Plastic comb battery holder

In converting a Rayovac 2AA flashlight to LED, I replaced the AA batteries with 3 N cells to reach 4.5 volts, as many have done before. However I was unable to find any tubing to hold the 3 N cells that would fit inside the flashlight barrel. By themselves the batteries were a little too loose to inspire confidence.



Finally, I hit on the idea of using a piece of plastic comb to hold the batteries (and a spacer made from a piece of wooden dowel with a nut and bolt through it). These combs are commonly used in offices to bind booklets, catalogs, etc. The comb provides enough support to keep the batteries and spacer in line. A piece of electrical tape around the top battery keeps the comb from slipping down. The combs come in various sizes, but you don't have to be too precise because the fingers of the comb are unattached on one side and they wrap around the battery to provide a custom fit. My appologies if someone has posted this idea before.

I have been buying these Rayovac 2AA flashlights for years because they fit the hand nicely and have a handy pushbutton switch. I saw them recently at Walmart for about $5. The 5mm white LED replaces the bi-pin incandescent bulb. I had to drill out the reflector to accept the LED. The beam has a few rings in it, but still a big improvement over the standard bulb.

Very clever /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Awesome work!

Nice idea, I'll use it. Electronic Goldmine has 2AA plastic lights on sale for $1 each from time to time. The last ones I got were GE, before they have been other brands or no-name. They also sometimes have N cells. I also like the spacer idea, although as long as its on the bottom (negative end) of the stack it doesn't need the insulation. So you could use any chunk of metal (even a stack of washers) that was convenient, it's big enough that conductivity is not an issue.

-Russ

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RussH said:
Nice idea, I'll use it. Electronic Goldmine has 2AA plastic lights on sale for $1 each from time to time. The last ones I got were GE, before they have been other brands or no-name. They also sometimes have N cells. I also like the spacer idea, although as long as its on the bottom (negative end) of the stack it doesn't need the insulation. So you could use any chunk of metal (even a stack of washers) that was convenient, it's big enough that conductivity is not an issue.

-Russ

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You'll need insulation on the spacer only if it's a tailcap switched light such as the Brinkmann Legend 2AA I used, otherwise the moment the metallic spacer touches (the inside of) the metal tube body, it unfortunately completes the circuit.