[NJARC] Building a B Battery for a portable

[Jim Whartenby]

Hi DaveNo Costco stores close to Hot Springs.  Every once in a while we make the trip to Ikea either in Dallas or Memphis and generally pick up a pack or two of AA or AAA batteries.  I think they are $2 for a 10 pack of bright yellow generic batteries.  We don't freeze alkaline batteries but we do refrigerate them, as with you, never a problem.  The Consumer Report message board feedback is not kind to Costco batteries.  Don't know about what they think about Ikea batteries but they seem to be OK in our tests.
Not sure of the reference to B batteries.  AFAIK, it is all an internal resistance thing.  Carbon zinc batteries have higher internal resistance then Alkaline.  Alkaline batteries have a much longer shelf life then carbon zinc or more properly, zinc chloride heavy duty batteries.  I would think that Alkaline batteries would have the edge over CZ (except for weight) especially if the load current is low.  But it is all a cost thing and how fresh the batteries are.  
We have a few tube battery portable radios, I guess it would be a kick to have one operational, perhaps an RCA BP-10?Jim I wonder why people argue over the 10% of their differences and ignore the 90% they agree on?

      From: David Sica <davesica at gmail.com>
 To: Jim Whartenby <antqradio at sbcglobal.net>; NJARC <njarc at mailman.qth.net> 
 Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2018 8:27 AM
 Subject: Re: [NJARC] Building a B Battery for a portable
   
Jim,
I've been freezing carbon-zinc batteries all my life. They always come out fresh as a daisy, even after months or years.
Costco's house brand batteries have received the highest reviews compared to all other brands. And they have a very long shelf life (I think the current inventory is good 'til 2024.) But since alkaline cells are best for high current draw situations, they may not be the best candidate to be used as part of a "B" battery. But that long shelf life might be an advantage in a situation like that where you're using relatively small amounts of power sporadically over a long period of time. 
On the few occasions where I've bothered with batteries, I've just unceremoniously clicked together 10 of the cheap 9-volt batteries. If I wanted to get ambitious, I'd probably use 60 of the Harbor Freight double-A's, which you can get for free often enough. The button cell thing sounds interesting. If you buy in bulk, you can get enough to build a "B" battery for about $12. https://ebay.to/2Nzjzfi  I wonder if there's enough interest for the club to offer them along with our capacitors? 
Me, I'm happy just using an A-B-C power supply.
-- Dave
On Wed, Oct 10, 2018 at 1:54 AM Jim Whartenby <antqradio at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

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The cheapest carbon-zinc cells I know of are at Harbor Freight and the Dollar Store.  Sams Club has Alkaline cells in high count blister packs but I don't know how cost effective they are.  For some reason, high count packaging is not always the least expensive per piece cost.  Hate it when that turns out to be true.
Don't really know the best way to extend battery life when not in use.  Seems like heat is always the enemy so refrigeration at 40 deg F seems logical.  Freezing is not recommended but I would bet that cells see that much cold in shipping during the winter months in some areas of the country.  Pretty sure that they just thaw them out and put them on the shelf!Jim I wonder why people argue over the 10% of their differences and ignore the 90% they agree on?

      From: Matt Reynolds <mattr04 at hotmail.com>
 To: Al Klase <ark at ar88.net>; "NJARC at MAILMAN.QTH.NET" <njarc at mailman.qth.net> 
 Sent: Tuesday, October 9, 2018 7:03 PM
 Subject: Re: [NJARC] Building a B Battery for a portable
  
All,
What about the 23A cells?  They are the 12 volt cells that are like 3/4 (or maybe 2/3rd? maybe that's the origin of the number?) of an AAA battery in length.  They fit the "N" size battery holder. 
MattFrom: njarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net <njarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net> on behalf of Al Klase <ark at ar88.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 9, 2018 3:13 PM
To: NJARC at MAILMAN.QTH.NET
Subject: Re: [NJARC] Building a B Battery for a portable Just remember
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