Battery Shelf Life

[Dottie]

I live in Florida and have accumulated a large collection of batteries for use in case of power outages. The expiration date on most of them say 2012 to 2013. Is there a device I can get to test these - without having to take them all out of the package and put them in a flash light or something . I need to feel safe and sure that they are in good working order and would feel a lot better if I could test them. Asked in the hardware and auto section of Walmart and they didn't carry them ... hadn't seen them.... I just assumed there was such a thing. I know there used to be. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[ransley]

My small battery tester has 2 probes you could put a hole in the top and bottom plastic, or simply open the pack and tape it up.

[Ed Pawlowski]

You have to touch the contacts to check them. You may be able to find a voltmeter with sharp probes to push through the package to hit the top and bottom. Personally, I've never found a battery that died before its time so I never bothered checking them. The other day I replace a AAA battery that has been in use for a thermometer LCD readout and the date was 2006.

I'd wait until 2013 and check them at that time, or use them up if possible.

[Tony Hwang]

Keep them in the fridge and small multimeter will test them. If voltage reading is proper, it is in good condition.

[Frank]

There are low cost battery testers. Living in Florida you should know that heat is a big enemy of batteries so store them in the coolest spot in your house. As others say, they should be good past their expiration date.

[1D10T]

My small battery tester has 2 probes you could put a hole in the top and bottom plastic, or simply open the pack and tape it up.

Shouldn't they be tested under a load equivalent to their intended use?

[ransley]

The one I use induces a load, probably any "battery tester" induces a certain amount of determined load, all I know is it works and has saved me alot.

[Oren]

Radio Shack my have something for you.

Hurricane season has started, and most likely that is when the power outages happen. What do you operate during a power outage, requiring a large collection? If it is a radio one might look at the wind up types with emergency bands for weather.

[fftt]

I think your desired spec of "not needing to remove it from the pacakge" is going to make finding one a lot more difficult.

I have one that I "inherited" from my wife's aunt.....it loads the battery so you really know if the battery has any real energy left.

google

AA battery tester

and checkout the results....the one at amazon "might" be able to work on batteries still in the package

cheers Bob

[HeyBub]

Feeling secure is probably best accomplished by having spares. If, in the emergency, the replacement battery doesn't work, toss it and use the backup battery*. Repeat until you get one that works.

-------

• Don't toss the problematic batter too far... it might be the bulb that's bad. Or the switch.

[Dorothy]

Thanks. I have lanterns that require the large ones and then lanterns that need four D size. The TV takes 6 D size. There are several of those small round lights (4 AA each) ... one of each room. Weather radio that can be recharged by turning the crank plus it takes plain AA batteries in addition to the rechargeable one.

Last year I bought a generator but we have very little experience actually running it - and that's fine with me. I want to be prepared in case of several days without power - and not rely too much on the generator. Everything appears to be working fine as long as the battteries are still good.

[JimR]

Thanks. I have lanterns that require the large ones and then lanterns that need four D size. The TV takes 6 D size. There are several of those small round lights (4 AA each) ... one of each room. Weather radio that can be recharged by turning the crank plus it takes plain AA batteries in addition to the rechargeable one.

Last year I bought a generator but we have very little experience actually running it - and that's fine with me. I want to be prepared in case of several days without power - and not rely too much on the generator. Everything appears to be working fine as long as the battteries are still good.

----- FYI - the TV isn't going to work after the changeover to digital TV next week. There won't be any analog TV signals for it to pick up. -- There are a few battery-poered digital TVs, but they take 8 AA cells and don't operate for more than a few minutes before the batteries are gone. Of course, you can pick up a 12-hour battery pack for $120.00 -- better to buy a generator and use that to power a few essentials.

[Stormin Mormon]

For single use batteries, there are three "basic" kinds. Carbon cells, alkalines, and lithium.

Carbon cells last two to five years, maybe. These are the ones that say "Heavy Duty".

Alkalines last a lot longer than that. About six weeks ago, I opened a flashlight I bought 10 years ago. Mag light, with Energizer D cells. Unused, in the original package. Worked fine.

Lithium batteries are supposed to last even longer than that.

If you bought alkalines, there's not much worry. As others have suggested, many VOM have sharp tips you can stab through a package. You can also make a tester with a PR-4 bulb and a piece of wire, to do a quick, crude test to see if a C, D, or AA, or AAA cell is working. For lanten batteries use a PR-12 from terminal to terminal.

