AAA to C cell adapter

[KenTaylor]

Some years back I purchased a Panasonic NiMH charger, cells and accessories kit which contained among other things 2 adapters which allowed an AAA cell to be used in place of a C cell. Basically they are plastic tubes of the appropriate dimensions. Can anyone point me to a sourcce of these adapters? I need a third one to try the NiMH cells (of which I have a bunch) in my Pelican M8 LED flashlight.

TIA,

Ken

 

[KenTaylor]

I should know better than to post before having my coffee. Make that AA to C cell adapters.

 

[watt4]

I have not tried these, but just this evening I was thinking of ordering some of their AA battery storage cases, and saw the adapters.
adapters

 

[KevinL]

Quick-n-dirty solution: Wrap it in paper. Cut the paper to the appropriate width, wrap it, tape it. That way you needn't spend money before you find out.

Myself, I use that as a permanent solution... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif (they don't make 2x18650 to 3C adapters either so I had to roll my own, literally /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

 

[KenTaylor]

Thanks for the quick response. I think I will wrap 1 cell and use it with the 2 adapters I have and see how the M8 works. I am curious to see if the 1.2 volt per cell of the LiMH vs. 1.5 for alkaline make an appreciable difference.
Regards,
Ken

 

[KenTaylor]

Easier than paper, I wrapped a couple of those velcro straps (sold for organizing wires & cables etc.) around the 3rd AA and loaded the M8. No go - the spring on the business end of the M8 is too large to contact the small bump on the + end of the AA. Now for Plan B.

 

[this_is_nascar]

Search for something called the Up-Sizer. They will take an AAA and size it all the way to a "D" sized cell.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

you may even be able to go to a place like lowes and find tubing that fits. Something like A/C insulation used on the hoses going to the compressor may work if you can get a short piece. I haven't measured the dimensions but my guess is it could be close.

 

[KenTaylor]

A piece of 5/8" radiator hose did the trick. A little aluminum foil made a temporary contact for the + end. The M8 has been running for 2 hours on a set of old Panasonic 1600 mAHr cells.

 

[rwolff]

I checked the link in Watt4's post, and those look like the ones I got at Princess Auto. Your profile doesn't say where you are, and I don't know if PA has stores outside Canada. Also, they were in the "surplus" section a few months ago, and may be gone by now.

If they are the same ones, you might want to watch out - an AA and a C are roughly the same height, and the AA-to-C adapter with an AA installed is taller than a C by roughly the height of the "button" on the positive terminal.

 

[Hookd_On_Photons]

Re: AA to C cell adapter

AA to C/D adapters can be found here:

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/batteryadapter-index.htm

...but it sounds like you've solved your problem already.

 

[illumiGeek]

Re: AA to C cell adapter

Use 1/2" PVC pipe and some Duct tape (or any tape you have handy). A few bucks worth of PVC will make a bunch of adapters, and you can make custom lengths (like 2 or 3 cell).

Below is a picture of my Underwater Kinetics LC100 Light Cannon using 8 AA NiMh cells in place of 8 C size Alkalines. I made 4 adapter that were 2 cell lengths and it works like a champ.