# Battery collecting?



## GarageBoy (Apr 2, 2008)

Anyone collect old batteries for their wrappers, etc?


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## willrx (Apr 2, 2008)

Interesting. I'd bet that would be fun. I've seen several pictures but don't actually have any. Post pictures of yours if you like.


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## kavvika (Apr 2, 2008)

Paging Burgess...?

Me, not intentionally, but I did find this old dead Energizer Lithium AA in my parents junk drawer, and thought it was nifty enough to be spared from the trash bin. There's no date stamped anywhere, but I reckon it's from the mid 80's. Not sure why my parent's even bought it, or why there was only one remaining.


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## GarageBoy (Apr 2, 2008)

I have a box of mid/early 1990s CR123s that were from a camera repair shop


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## Darkpower (Apr 2, 2008)

kavvika said:


> Paging Burgess...?
> 
> Me, not intentionally, but I did find this old dead Energizer Lithium AA in my parents junk drawer, and thought it was nifty enough to be spared from the trash bin. There's no date stamped anywhere, but I reckon it's from the mid 80's. Not sure why my parent's even bought it, or why there was only one remaining.


 

I got a bunch of those Lithiums I found in the motor drive of my Canon 35 mm...and everyone is perfectly charged at 1.69 volts more than 10 years later. I'm going to save them forever.


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## Patriot (Apr 3, 2008)

That's the first time I've ever seen one that old. It's funny look'in!


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## nikon (Apr 5, 2008)

They just don't make them like they used to. You can't get leakproof batteries anymore.


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## Burgess (Apr 5, 2008)

Yuk !

:nana:


BTW, always nice to see how *far* we've come with battery technology.


I well remember seeing my very FIRST alkaline batteries.

( they were Eveready AA's )



Oh, you *couldn't *simply go to a STORE and BUY 'em ! :shakehead



At the age of TEN, i *mail-ordered a pair*, from Allied Electronics ! 

( remember them ? they were in Chicago )



Cost $2.50 for the two cells, plus *nearly another buck for shipping and handling*. 


But i knew from my "technical reading" that they were the best, longest-lasting technology available.



Now, i'm sure you are all quite keen to know . . . .


in 1963-64, just WHAT would i use these "super-batteries" in ?



Hmmmm ? ? ?



( long pause here, for dramatic effect . . . . )




Answer:



I put 'em into my Ideal Toy Company's *Motorific car* ! ! !




And, naturally, it totally BLEW AWAY everybody ELSE when we raced !

 ___ :wow: ___  ___ :bow::bow::bow:



That was well over 40 years ago, kids. 



Gee, just think if i could smuggle a couple Energizer Lithium L91 cells,
via my Delorean time-traveler machine.

:devil:

_


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## GarageBoy (May 25, 2008)

My dad lost his share of races with a STOCK Cox slot car


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## lctorana (May 27, 2008)

I collect radio A, B & C batteries, and do a lot of scanning etc to make modern reproductions for use.

There is a certain gentleman in the USA who is a world leader in this field, who has or will one day published a book on the subject.


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## Illum (May 27, 2008)

yes, but when one started leaking someone thought it would be a good idea to toss out the whole box:green:


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## xcel730 (May 27, 2008)

That's kind of like what happened to me. I didn't collect batteries, I just happen to keep things for a very long time, and store them in places I could never find. My lady found about 50 really old batteries while we were packing for our move. I wanted to keep them since they looked pretty cool, but I couldn't find them when I moved to my new apartment. When I asked her, she said, "they were all expired, why do you want them for?"


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## Burgess (May 27, 2008)

Yikes ! ! !




Reminds me of the time . . . .


I threw out a sealed bottle of *20-year-old Scotch*.



Thought it must be *stale* by now. 




But seriously, folks . . . .


I'd like to see a *graph *listing the mAH capacity of popular sizes
of Alkaline batteries, *over the years*.


Let's see how significantly their capacity has improved,
since the 1960's.


This is certainly a Great time to be a Flashaholic.

:wave:
_


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## santza (Jun 13, 2008)

I saw few months back old alkaline varta cells in my customers alcohol breath analyzer. They didnt have expiration date but they must have been very old since they were made in West Germany!

For those you dont know, East and West germany joined together about twenty years ago.

I measured them 1.2V and still running... Nice.


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## santza (Jun 13, 2008)

There must be way to vacuum-wrap old batteries??

That would be a perfect solution to avoid leaking problems when storing old cells..


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## lctorana (Jun 14, 2008)

santza said:


> There must be way to vacuum-wrap old batteries??
> 
> That would be a perfect solution to avoid leaking problems when storing old cells..


I don't think it would, actually, because the problem comes from the inside, as the electrolyte eats through the zinc sheet and rusts or rots the casing....


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## Illum (Jun 14, 2008)

santza said:


> There must be way to vacuum-wrap old batteries??
> 
> That would be a perfect solution to avoid leaking problems when storing old cells..



I think vacuuming might actually encourage leaking....as opposed to wrapping
especially for old seals, decreasing air pressure outside might cause cells to blow open. 

I think it would be of interest to try that....
1 vacuum chamber
1 NiMH cell
a load of some sort, like a lemon
some NiMH cells create hydrogen gas during discharge, perhaps one might blow apart under vacuum? hmmm:naughty:


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## santza (Jun 14, 2008)

Ok bad idea  Thought that leaking had something to do with air/oxygen.

This thread is open for suggestions. I'd like to hear them.


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## DieselTech (Jun 14, 2008)

I don't collect old batteries, but I did find this one in an old light I picked up at a truck & tractor show swapmeet.


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## nerdgineer (Jun 15, 2008)

Serious battery collecting (i.e. the way some people collect dozens and more of lights) seems to be a not good idea given the inherently unstable nature of their insides. It would be kind of like trying to build a serious collection of tuna fish sandwiches - they're going to rot even if you freeze 'em...


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## Cydonia (Jun 15, 2008)

nerdgineer said:


> Serious battery collecting (i.e. the way some people collect dozens and more of lights) seems to be a not good idea given the inherently unstable nature of their insides. It would be kind of like trying to build a serious collection of tuna fish sandwiches - they're going to rot even if you freeze 'em...



It's hard to imagine how serious collectors (like the world leader in the field who was alluded to in an above post) manage to prevent battery corrosion and break down from specimens with wet electrolyte. But my guess is that those _dry battery_ chemistries can be preserved indefinitely?

This raises some interesting questions: 
Is it safe to keep lithium cells for such a long period of time?



GarageBoy said:


> I have a box of mid/early 1990s CR123s that were from a camera repair shop



Aren't the seals on CR123A cells the "final frontier" to their shelf life and longevity? I wonder what the long term failure rate for CR123A cells is... and how exactly do they "die" anyhow? :shrug:
Do those old CR123A cells smell the same as new cells? The "flashahol" odor associated with the chemistry was said to be the normal slow break down of the seals? What about that old AA cell... does it emit the typical odor of a new AA lithium iron disulfide? Today they rate them with a 15 year shelf life... could they go 20 or 25 if stored in the right conditions you think? So many questions...


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