Is it easy to change the battery of
a watch?
What about 'luxury' watches?
What is 'low drain' and 'high
drain' all about?
How do you handle watch batteries?
Can I use an alkaline battery?
How Are Batteries Rated?
How can a 1480mAh RCR-V3 out
perform 2100mAh AA NiMh batteries?
Any Hearing Aid Battery Tips?
Is there an equivalent battery to a
1.35V Mallory RM450 or PX450 mercury
battery?
Do you know of a replacement for
the Energizer 538 / K31 Type K battery?
Do you know of a replacement for
the PX825 battery?
Do you know of a replacement for
the PX13 / PX625 / MR9 Mercury battery?
Do you supply the CR2335 battery?
What Battery do I require for my
Praktica Camera?
Do you have a battery for a model
240EE Bell and Howell 16mm movie
camera(1958 vintage)?
What Battery do I require for my
Yashica Camera?
Is it easy to change the
'Non-replaceable' batteries in Polar Transmitters?
Why are 3.6V AA cells such a tight
squeeze in the VR3?
I need a 1.5V Eveready U10 for my
AVO meter. Is there a replacement?
I need a new Tomtom 700 battery.
Is there a replacement?
Please advise on the battery
required for a Ronson electronic Varaflame cigarette lighter.
Is there a replacement for the old Leclanche
15P3.5 / Mallory WD4?
It is quite straight forward to change the battery of a watch. All you need is a knife or small screwdriver (depending on the watch) to take the back off. A pair of plastic tweezers is a desirable luxury. If you must use your fingers, avoid greasy hands. Sometimes a special tool is required for screw type backs. You can get them here at JewellersEquipment.co.uk
As much as we would love to sell you a battery for your solid gold Rolex, please don't set about it with a blunt screwdriver. Leave very expensive watches to trained specialist dealers.
Some sizes of miniature watch batteries used to be made in different versions for different uses (high and low current drains). For example, 'Low Drain' versions were recommended for watches that have no light, alarm or LED display, whereas 'High Drain' versions were used for watches that do have a light, alarm or LED display. However, advanced in battery technology mean that, for modern replacement batteries, this distinction is no longer necessary -- one version fits all. We do stock 'Low Drain' variants, but unless there is a price penalty for our customers, we will typically supply the high drain version.
Handle watch batteries either with plastic tweezers or with clean, dry, non greasy hands. Do not use metal tweezers.
Keep watch batteries away from children. Ingestion by infants and children can cause serious illness or death Should someone swallow a watch battery, seek immediate medical advice.
Make sure that no metal objects, such as another battery, 'shorts' the battery whilst it is in storage.
Some sizes of batteries are available as both Alkaline cells (often indicated by a prefix of LR) and Silver-Oxide cells (often indicated by a prefix of SR).
Silver-Oxide cells are normally used in watches. They are a little more expensive but last much longer.
You can always replace an Alkaline cell with a Silver-Oxide one of the same size, but not always a Silver-Oxide with Alkaline cell. For further information click here.
There are two ratings on every battery -- volts and amp-hours (Ah). The AH rating may also be given as milliamp-hours (mAh), which are one-thousandth of an amp-hour. The voltage of the new battery should always match the voltage of your original. Some of our batteries will have higher amp-hour ratings than the original battery found in your device. This is indicative of a longer life expectancy (higher capacity) and will not cause any incompatibilities.
The energy content of NiMH batteries such as the 2100mAh rechargeable AA batteries are measured by draining the battery from its 1.2V 'notional' voltage right down to 0.9V. Unfortunately, long before that point, the voltage becomes insufficient to power a high drain device. Digital cameras will shut themselves down. Flash guns take so long to recycle that the photographer gives up.
Lithium-ion has a notional voltage of 3.6 volts and the voltage remains high right until the end of its battery life. It will keep powering high drain devices until the bitter end.
Another way of looking at it is that milli-amp hours (mAh) is only useful for comparing batteries of the same chemistry where the voltage produced over time is similar.
mAh is not useful when comparing differing chemistries such a a pair of NiMH batteries producing 2.4 volts with a Lithium-Ion battery producing 3.7 volts.
