Reverse battery compatability.

We all know that one advantage to using a light that runs on common cells is being able to always find batteries for it.

Just grab the 2AA cells out of your TV remote, to power your light.

But has anyone else done the reverse? Anyone pulled batteries out of their lights, to power another item?

Awhile back, I bought a small, hand-held, portable TV. (Yes, I know that it will be a useless paperweight in Feb. of next year). This thing eats batteries! And it needs 4AA cells to work. But it provides me with entertainment during my breaks at work. (I always get the job done and show up early for my shift. So my Supervisor doesn't care what I do on my breaks).

Since I prefer to use CR123-based lights, my AA-powered lights see little use. I figured, why waste the batteries. So I pulled all of the batteries from my AA lights. Couldn't help but smile when I found that my e-Gear LED lantern runs on 4AAs too.

Anyone else do something similar?

I've been known to cannibalise other equipment for its batteries to operate flashlights, and vice versa.

The latest example of this occurred less than two weeks ago when electric power was shut off because my sister forgot about the bill...I harvested the D cells from two different lights (I believe an IR LED adapter from AdvancedMart and a 365nm high-powered UV LED adapter (the "cat pee detector" from InReTECH)) to put into a ghetto blaster so that I could listen to the radio while the power was off.

And I've been known to do pretty much the opposite as well - harvesting batteries from other equipment so that I could feed a flashlight - though I can specify no particular instance of this.

I'm just happy to know that I'm not the only one who does that. Thanks.

well uh...yes, but often not planned
other times flashlights are often cell carriers for other flashlights