[phase6]

You can never feel safe. There is no safe place to hide and no matter how many batteries you have, there is no safe place. If God is not trying to kill you with a hurricane, tornado, or other storm, there are people with sick minds everywhere, and all of them want to kill you and other people. If it's not God or other people who kill you, there's severe dangers everywhere. Driving cars, using electricity, lakes, oceans, explosions, sharp objects, disease, poisoned food, wild beasts, terrorists,falling trees, nuclear disasters, war, house fires, swine flu, bacteria, heart failure. All of these are watching you, and waiting for the right moment to end your life.

Safety is an illusion. There is no safe place to go. No batteries will save you. It's just a matter of time and place !!!!

[HeyBub]

Good-O on the generator, but here's one more tip:

I'm in Houston and have a big honkin' generator for the office. The generator is normally backed up with five gallons of gas (enough for about six hours of run-time). We were, we thought, prepared for Hurricane Yikes.

Who knew that EVERY GODDAMN GAS STATION FOR SIXTY MILES would be without power ! And the gas stations STAYED that way for over a week !

Now we have eight six-gallon gas cans to be filled when the next storm approaches.

[HeyBub]

Another tip:

Get a couple of kerosene lanterns, less than $5.00 each. Kerosene keeps, like, forever.

I stopped by my local auto parts store and scavenged a dozen or so plastic oil cans from the trash. I put the kerosene in these oil cans to make the eventual re-fill process easier than fiddling with the 5-gallon kerosene drum in the dark.

The kerosene lamps have other uses. Not long ago some twit took out the street lamp in front of my house. Hit that sucker square on and uprooted a

30-foot steel pole right out of the ground!

I politely mentioned the missing street light to the agency responsible about three times with no result.

Then I found a 10' tree limb, stuck it in the hole formerly occupied by the street lamp, and hung a kerosene lantern on one of the twigs.

A picture of this alternative was attached to yet another email and, presto, the street light was replaced forthwith!

[Jim Yanik]

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in news:h0hrcc$tbh$ [e-mail]:

Carbon-zincs are a waste of money.

alkalines are rated 5-7 yrs stored life.(retaining 85% of their capacity)

Lithium are rated for 10 yr stored life.

[Stormin Mormon]

It's wise to try and adjust to the sun's schedule. Go to bed when it gets dark. That cuts back on your need for artificial light.

Other, less cheeful thought. I live in NY, but I personally know of at least two people who have had generators stolen. If you use it, chain it securely. Preferably within chain range of a big dog who is protective of the family and generator. Dog might have rock-concert type hearing for a couple days. And post armed watch over the generator.

If you bought name brand alkaline batteries (Energizer, Duracell, Rayovac) they should be fine. As others have said, keep them cool but not frozen. Refrigerator may be overkill. But they should be stored in a cellar, or at floor level. Dry can be accomplished by storing the batteries in screw cap jar, wtih a dessicant packet.

[Stormin Mormon]

You know, a gas station with a generator could sell a lot of gasline in a hurry when the others go dark. As I understand things, the government has regulated that supply and demand pricing is no longer legal. Suppose gasoline is running around 2.79 a galon (at present in Rochester NY area). The power is out for a couple days. The gas station at the corner has huge underground tanks. They spent $6,000 last year to put in a natural gas generator, and have it wired to the station. The manager figures he's got 2,000 galons of gas in the ground. He's got to make that 6K back in the next couple power cuts. So, he charges 3.79 a galon for the fuel. The customers complain about price gouging, and the news media picks up on the story. They run the story about the price gouging. The store sells out of gasoline in a day, cause they are only one who is running. The cops arrest the guy, and the courts fine him four grand, for price gouging. When the power comes back on, the gas station owner has a demolition company come in and rip out the generator. Says the generator is money loser.

So, the effect of anti price gouging laws is that the product becomes simply and totally unavailable at any price. Thank you, washington DC!

[Stormin Mormon]

Carbon-zincs are a waste of money.

CY: Generaly, yes. They are good for giving away to other people. And good for short term needs, like a flashlight you only need for the weekend.

alkalines are rated 5-7 yrs stored life.(retaining 85% of their capacity)

CY: You mean, that the Mag light I stored for ten years is now a 2.55 cell mag, instead of a 3 cell mag?

Lithium are rated for 10 yr stored life.

CY: And how much capacity at the end of the decade?