To compare dissimilar batteries it is better to consider the energy content in watt hours (Wh). Watts are calculated by multiplying current with the voltage and it takes account of different voltage patterns.
so for NiMH batteries: 2300mAh x 2.4 volts => 5.53 Wh
for a CRV3R battery: 1480mAh x 3.7 volts => 5.48 Wh
In fact this is still not as flattering as the Li-ion chemistry deserves. NiMH cells spend most of their time producing less than their 'notional' voltage. An average voltage of 2.1 volts would be more appropriate for the calculation. And Li-ion drops to 3.7 towards the end of its charge cycle. An average voltage of 4.1 volts would be more appropriate.
These voltages suggest an energy content of 4.83 Wh for the NiMH eclipsed by 6.1 Wh from the Li-ion CRV3R.
These figures are very similar and, given that much equipment ceases to operate at the low voltage at the tail end of the NiMH charge cycle, it is easy to see how many users report that 1480mAh CRV3R comfortably out- perform a pair id 2300mAh NiMH batteries.
The average life of a hearing aid battery varies from 1 to 4
weeks depending, amongst other things, upon the size of the battery,
the power of the hearing aid and the setting of the volume control.
Your battery need changing if you find that you need to turn the volume
up more than usual, or if sounds are distorted or, of course, if your
hearing aid is dead.
For further information on hearing aid batteries, click here.
This is a common question from users of Bolex P1, P2 and P3 cine cameras and users of the Alpa 10d camera.
This battery goes by a number of names: PX450, RM450, RM450R, E-450 and was 11.6 mm in diameter and 14.5 mm in height.
Unfortunately, no one manufactures a exact size replacement to the RM450 any longer. The best you can do is to take a cell of the same diameter and pad its height out with metal washers or some type of wire spring/clip. Scrunched up aluminium foil seems to work nicely. Don't be daunted. It has been successfully done before.
You have two choices for the battery, the silver oxide 1.55V 357 or SR44 or the zinc air 1.35V WeinCell MRB675. Good luck.
This bizarrely shaped 4.5 volt alkaline battery (also known as a 7R31 or RPX31) is used in a variety of Minolta 110 cassette cameras.
These batteries are no longer made and, because of prohibitive tooling costs, are unlikely ever to be made. Your only chance is to rebuild an existing one. Even if you were able to purchase a 'new' battery, it might well be too old to have any juice left and would need rebuilding. The definitive source of information on rebuilding is:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/youngds/110Cameras/Kfactour/TheKFactour.htm
Ron Schwarz has some for sale here..... http://www.clubvb.com/Focal.Yokels/SizeKbatteries/Default.htm
STOP PRESS: This battery is currently in stock. Look at our PX825 page.
The PX825 was a 1.5 Volt Alkaline button cell that is no longer manufactured.
It was also known as the LR52, EPX825, V825PX, HPX825, RPX825. Its NEDA designation was 1129AP.
These batteries were used to power Minox C4 flash cubes, Vitessa 500AE cameras, Agfa Rapid cameras, Agfa Agfamatic 126 cameras, Kodak Instamatic reflex cameras and many others.
The PX825 was of the following dimensions - Diameter: 23.2 mm. Height: 6.1 mm.
If your application requires two PX825s in a 3 Volt stack, then you are in luck. We offer the three volt PX30-L. It is the modern equivalent of the PX30 battery that was composed of a stack of two PX825s.
If your application requires a single PX825 the best solution will be a 357 or SR44 1.55 volt battery which has a diameter of 11.6 mm and a height of 5.4 mm. The 357 is fractionally slimmer than the PX825, so you may need to carefully bend the electrical contacts or add metal washers to make the necessary electrical contacts. Because the diameter of the 357 is very much smaller than the PX825 you will need to devise a method of keeping the 357 centred and motionless in the battery compartment. For example, try cutting a hole in a disc of foam or sponge for the 357 to sit in.
I'm afraid that improvisation is sometimes needed when replacing these discontinued batteries. Good luck.
There are four replacements: Alkaline LR9s, Silver Oxide S625PXs, Zinc Air MRB625s and voltage reducing MR-9 Adapters.
Alkaline LR9: The cheapest alternative is the LR9 (http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_lr9.htm). The problem with the alkaline LR9 battery is that voltage is not the same as the mercury original and, with very few exceptions, the circuitry of the light meter is simple and cannot compensate for this difference. This is very probably the case for your camera. When the battery is fresh and the voltage is c. 1.5v the voltage is higher than the original mercury cell. This voltage difference will result in a one to two F-stop under-exposure in conditions of strong light.
