk 

 

Yeah, nothing new. The "I'm telling Mom !!" tendency we all grew up with as kids. Usually when they run out of irrelevant pseudo facts to try to prove they're right, and then run out of stuff to discredit you with (spelling mistakes, etc.), and finally run out of names to call you. 

[SiliconWizard]

LOL... confinement really does seem to damage our brains!

[schmitt trigger]

Did anyone actually noticed that my post wasn't half serious?

And indeed. I did stretch the words somewhat from "Hate" to "Useless". And read completely your posts.

[ogden]

If you don't have outlet access everywhere you stand, either you're limited by law, or your house design was bad.

On planet earth we use drills outside our house as well

Still...a contractor grade chord extension is cheaper than a battery.

This is what I say in my post which you obviously decided to ignore:

Today better pair is decent brushless impact drill for "everyday jobs" and corded SDS+ hammer drill - when you occasionally have to "go through" masonry/concrete/brisks. There are excellent cordless hammer drills as well like Bosch GBH36VF-LI, but price is prohibitive for home users.

In short: it depends.

[Raj]

If you don't have outlet access everywhere you stand, either you're limited by law, or your house design was bad.

On planet earth we use drills outside our house as well

Still...a contractor grade chord extension is cheaper than a battery.

This is what I say in my post which you obviously decided to ignore:

woops...after reading the word "mother earth" I thought of farms and all,forgetting that jungles and deserts exist without power for miles. :p
What about taking along a honda mini generator?

[coppercone2]

post

But, if you are meticulous, you are better prepared in a emergency with battery powered tools because you can work without power. What tools are required in a emergency I don't know, the best I could think of is fortifying a house before a hurricane with a battery saw (say a fuel milwakee) and drill (like if you needed to use a hammer drill to board up windows on masonry in a hurry)

The only tool emergency I ever had was a mechanism in a lock broke, at night, and i could not close the front door, during a power outage, and I got paranoid, so I brazed it longer together with a oxy torch, reassembled and went to sleep. (the bit that the rotation of the lock rotates to engage the latch).

By broke I mean literarly it was a new lock and the thing was cut wrong so I assume the thermal contraction of the door made it so the damn thing cannot engage with the lock! On a abloy I installed wrong. It was faster then looking for a new one or fabricating the part and it was cold, raining, late and I was pissed off. Otherwise I would have probably had to look for wood to brace the door with. Or spent 2 hours filing something with a head lamp. And I lost the spring clip, so I had to wire tie the thing down lol

I was glad to do it because that night just felt real creepy. It must have been engaging by like 0.001 inches or less! I never saw a door work with that kind of accidental interference fit before! (I must have cut it by eye with a dremel or hack saw or something. I don't renember how did it, but I thought I did a better job LOL.) Now I learned to use calipers when doing anything with locks.

The door did not work once (around fall-winter transition) and I thought nothing of it, because it started to work (very busy, I just thought the abloy was bad somehow and I would need to replace it).. then it totally failed and it was spinning. If there was power I would have put a heater against the door to see if it was actually thermals.. I think i brazed the head of a cut off nail on the tip of the thing to extend it. Of course the generator fucked up too! Thank god for good old gas.

Now one of those oxy/mapp gas micro torches is a great emergency tool if you can't afford a real set because you can do some weird stuff so long you get silver braze rod and some files to go with it (or just keep it around anyway since you are liable to run out of oxy/acetylene doing regular welding things). Use that with a few fire bricks because its very weak (they greatly will extend the power). If you keep a battery powered metal saw and some metal around you can jury rig some useful stuff.