DIY with function over finesse!!

[CitroJim]

12 hours of listening on the Roberts and the restuffed PP9 battery is still going strong

A bit of limited research last evening suggests that modern rechargeable batteries are not happy in this sort of role as they allegedly don't like operating with light current loads and old transistor radios are pretty light on their current demands despite their size and high quality sound.

I don't know how accurate this information is and what effect just lightly loading such a battery has; some say it can cause one cell in the pack to go reverse-polarity...

[Gibbo2286]

I've used Energiser ultimate lithium LR6 batteries for years, they're not rechargeable but they outlast anything else on offer, I took my old Kodak DC120 camera which uses four around the world on just one set, Duracels only lasted a few hours in that old brick
I recently bought twenty from batterystation.co.uk for just under £39.

[CitroJim]

Duracells (and Procells) have a terrible reputation nowadays for leaking even before they are exhausted Eric... They are not what they once were.

On that basis, maybe my sobriquet of 'Duracell Bunny' is not quite so complementary although the tendency to leak before I'm fully exhausted holds true enough

Those that seem to study these things generally rate all flavours of Energiser as about the best available today... Hence my use of them. Amazon Basics ones seem reasonable too...

[bobins]

I do wonder just how many of the leaking Duracells are fakes to start with ? There was an epidemic of fake ones some years ago but I don't know if that's still the case. I've certainly had Duracells leaking but they could have been ersatz ones in the first place

[CitroJim]

I do wonder just how many of the leaking Duracells are fakes to start with ? There was an epidemic of fake ones some years ago but I don't know if that's still the case. I've certainly had Duracells leaking but they could have been ersatz ones in the first place

Yes, that's a very good point Robin... Not only are batteries counterfeited but many electronic components, especially exotic RF power transistors, stuff that's getting scarce and expensive, STK audio power amplifier modules and low-noise op amps used in top-end audio systems amongst much else.

It's become a real minefield trying to source genuine stuff. Some of the fakes don't even work. The best fakes work to a degree but don't meet specifications...

[NewcastleFalcon]

On that basis, maybe my sobriquet of 'Duracell Bunny' is not quite so complementary

Excuse the irrelevant aside but, I always like a post where I have to resort to the dictionary...off to word of the day with that one Jim

Neil

[CitroJim]

On that basis, maybe my sobriquet of 'Duracell Bunny' is not quite so complementary

Excuse the irrelevant aside but, I always like a post where I have to resort to the dictionary...off to word of the day with that one Jim

Neil

Magic Nice one Neil

[Vic Evans]

I do wonder just how many of the leaking Duracells are fakes to start with ? There was an epidemic of fake ones some years ago but I don't know if that's still the case. I've certainly had Duracells leaking but they could have been ersatz ones in the first place

Yes, that's a very good point Robin... Not only are batteries counterfeited but many electronic components, especially exotic RF power transistors, stuff that's getting scarce and expensive, STK audio power amplifier modules and low-noise op amps used in top-end audio systems amongst much else.

It's become a real minefield trying to source genuine stuff. Some of the fakes don't even work. The best fakes work to a degree but don't meet specifications...

I've used Duracell AA batteries in our chicken house auto. door opener/closer for years now with no problems. The cover is transparent to allow for light sensor so they're subject to varying temperatures. They last best part of a year so at least 300 ups & downs of the aluminium plate 'hatch 'plus umpteen more experimenting 'cos I can never remember how to programme it

[mickthemaverick]

I used Duracells when we first got married but she got pregnant anyway!

[CitroJim]

I used Duracells when we first got married but she got pregnant anyway!

I've used Duracell AA batteries in our chicken house auto. door opener/closer for years now with no problems.

I've had very mixed fortunes with them Vic. Some have been as good as gold and others have leaked like a sieve... It can be a bit of a lottery and it may have a bearing on where they were made. There has been much discussion on the subject in the Vintage Radio Forum and one such thread is here:

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/sho ... p?t=167894

And this is just one of many!

This AA cell lasted 20 years in my old gas cooker igniter and is still leak-free even now. It's best before date was 2007!

It lasted so well I did not know it was there and always thought the igniter was a quartz piezo job. When it died I assumed the piezo bit had failed - I then discovered the battery, replaced it and the igniter worked as well as ever...

[Stickyfinger]

On that basis, maybe my sobriquet of 'Duracell Bunny' is not quite so complementary

Excuse the irrelevant aside but, I always like a post where I have to resort to the dictionary...off to word of the day with that one Jim

Neil

It would be an accurate appellation for Jim

[mickthemaverick]

I went down to Elstree yesterday to start refurbishing the decking. Having got the deck cleared and then cleaned with cleaner and the power washer I ran out of time to put on the preservative so I have just been down to do that before the rain comes later!! This one picture shows the three stages of the job!!

MTMO

[mickthemaverick]

I took advantage of today's break in the rain and went down to Elstree to finish the decking job:

MTMO

[CitroJim]

Now that give me an idea I spent some time yesterday tidying my garden and was cogitating what to do with it to make it a lot less maintenance-intensive...

[Stickyfinger]

Weed killer and gravel.........