Something to keep in your bag o'tricks: The big "chain" autopartsstores are starting to carry coin

[Nobody > (Revisited)]

Was at the local O'Reilly's ((Shucks/Kragen/Checker) today.

On the counter was a display of coin cells (including 2032s) and a car
keyfob tester. IIRC, it was Duracell. If they have it, AutoZone and Pep
Boys either have it or will follow the idea.

Makes sense, as most all keyfobs use coin cells now.

This is nice to know if you need a fresh CMOS batt and you are close to
one. Price ain't great but not bad, 2 2032s for $4.98.

Great to know if you are out of town visiting and you get stuck with the
old "can you fix my pooter?" shtick.


--
"Shit this is it, all the pieces do fit.
We're like that crazy old man jumping
out of the alleyway with a baseball bat,
saying, "Remember me motherfucker?"
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum

 

[RayLopez99]

Was at the local O'Reilly's  ((Shucks/Kragen/Checker) today.

On the counter was a display of coin cells (including 2032s) and a car
keyfob tester. IIRC, it was Duracell. If they have it, AutoZone and Pep
Boys either have it or will follow the idea.

Makes sense, as most all keyfobs use coin cells now.

This is nice to know if you need a fresh CMOS batt and you are close to
one. Price ain't great but not bad, 2 2032s for $4.98.

Great to know if you are out of town visiting and you get stuck with the
old "can you fix my pooter?" shtick.

m

What is a "coin cell"? Sounds like it should be for loose change, but
your description suggests coin shaped Li-ion batteries.

RL

 

[Bob Willard]

m

What is a "coin cell"? Sounds like it should be for loose change, but
your description suggests coin shaped Li-ion batteries.

RL

Right; roughly the size & shape of a US quarter, without milling.

 

[Nobody > (Revisited)]

m

What is a "coin cell"? Sounds like it should be for loose change, but
your description suggests coin shaped Li-ion batteries.

RL

"Coin Cell" has been used to describe "round and flat" lithium cells for
years, IIRC first in the watch industry.

--
"Shit this is it, all the pieces do fit.
We're like that crazy old man jumping
out of the alleyway with a baseball bat,
saying, "Remember me motherfucker?"
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum

 

[John McGaw]

Was at the local O'Reilly's ((Shucks/Kragen/Checker) today.

On the counter was a display of coin cells (including 2032s) and a car
keyfob tester. IIRC, it was Duracell. If they have it, AutoZone and Pep
Boys either have it or will follow the idea.

Makes sense, as most all keyfobs use coin cells now.

This is nice to know if you need a fresh CMOS batt and you are close to
one. Price ain't great but not bad, 2 2032s for $4.98.

Great to know if you are out of town visiting and you get stuck with the
old "can you fix my pooter?" shtick.

Man, that's freakin' expensive. The last ones I bought were $6.50 for 25 at
Amazon. They keep forever in the refrigerator. I guess if I was in a
strange town and was in a life or death situation paying the price you gave
might be acceptable but I'm really cheap and it would really pain me.

 

[Nobody > (Revisited)]

Man, that's freakin' expensive. The last ones I bought were $6.50 for 25
at Amazon. They keep forever in the refrigerator. I guess if I was in a
strange town and was in a life or death situation paying the price you
gave might be acceptable but I'm really cheap and it would really pain me.

$6.50/50's a decent price, but I'd be more than just a little leery of
the quality.

Was there any mfr branding or build date on those? The rising cost of
lithium as a raw material would make me suspect those are either
"shelf-life queens" or 3rd (or lower) tier manufacturer stuff.

As far as the "strange town/life or death" thing, I've gained this
"pooter superman" image with my relatives and friends. It's worth a few
bucks extra to get it right and not have to deal with it long-distance 3
weeks later.

(Besides, spending time fixing and cleanup means I don't have to
participate in all the conversations that I know nothing about!)

One time, I made a 70 mile round trip on backroads from bro-in-laws
place in the wilds to get RAM for a laptop. It was given to them, but
128 megs on XP was worse than molasses. 1 gig made much difference.

Bootup time with 128megs took almost as long as the 35 mile trip to da
big city, but I'm one of those crazies who can drive dirt roads at 80+.



--
"Shit this is it, all the pieces do fit.
We're like that crazy old man jumping
out of the alleyway with a baseball bat,
saying, "Remember me motherfucker?"
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum

 

[GMAN]

Man, that's freakin' expensive. The last ones I bought were $6.50 for 25 at
Amazon. They keep forever in the refrigerator. I guess if I was in a
strange town and was in a life or death situation paying the price you gave
might be acceptable but I'm really cheap and it would really pain me.

I wouldnt even let those cheap Taiwan batteries near my electronics.

 

[John McGaw]

I wouldnt even let those cheap Taiwan batteries near my electronics.

So far the cells from the cheap batch have worked fine and are
indistinguishable from those which come in any piece of equipment (alarm
dongles, blood glucose monitors, motherboards, etc) I've bought off the
shelf. I've even used them to power an Arduino with good results and long
life. No failures. No sign of shortened life (so far anyway). No leaking.
I'm perfectly happy with my purchase and would certainly do it again if I
ever manage to use up all of these.

 

[Nobody > (Revisited)]

So far the cells from the cheap batch have worked fine and are
indistinguishable from those which come in any piece of equipment (alarm
dongles, blood glucose monitors, motherboards, etc) I've bought off the
shelf. I've even used them to power an Arduino with good results and
long life. No failures. No sign of shortened life (so far anyway). No
leaking. I'm perfectly happy with my purchase and would certainly do it
again if I ever manage to use up all of these.

Pray tell.. how long ago did you buy that batch?

I'd like to see how this stacks up in a couple of years.


--
"Shit this is it, all the pieces do fit.
We're like that crazy old man jumping
out of the alleyway with a baseball bat,
saying, "Remember me motherfucker?"
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum

 

[Michael Black]

Man, that's freakin' expensive. The last ones I bought were $6.50 for 25 at
Amazon. They keep forever in the refrigerator. I guess if I was in a strange
town and was in a life or death situation paying the price you gave might be
acceptable but I'm really cheap and it would really pain me.

I paid fifty cents each at the big "outdoor store chain" here in Canada,
they sell them since they have small bike lights that use them.

If I was stuck, I'd try to figure out what devices used the batteries, and
buy them. That "outdoor store chain" has small bike lights for $3.75
which includes two CR2032 cells. I can't immediately think of what other
cheap and common items might use them, but I know I've bought laser
pointers for 1.99 and even 99cents in order to get the smaller button
cells as replacements for things that actually needed them.

Of course, that larger digit LCD clock I bought years ago, when the button
cell died, I just soldered in an AA battery, every five years or so I have
to solder in a new one. If one is stuck with expensive button cells, and
yet lots of space (with the clock, I just let the AA battery hang off
wires outside the case), soldering in AA cells may be the cheapest
solution.

Michael

 

[John McGaw]

Pray tell.. how long ago did you buy that batch?

I'd like to see how this stacks up in a couple of years.

I bought them in the Autumn of 2009. Like I wrote -- so far so good with
the nine that I've used so far.

 

[RayLopez99]

I bought them in the Autumn of 2009. Like I wrote -- so far so good with
the nine that I've used so far.

Well Michael Black resells them to bicyclists, for the tail lights,
but how often is an ordinary consumer going to use these batteries for
computers? I've had mobos for over 15 years where the battery did not
die--and some of these computers were not turned on for 2 years.

RL