longest-lasting batteries you've ever seen

longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

It hit me the other day...

The HP calculator on my desk that I got in mid 1990 is still on the original batteries. 3 button cells. Lot of use, almost every day. It also saw me through 6 years of college also.

That's pretty good.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

In 1979 I bought a Texas Instruments travel alarm clock. The original Eveready Alkaline AA cell (not Energizer) ran the clock and alarm until 1991 -- around 12 years.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

1980 Casio G-Shock, currently running on its third battery. This battery should be good for another couple of years.

Dan

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

Yes, the batteries in Casio watches do seem to last forever. Come to think of it, so do the set of three batteries in my HP calculators.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

In the mid-sixties, my Dad had a huge Burgess 1.5 volt doorbell/buzzer dry cell about the size of a 1/2 litre bottle (I can't think of the name of these anymore) that lasted for years. It was tough. It had two brass thumbscrews you could put wires onto. I used to have fun by running a wire to one end of a large file and scratching a copper wire connected to the other terminal along the rough surface of the file and watching the neat sparks fly. I guess it was a 30's to 50's thing.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

Photonboy;

They were "No. 2" cells, main use was in old phone systems, lanterns, door bells and some ignition systems as start up supply for the spark coil. Every boy scientist had a couple in his "lab" and when they finaly died (leaked on Momma's clean floor) the carbon rod from the center made a great piece of black chalk for sidewalk artwork..

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

If these are the large, cylindrical, can-shaped 1.5 volt cells, then yes, I had some of those too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I think mine were labelled either Burgess or Eveready 9-Lives (that has a cat with a lightning bolt tail jumping through the number "9" as the graphic).

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

Photonboy;

I last saw those when working as an Instrument Tech about 15 years ago. We used to build up banks of them to get the voltage req'd to power instruments at remote locations where no other power was available. I believe they were zinc-carbon, so even given their size they probably only had the same capacity as modern Alkaline D cells (but they could give a higher short current burst). One downside was they used to corrode through the side wass and leak leading to many hours of remedial work!

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

Got a Casio portable alarm clock I bought from Campmor in 1998, 2AA's. After six years of using the light (its LED) and the alarm going off everyday I noticed it was getting a little dimmer this week. Pretty good service life.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

That sounds like a #6 cell. What's a #2 cell? I've never seen one of those, as far as I can remember.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

Yes, the HP calculator seems incapable of draining batteries. It's almost wierd.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

I have a TI-68 scientific calculator running on original battery (1xLithium CR2032) at work, in use daily since 1992.

I remeber the old dry cells, we used them to light the glow-plugs on our gas-powered Cox airplanes. When they died, we'd drill a couple 1/4" holes deep in the top and pour salt water in to temporarily revive them.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

[ QUOTE ]
Lurker said:
Yes, the HP calculator seems incapable of draining batteries. It's almost wierd.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh yes it can. Or at least in Engineering School it was possible. I did get about 2 years between changes tho...

-F

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

I just had a Ray-o-vac Renewal die on me last week (Dosen't accept a charge any more) I remember I bought that 1st generation Renewal back in 92 and it has probably been recharged over 300 times already. I still have newer generation rechargeable alkalines that are still working.

Re: longest-lasting batteries you\'ve ever seen

I bought this travel alarm clock when I was stationed in Norfolk VA back in 1984. I got out of the Navy in 1988 and packed all of my stuff away. I found a box a few months ago and this was in it. I have never changed the time, date, year, batteries or adjusted it in any way. As you can see the time is off just a little. I had to adjust the contrast on the pic because the clock display is getting real dim. On the back it says the battery is a "J" cell. That must have been one heck of a battery.
Oh yea, the watch is about a month old and the time is within about 4 secs of Atomic Clock time