This doesn't normally cause a problem because today's films are very tolerant to under-exposure and because the under-exposure is compensated for during printing. (so you would have greater problems if you were using slides).
You could manually compensate by a couple of stops or by tweaking the ASA setting, but, unfortunately when the alkaline cell is no longer fresh and is getting towards the end of its life, the voltage will drop to, say, 1.2V. This is less than the original mercury cell. This voltage difference will result in a one to two F-stop over-exposure.
Again, unless you are shooting slides, there is often not too much of a problem.
Silver Oxide S625PXs: One solution to this problem is to use a Silver Oxide 1.55V equivalent, the S625PX.
Look at our web page http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_s625px.htm and you will see that this battery has the benefit of a constant voltage. There will always be an under exposure of one/two f-stops but, once you work out the difference (calibrated by comparison with another light meter for example), it will be constant.
Zinc Air MRB625s: Probably the best solution of all is the specially designed WeinCELLS, the MRB625 (http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_mrb625.htm). The MRB625 cells use Zinc air chemistry with a notional voltage is 1.4V (too close to that of the mercury cells to tell the difference). Some people think there is a slight (1/2 f-stop) under exposure, many think it is near enough an exact voltage replacement. The manufacturers claim that this IS an exact voltage replacement. In any case, in practice, today's film and development seem to work perfectly well with the MRB625.
Unfortunately these cells have a short life. You pull off the sticky tabs to allow air into the cell and from that point, irrespective of how little you use the MRB625, it begins to dry out and you have a battery life of six months (and sometimes up to a year). The life is certainly very much shorter than the couple of years you might expect from the silver oxide cell.
Voltage Reducing MR-9 Adapters: The "Rolls Royce" solution that can be used again and again. Buried within the MR-9 Adapter are micro electronics that drop the voltage from the silver oxide cell to the 1.35 Volts that your camera was designed for.
No adjustment or modification to your camera is required. The MR-9 Adapter does not require activation or a supply of air. The MR-9 Adapter and silver oxide 386 cell has a significantly longer battery life than the zinc air WeinCELL MRB625 batteries.
Hope that helps.
STOP PRESS: This battery is currently in stock. Look at our CR2335 page.
I don't know if you have realised yet, but the CR2335 is an exceedingly rare battery. Virtually no one makes then, and we have been unable to secure a source for a long time now. You are quite unlikely to find a CR2335.
You need to examine the possibility of substituting a lithium cell of nearly the same dimensions. The CR2430, for example is only 1mm wider in diameter and 0.5mm narrower in depth. Would it fit into the clip that your battery snaps into?
The last customer who needed a CR2335 for his computer motherboard was able to use a CR2430. He found the extra width was a bit of a squeeze, but that the narrower depth still gave a firm electrical contact.
Or if the larger diameter looks like it might be a problem, use the CR2032. This is 3mm narrower in diameter and 0.3mm narrower in depth.
Have a look at the clip your battery needs to slot into, and decide which is your best bet.
PX21: (see our web page http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_px21.htm)
Praktica LLC,
Praktica DTL3 (DTL-3),
Praktica EE2, EE3 (EE-2, EE-3),
Praktica PLC2, PLC3 (PLC-2/PLC-3),
Praktica VLC, VLC2, VLC3 (VLC-2, VLC-3)
PX28: (see our web page http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_4sr44.htm
for a suitable equivalent)
Praktica BX20, BX20S (BX-20, BX-20S),
Praktica BCA,
Praktica BCX,
Praktica BCC,
Praktica BCS,
Praktica BC1, BC3 (BC-1, BC-3),
Praktica BC auto,
Praktica BM,
Praktica BMS,
Praktica B100 (B-100),
Praktica B200 (B-200),
Praktica MTL50 (MTL-50)
PX625: (see our web page http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_mrb625.htm
for a suitable equivalent)
Praktica LTL, LTL2, LTL3 (LTL-2, LTL-3),
Praktica MTL, MTL3 (MTL-3),
Praktica MTL5 (MTL-5),
Praktica NOVA B, NOVA II,
Praktica Super TL, TL2, TL3, TL500, TL1000 (TL-2, TL-3, TL-500, TL-1000)
PX675: http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_mrb675.htm
Praktica MTL5B (MTL-5B, MTL-5-B)
No Battery:
Praktica L2 (L-2),
Praktica L3 Endo (L-3)
The Owner's Manual says this beautiful cine camera uses two Mallory PX2 Mercury batteries. There are also occasional references to a Mallory PX4 battery. We can't establish exactly what the PX2 and PX4 were but a former Bell & Howell technician working in a camera shop in Burbank, CA told us the battery was 4.5 Volts which was the clue we needed. You need two of our PX21 4.5 Volt Alkaline batteries batteries to bring you cine camera to life.
