Hi all,
I'm making a simple but very important question.
Do you know reliable AA/AAA battery holders?
I'm making this question because I ordered this kind of battery holders, from different markets (Amazon, Bangood, Aliexpress etc...) and I had problems with almost all of them because of the stability of the batteries inside them.
I mean that the batteries are physically placed inside the holders in a stable manner but the current depends on how I move the holder or how much the batteries are squashed inside.
I was making a very complex project which was greatly working by USB feeding but it wasn't working on battery supply, then I discovered that it was a problem on the holder.
Yesterday I was simply lighting up some leds and I had feeding problems with the battery holder, so that I was obliged to add some soldering iron in some parts of it to make the feeding reliable.
The question is: what battery holder should I buy not to have headaches on these stupid issues?
"I was making a very complex project which was greatly working by USB feeding but it wasn't working on battery supply, then I discovered that it was a problem on the holder."
You might try a rechargeable battery pack like below. I've got one arriving a couple of days to see how well it will work as a power supply.
zoomkat:
"I was making a very complex project which was greatly working by USB feeding but it wasn't working on battery supply, then I discovered that it was a problem on the holder."
You might try a rechargeable battery pack like below. I've got one arriving a couple of days to see how well it will work as a power supply.
Thank you for the answer!
It could be a good solution for my main project, but the fact is that the battery is inside and to charge it I should open the project case every time.
My question in any case is comprehending also the most simple cases of two AAA batteries and a led.
Bjack795:
Hi all,
I'm making this question because I ordered this kind of battery holders, from different markets (Amazon, Bangood, Aliexpress etc...) and I had problems with almost all of them because of the stability of the batteries inside them.
That style are rivetted together, not welded, so the reliability is poor as corrosion and dirt can get in to the joints, and soldering them just melts the plastic.
I have the same problem sourcing decent holders. LiPo/LiFePO4 packs come with JST/molex connectors which
finesses the issue completely.
"It could be a good solution for my main project, but the fact is that the battery is inside and to charge it I should open the project case every time."
If you notice on the end of the battery bank there are two USB jacks, a large one for supplying power to something, and a small micro jack that should be for recharging the batteries inside. You should be able to use the typical cell phone USB cord with a micro plug to connect the battery pack to a wall cell phone charger for recharging the batteries.
MarkT:
That style are rivetted together, not welded, so the reliability is poor as corrosion and dirt can get in to the joints, and soldering them just melts the plastic.
I have the same problem sourcing decent holders. LiPo/LiFePO4 packs come with JST/molex connectors which
finesses the issue completely.
The fact is that I'm using AAA Ni-Mh batteries because I'm a bit afraid about Lithium batteries problems like over-discharge and explosions
herbschwarz:
Keystone makes high quality, aluminum
frame battery holders.
Herb
I will try them but they seem to be fairly difficult to be found.
zoomkat:
"It could be a good solution for my main project, but the fact is that the battery is inside and to charge it I should open the project case every time."
If you notice on the end of the battery bank there are two USB jacks, a large one for supplying power to something, and a small micro jack that should be for recharging the batteries inside. You should be able to use the typical cell phone USB cord with a micro plug to connect the battery pack to a wall cell phone charger for recharging the batteries.
You're right I have a battery pack and I was looking for the micro USB in yours but I don't know why I didn't find it before
"You're right I have a battery pack and I was looking for the micro USB in yours but I don't know why I didn't find it before "
My battery pack came in the mail today, so I'm charging it up to do some experimenting with a WeMOS D1 ESP8266 development board. I also have an UNO clone with the micro USB jack, which should make it easy to power from the battery pack. The micro USB jacks on boards have me spoiled.
zoomkat:
"You're right I have a battery pack and I was looking for the micro USB in yours but I don't know why I didn't find it before "
My battery pack came in the mail today, so I'm charging it up to do some experimenting with a WeMOS D1 ESP8266 development board. I also have an UNO clone with the micro USB jack, which should make it easy to power from the battery pack. The micro USB jacks on boards have me spoiled.
I ordered a small power bank from amazon, I will connect its micro usb to my recharging USB port of the project and its USB out to a break-out connected to the power jst port of my Wemos Lolin D32 pro v2
Bjack795:
The fact is that I'm using AAA Ni-Mh batteries because I'm a bit afraid about Lithium batteries problems like over-discharge and explosions
Don't buy el-cheapo batteries off Ebay or Aliexpress. Get quality batteries with built-in protection circuits from a known electronics retailer.
Yes, they cost about 10x as much, though a large part of that money also goes to you actually getting the rated capacity, and not just 20% of that.
wvmarle:
Don't buy el-cheapo batteries off Ebay or Aliexpress. Get quality batteries with built-in protection circuits from a known electronics retailer.
Yes, they cost about 10x as much, though a large part of that money also goes to you actually getting the rated capacity, and not just 20% of that.
I've never bought batteries from cheap markets since I care about my health ahahahah
The fact is that I had a drone and there were a lot of things to keep in mind using those types of batteries and what I'm designing is something I could forget in a wardrobe for two months without risking my house on fire.
This is a bit "out of left field", but if you know anyone who works in hospital operating theatres, you could ask if they could obtain a couple of the used battery packs from the lavage guns used in procedures such as joint replacements, you would find them extremely reliable - because they must be by definition (and are horrendously expensive).
They also contain top-quality "industrial" alkalines which are in general, only very briefly used for a single procedure. The packs are eight-cell "AA" for 6 or 12 V operation of the gun but could easily be adapted.
Hm - I have not had reliability problems with (most) bargain-basement battery holders... Am suspicious about whether there is something else going on here.
Though, I have had problems with cheap battery holders getting damaged (and becoming unreliable) when excessive current is put through them, causing the connections between spring/contacts and wire to heat up, soften the plastic, and move out of position. On one occasion, with a good 18650 battery and crapola battery holder, I saw a wisp of smoke coming from the batteries. Accordingly, I nearly soiled myself in terror, before realizing that it wasn't the battery - the battery was fine - it was just the hair-thin wires and shoddy crimped connections heating up leading to the plastic melting and smoking. Replacing the battery holder with a less-cheapo one sorted this out in a jiffy.
A weak point in the inexpensive battery holders, besides the skinny wires, is the small contact surface area between the batteries and the holder contact points. I often touch up the contact areas and battery ends with a little sand paper and things start working again. One might put a little piece of aluminum foil between the battery ends and the holder spring/contact points to increase the conductive contact area between them.
Thank you for the answers.
I'm looking for some more expensive battery cases than those ones I used before.
In the meanwhile I bought a mini power bank for the complex project.
Historical note relating to battery holders. The holders from the 1960 era and before will not hold the current size of AA cells. The current cells are longer. Metal holders from that age will have to be bent to hold today's cell and plastic holders will be broken by the longer cells.
