I've just taken 3 x AAA batteries out of a torch as they are down to about 1v each and not enough to shine nicely.
But in series that's 3v. So a box with suitable connectors for AAA and AA batteries connected in series/parallel surely could extend the useful life of alkaline batteries. What's the downside?
Why don't you put them in the oven, or connect a charger (but not too much current as alkalines will explode).
A joule thief circuit could be used to raise the voltage instead of using more batteries.
Some people recharge alkaline cells but even with a special low current charger it's not for the faint hearted.
Anyway the additional charge is only modest and needs applying well before the cell is depleted. I suspect 1v is already too low.
Construct a Joule Thief
Were they not already in series when in the torch? I'm sure someone could point to one that has batteries in parallel but they will be fairly rare.
A lot of kerfuffle for bugger all extra life .
If this an old style torch with a filament lamp then you may find a lower voltage lamp could be fitted to extract a little more life from them , say the original was 4.8Volt that gives you 3.6 , 2.4 and
1.5 Volt ones to choose from. 3.6 probably not worth bothering with, in fact the whole idea isn't unless it is just for curiosity rather than economics.G.Harman
Or build one or more of these:
I've got an orange one with 4xAA to get 3v. Odd.
exactly. If you're that tight, use old batteries to run clocks.
won't work. The limitation at 1v is current rather than voltage. Go LED for longer life.
NT
IIRC for old zinc-carbon batteries, the internal resistance rises as they become exhausted. So an increasing proportion of any available chemical energy becomes dissipated internally as heat.
Once you are down to 1V per cell, you have probably used 98% of the energy available...
Or just leave then a week. Its amazing how much they de polarise.
En el artículo , AnthonyL escribió:
I put them in wall clocks. They last for about the same time as fresh batteries, for some odd reason.
Especially if you leave them somewhere warm.
When I change the cell in a clock I note the voltage at which it packed up. A couple of clocks drop out/get faint at 1.35V; others will drop to about
0.95V and a 1.35V cell will be OK for 10 months+.The internal resistance makes them very poor at generating the current you need. The rechargeable alkaline can be used but they need to be charged before they get that low. So its a use a little charge a little and this extends their life. However it does increase internal pressure, and although normal alkaline do work the same as the rechargeable ones, they tend to leak after a while due to the internal pressure breaching the seals.
I'm sure somebody will be along to tell the chemical story of this and what happens to the electrodes inside as they get used. Brian
Actually the only use for such batteries can be very low power devices like clocks. See my earlier post about the internal resistance increasing stopping current flow. Brian
Do I detect the pyramid will be along very soon now. No they do not get better with rest. Its afalacy for high current demand devices. Brian
That has to increase current and hence reduce voltage further. No the only way to extend their lives is a charger that is used very few sessions on use. However this could, in the long run cost more than binning and buying or biting the bullet and getting good rechargeable in the first place. Note that led torches tend to be just as bright on rechargeable as alkaline as they have a circuit to control their current to stop them overheating. Brian
I can confirm this, significant poisoning of the electrodes has effectively made the battery very low current drain by then. Brian
I find that spent batteries that no longer work in devices that require a large load
work perfectly well in TV remotes for several more months
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