PX28A: (see our web page http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_4sr44.htm)
Yashica 35 CCN
Yashica 35 MC
Yashica Atoron
Yashica Electro
Yashica Electro 35 CC
Yashica EZ Matic Electronic
Yashica FR
Yashica FR1
Yashica FR2
Yashica FX-1
Yashica TL Electro (some)
2 x PX640A: (see our web page http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_pc640a.htm)
Yashica TL Electro (most but not all)
Yashica Electro 35 FC
Yashica Electro GX
Yashica Lynx 14-E
Yashica Lynx 5000E
PX32A: (see our web page http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_a32px.htm)
Yashica Electro 35
Yashica Electro 35 G
Yashica Electro 35 GS
Yashica Electro 35 GSN
Yashica Electro 35 GL
Yashica Electro GTN
Yashica Electro AX
Yashica MG-1
Yashica GL/GT
SR44: (see our web page http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_357.htm)
Yashica 35 ME
Yashica 35 MES
Yashica 35 MF
Yashica 35 MFS
Yashica FFT
Yashica FX-2
Yashica ME-1
Yashica MF
For a more complete list see Yashica's page http://www.yashica.com/support/batterycharts.html
In a word - NO. It is definitely not straight forward. Polar transmitters such as the Polar T61 take standard CR2032 batteries, but are in a sealed unit and difficult to access.
WARNING: The following procedure is strictly NOT for the faint-hearted. It will void the warranty on your monitor and may in fact cause irreparable damage to your transmitter. But it worked for me the first try and only took me 30 minutes. Total cost (not counting my time) for crafting a replaceable battery unit from a sealed Polar transmitter: $2.79 plus a couple of wires and some electrical tape I had laying around the house.
Oh yes -- this in no way authorized by Polar Electro Oy (as if you haven't guessed by now).
Materials needed: One CR2032 lithium battery, a soldering iron (preferably of the sort used for fine circuitry work), rosin core solder, a pair of small needle-nose pliers, an X-acto knife or similar tool, a pocket knife, two lengths of fine wire (with connectors of some sort on one end if at all possible, as they're easier to fasten to a battery) and a roll of vinyl electrical tape.
Remove the strap from your HRM transmitter. Lay the transmitter on a hard, flat surface. The back of the transmitter, where it makes contact with your chest, should be down.
Using the X-acto knife, carefully carve away the face of the transmitter in the raised area where the color "Polar" nameplate appears. You may want to carefully pry off the nameplate for later gluing onto the front of your reconditioned monitor. A couple of potential trouble spots: The battery is in the center of the unit -- don't punch through hard there. The transmitter coil is on the bottom or top edge of the case -- don't punch through hard there. Take your time. Cut a large enough hole to work your soldering iron into the case.
Once you've removed the face of the transmitter, mark a plus-sign onto the edge where the positive lead coming off the battery goes into the circuit board.
Grab the positive battery lead (it's flat metal and the only one showing) with the pliers, then carefully melt the solder on the end of the lead that goes into the circuit board and simultaneously pull the lead out of the board. Pull the battery up to a vertical position.Peel the rubber piece off the bottom of the battery and set the protective piece aside. Repeat Step 4 with the negative terminal of the cell. Dispose of the battery in an environmentally sound manner.
Carefully solder your wires into the holes where you pulled the original leads out.
Secure the ends of the leads (positive to positive, negative to negative) to the new battery with a tight wrapping of electrical tape or a method of your own choosing. Stick the rubber pad you earlier pulled off the original battery to the bottom of the battery. To further protect the battery and reduce the chances of shorting anything out, wrap it in electrical tape.
Tuck the battery and wires into the transmitter case and seal the whole thing with clean, tight spirals of electrical tape. Alternatively, you may want to use some sort of waterproof caulking to seal the case, especially if you swim with your HRM.
Try the transmitter out.
