Picking up some batteries at the store can be quite discouraging because of the outrageously high prices that they can cost. As Lifehacker has been showing us lately things may not always be what they appear. Checkout what lies inside some of your everyday batteries:
–32 AA Batteries in a 6-Volt Battery–
Resting inside of a 6V lantern battery lies 32 AA batteries. A 6V battery typically only costs $4 or $5, so this is an astonishing deal to say the least. Although you do need to be careful because not every 6V battery will be a AA goldmine, and it really depends on the manufacturer. So your best bet might be to use up the 6V battery first on something useful, and then take it apart before you’re about to toss it.
–6 AAA Batteries in a 9-Volt Battery–
Inside of 9V battery you’ll find 6 AAA batteries nestled inside. Breaking into the casing of the 9V battery could be a chore though.
–8 Watch Batteries in a 12-Volt Battery–
Inside of a tiny 12V battery are 8 watch batteries tightly stacked together. I can’t remember the last time that I needed 8 of these suckers, but this is a steal considering a 12V costs less than one watch battery.
Seen the 9 Volt one before. Has anyone acutally tried the 6 Volt Latern one? I go thru AA like crazy so this could be a bit of cost saver.
I haven’t tried the 6V myself yet, and I’ve read mixed reviews. Some batteries aren’t composed of AA, and it really depends on the brand. It would be nice if you could find a brand that has them in it though, and buy a bunch of them.
I tried the 6 volt trick with a new Duracell. Inside was 4 D batteries.
I will be trying again with another brand soon.
Thanks for letting us know Jerm, I look forward to what else you manage to find.
I just tried an eveready lantern battery. didn’t work. got 4 cells but they are not even similar to size or contact arrangement of D size. it was a waste, bummer.
Thanks for the update, so now we know Eveready and Duracells are a no go.
tried rayovac…on 6V battery didnt work
Tried EverReady 6V too and it was just 4 long cell batteries. Not the 32 AA that I thought to believe. Blahhh
Energizer 6 volt latern battery has the long cells in it also.
I took a 9 volt battery out of a smoke detector that was cherping because the battery was low and I put it in my pocket about an hour later so when I went to the food store I would not forget to get new ones. Before I left home I worked on my lap-top for a few minutes and suddenly realized that my leg was burning for some reason. I reached into my pocket and found that the 9 volt battery was so hot I could not hold it in my hand in fact it was so hot I was afraid it would burn the carpet so I kicked out the front door. The heat from the battery heated up my change to a point that you could not hold it either. My Chap Stick all but melted and it burned a place on my leg which I can still see today. This was a standard 9 volt “Energizer” battery with 2011 date on it. I’ve never heard of anything like this before and would not be surprized if had been throne in the trash that it set a fire. No kidding, it was that hot. What in the world caused this to happen? Please respond to my web address. (I’ve never been to this site before). Thank you in advance. Charles Northcutt
I to opened a 6 Volt ENERGIZER battery. It contained 4 “D” size batteries. Good news – they are Industrial (not for retail trade).
We DO live and learn.
You say it heaated up your change. One of your coins probably completed the circuit between the two poles of the battery, thus generating the heat.
TheKatMan,
To answer your question on how 32 1.5 volts (V) “AA” batteries can be connected together to equal 6V, one must determine how the batteries are connected together.
There are two ways to connect batteries together, in series and in parallel, each affecting the batteries’ output in respect to voltages and amperes. For this explination, I will only discuss the voltage aspect.
When connecting batteries in series, wires are linked from the positive side of one battery to the negative side of another and so on. If the batteries are connected this way, then the voltages of each battery are added together and the sum would be the total output in volts. So, if two 1.5V batteries are connected in series, then the total output would be 3V.
When connecting batteries in parallel, on the other hand, the positive side of one battery is linked to the positive side of another battery and they negative sides are connected in the same manner, negative to negative. However, each battery’s voltage is not added to the voltage of the others to reach a sum, the output of these connected batteries would be only the voltage of one battery. So, if two 1.5V batteries are connected in parallel, then the total output would only be 1.5V.
To reach the desired voltage, in this case, one would connect the batteries in a combination of the two connection methods. To get 6V from 32 1.5V batteries, one would connect 4 seperate groups of 8 1.5V batteries in parallel, giving each group 1.5V. Then one would subsequently connect the 4 groups together serially (1.5V + 1.5V + 1.5V + 1.5V) to get 6V.
So what’s inside “AA” batteries?