Some them are disposable, and some are years-old rechargeable batteries. If you use rechargeable batteries, you should always get a Sharpie and write the year of purchase on them. Now, I am particular about what rechargeable batteries are used for. I don't want them put in a clock, because that ties up an expensive battery for years at a time.
I started buying cheap electric toothbrushes a few years ago. You could get one for about $5, and the non-replaceable battery will last about a year. Since you are supposed to switch out brushes in 6 months anyway, battery life shouldn't matter. But the last time I bought a toothbrush, I saw one for $4, and it has replaceable batteries. I thought that was weird, since the thought of running water and a battery case that opens is weird, but I bought it to save a dollar. I figured the battery would last as long as the brush.
Wrong. The batteries that came with it failed in about two weeks. The light bulb went off in my head. They saved costs on this one by installing used (or possibly rejected) batteries! Not a problem, because I have my rechargeable batteries. And if I didn't, heck, you can still brush your teeth without the vibrations.
Then my kitchen clock stopped. An analog clock will run for years on one AA battery, so I didn't want to use a rechargable, but I don't have any disposables in the house. Or do I? I have a jar full of AAs ready for recycling, and the toothbrush incident proved that a battery that will no longer power a flashlight still has enough left to power an electric toothbrush. So I pulled one out of the jar for my clock and it works! If it only lasts a month, no matter. I still have a jar full. Only now I'll need to start a new jar labeled "really really dead batteries."
8 comments:
Single use batteries are made from non-hazardous common metals and are safe to throw in the trash (except California). Rechargeable batteries are not safe and have to be recycled.
I avoid rechargeable as much as possible and consider them more dangerous to the environment than single use. I suspect more are thrown out than recycled.
Take a couple rechargeables and hold them end to end (plus to minus). You've created a circuit and it will get warm - possibly quite hot. Think what could happen if they're all mixed together in a container.
If you're going to store for recycling, I'd consider putting a piece of tape over one end - always the same end - to avoid any issues.
Wow, thanks for the tip! I'll do that.
You could go to your local hardware store (I was about to say Radio Shack, but that ship has sailed) and for around $10-$15 buy a battery tester.
The one I've got came from Ace and allows me to test all sorts of batteries — regular, alkaline, rechargeable Ni-Cad, button cells like you find in watched or those really teeny-tiny keychains and flashlights, even the old square 9-volt transistor radio batteries (remember THOSE?), displaying the remaining power/life by means of a needle on a gauge. If nothing else, it will help you tell which batteries are really, truly dead and which ones still have some life left, along with a consistent way of telling how much.
-"BB"-
(remember THOSE?)
Uh, yeah, they still sell these, because smoke detectors use them.
Worked in a battery specialty store-
- Ditto that 'regular batteries' are not recyclable.
- Ditto on getting a battery tester.
- Ditto on taping batteries you plan on dumping in a pile- new or used, regular or rechargeable.
- Ditto that cheap stuff comes with cheap batteries (lots of low-cost items cost less to buy new than to replace the batteries in)
To make life really fun, most batteries are made by just a few companies, so you can get a high quality battery under a lot of different names, or get really cheapo batteries under what sounds like a good brand.
Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH) rechargeable batteries are no more toxic than the coins in your pocket. The old Nickle-Cadmium (NiCd)...well, cadmium.
Also you're going to love the idea of a Joule thief - a circuit that takes every last bit of energy (Joules) out of a power source, leaving batteries dead, dead, dead. Single-cell LED flashlights may use them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule_thief
A friend of mine used to keep his batteries in a basket in his kitchen. Couple of years ago, his house was gutted by fire. The cause? That haphazard collection of batteries, some new, some partly used - the battery contacts connected in the jumble and eventually .... fire. Thankfully they were away for the day, unfortunately they were away for the day - you get the picture.
Be careful how you store batteries. It makes a difference.
Post a Comment