As you can see, there are easier ways of dealing with the dilemma Polar has imposed on its buyers with its sealed transmitters. You can send your unscarred but lifeless transmitter to Polar with $39 for a new sealed unit. Or you can buy a new Cardiosport replaceable battery transmitter and chest strap for $49. But if you're cheap, and adventurous, you can't beat the fun of doing it yourself -- or the perverse pleasure of wearing an HRM transmitter that looks kind of like the car you used to keep running with the help of a large box of tools and a small spool of baling wire.
This only applies to early VR3s that were fitted with a small diameter battery cap. I first hit the problem you describe with my VR3, when I wanted to use the RS battery (RS part No 596-602). This battery has a plastic outer coating, which makes it just a tad thicker than a standard AA cell which are just painted metal . All you have to do is to cut off the bottom 17-18mm (ie from the -ive end) of the plastic coating. The -ive end of the battery fits into the VR3 battery cap which is the -ive terminal, so stripping this bit of plastic off doesn't cause any electrical problems.
3.6V AA Lithium thionyl chloride batteries from the Small Battery Company don't fit for a similar reason and could easily be rectified in the same way in under a minute with a sharp knife.
Delta-P Technology (who make the VR3) have been aware of this problem for the last few years. Now all new VR3's are fitted with a mark 2 version of the battery cap, which has a slightly wider diameter hole and will accept these slightly fatter batteries without modification. Delta-P also sell the mk2 battery cap in an upgrade kit with a Lithium 3.6V battery for people who have their older units.
Regards Geraint.
Thank you Geraint Ffoulkes-Jones for sharing with us the benefit of your experience.
STOP PRESS: This battery is currently in stock. Look at our Eveready U10 page.
The Eveready U10 was a Carbon-Zinc battery 13/16 of an inch in diameter and 2 and 5/16 inches in height. In metric units that is 20.6 mm in diameter and 58.7 mm in height. (Take care not to confuse it with the Burgess U10 which is a fifteen [15v] volt battery).
No equivalent to the Eveready U10 is manufactured any longer.
A standard 'C' cell is 22 mm diameter x 42.3 mm. This is too wide for most AVO meters. If this isn't too wide for you fit you might be able to make do with a 'C' cell by finding or making a conducting spacer 16.4 mm in length.
A standard 'AA' is too narrow and too short. It seems to be the best bet. An 'AA' cell and a stack of one pence pieces is often an adequate replacement.
You will need to be inventive. Good luck.
STOP PRESS: A TomTom 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 etc. battery, fully made up, is now available here...
Here is the experience of Ed Chapman who very generously offered to answer queries about his procedure. Send in queries to Ed using the 'Contact Us' link on the left.
I bought a LIR-18650-FT to replace the exhausted one in my mate's Tomtom 700 which was five years old and no longer held a charge. The charging circuit is a circular pcb the same size as the battery end, with a little soldering and delicate disassembly it was possible to remove it from the exhausted battery and attach the new battery. I searched high and low for a replacement battery on the web but no-one seems to have spent the time and effort to document or advertise these batteries or how to change them. Tomtom themselves will replace the battery for you but this service is very expensive - Tomtom probably prefer customers to replace the unit entirely! Anyway thanks for a great service and please mention the Tomtom 700 in the battery description so it can be Googled by others. If anyone wants, I will try to help - but bear in mind that I am only familiar with the Tomtom 700 model.
We asked our good friend Richard Smith, lighter guru at www.strikealight.co.uk.
Richard informs us that there are two models of the Ronson Electronic Varaflame cigarette lighter. The battery you require depends on which model you have.
The L1 is about 2.5 inches high and can most readily be identified by its marking 'Made in the UK'. It takes the 12.0 Volt LRV08 battery (see .... http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_lrv08.htm).
The L7 is squatter and oval and can most readily be identified by its marking 'Made in France'. It takes the 15.0 Volt A220 battery (see .... http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_a220.htm).
Feel free to contact Richard directly with any further queries about lighters. He'd be delighted to hear from you.
The Mallory WD4 or Leclanche 15P3.5 was a mecury cell of diameter 15.5 mm and height 3.6 mm. It was used in the early 1960s in watch movements such as the Landeron calibre 4750.
We offer our "WD4 adapter kit" consisting of a 1.55 volt 344 silver oxide cell (that has diameter 11.6 mm and height 3.6 mm) with a reusable long-lasting adapter ring made from Buna N rubber material.
Price for cell plus adapter, inclusive of shipping and VAT is £4.50. The WD4 adapter kit cannot be ordered on-line so please contact us if you wish to make an order.
© The Small Battery Company 2002-2007