Why Batteries for everything now?

Batteries are our chain and ball, Why is it that recycling is all the rage now when the evil batteries are full of poison?

Many years ago (20) when we bought our home our garage door was hardwired and worked fine, of course it was old and we had to replace it. Got a brand new door but the control panel is operated by batteries.

At first glance this may seem trivial but try it here in Canada in the depth of winter with a real long cold snap.

Same with our thermostat for the furnace, it went ca-puts and the only thing available was battery operated, so now when our heat goes off we have to check the batteries and then the furnace to boot. It was much easier when the thermostat was hard wired.


I own many old school tools that actually plug in to a socket, they have more rpm's and they last forever compared to cordless tools.


Price the cordless tools and price the batteries and you will be shocked at the cost of new batteries.
We have two shoe boxes in the basement full of batteries just to keep things going here, I hate it and the wife hates it too.

I realize there is not much choice nowadays but still.......it ticks me off.


There I feel much better now and I feel it is time for a re-charge on my sanity





Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by Iwinder


I think it's a diabolical scheme to force everyone into buying rechargeable batteries! Everything we buy now requires batteries, and the price of the batteries is increasing rapidly. Who can afford to keep replacing them? They don't seem to last as long as they used to either, so you have to replenish your stocks more and more frequently.

Those darn environmentalists!

I've noticed the same thing. And while I can't provide an answer, I do sympathize. It does seem as if much of the technology has been designed to make life easier for the moment, but harder down the line. But that doesn't make sense even on a philosophical level. I can only surmise that it has something to do with cost. In the end, everything's about money....

reply to post by littled16



Now that you mentioned it our snow blower light burned out and the only solution is to go portable light that clamps on and takes batteries, go figure we bought the blower when we bought the house....(20) years ago.

Now how long is a battery operated light going to last in a very cold night with lots of vibrations?


Thanks for chiming in here.
Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by Ex_CT2
I've noticed the same thing. And while I can't provide an answer, I do sympathize. It does seem as if much of the technology has been designed to make life easier for the moment, but harder down the line. But that doesn't make sense even on a philosophical level. I can only surmise that it has something to do with cost. In the end, everything's about money....

"It does seem as if much of the technology has been designed to make life easier for the moment, but harder down the line. But that doesn't make sense even on a philosophical level. I can only surmise that it has something to do with cost. In the end,"

I could not agree more with your quote above, and your closing statement that is has something to do with cost.

Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by littled16


Ahh. Your answer makes sense. Crappy batteries that need frequent charging/replacement, and those darn environmentalists. I don't quite see where the environmentalists come into it--but I'm certainly prepared to take a dim view of them at every opportunity. I mean, I'm still seriously pissed about them taking away my incandescent bulbs.

What really puzzles me is that battery technology is making such enormous strides--and yet batteries for every common device are indeed less robust and more expensive. And, as the OP points out, we need more and more of them. Gotta be a conspiracy in there somewhere....

Why sell something that works just as good forever, when they can add something replenishable to the mix and then make you want it and keep those profits coming in. Thats why they dont normally use multiple standard batteries, they rope you in with fancy advanced battery tech in their one of a kind battery shape.

Did i ever care about plugging in an extension cords to get power to whatever it is i needed to do? nope.

I'd sooner buy a generator for everything, than batteries for fancy cordless tools to be able to be more mobile.

It's a surprise they aren't using cheap metal alloys over good steel and getting us that way too.

Marketing and business generating profit is more important these days than a decent product, technology seems to have taken a step back rather than steps forward when it comes to things like tools and appliances. i thought something that was perfectly good 50 years ago should be flying around with voice commands and lasts forever by now.

reply to post by Ex_CT2

They won't get us with the incandescent bulbs, we have stockpiled literally hundreds of them.
Unless the outlaw them and then we are looking at a swat team to come a knocking.

I agree though that there seems to be something fishy will all the batteries and all the tools/appliances the require them nowadays.

It used to be plug it in and away you go.
Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by Biigs
why sell something that works just as good forever, when they can add something replenishable to the mix and then make you want it and keep those profits coming in. Thats why they dont normally use multiple standard batteries, they rope you in with fancy advanced battery tech in their one of a kind battery shape.

did i ever care about plugging in an extension cords to get power to whatever it is i needed to do, nope.

id sooner buy a generator for everything, than batteries for fancy cordless tools.

its a surprise they arnt using cheap metal alloys over good steel and getting us that way too.

marketing and business is more important these days than a decent product, technology has seems to have taken a step back rather than steps forward when it comes to things like tool and appliances.

Well said my friend, thanks for the addition to my rant.

Regards, Iwinder

whatever can be produced operated with batteries saves money for the industry for no more having to put a competent person to a hotline trying to explain the customer how to wire something up in order to have it working.

if you would actually produce something where a possibly unqualified person can get harmed in order to rig it up, you as a manufacturer get sued.

we make it up with batteries .. every idiot can change them .. problem solved

and the battery-business is happy too

its actually not for environment issues providing a device with batteries.
in fact an empty battery or an akkumulator at the end of its life-cycle is way more harmful to the environment than having the same functionality hard-wired.

its just for the money, again.
no hotline, no legal issues, no nothing .. stupid stuff for stupid people.
if it breaks .. throw it away and replace it ..

Yup, they just nailed us on our alarm system. The thing began to shriek every night and had to be reset, until we bought a new one, which had to come from a specialty battery store.

reply to post by Ex_CT2


Okay, here's where the environmentalists come in:

The environmentalists protest all the batteries being dumped into the landfills, polluting the environment. One of them invents rechargeable batteries- which are very expensive and batteries and charging stations have to be replaced every so many years because they peter out. The price of regular batteries goes up and up and everything you buy HAS to have batteries. But the regular batteries don't last nearly as long anymore, and only the rich can afford to keep replacing them. Average income people are forced by financial circumstances to buy the rechargeable batteries to try to save what they can in costs.

Somewhere an environmentalist with stock in rechargeable batteries is in cahoots with people in the regular battery business and the electronics industry- and they're all getting as rich as fat cats.

Just an off hand theory. Or I could be full of it.

reply to post by littled16


I'll accept that....

Originally posted by TMJ1972
whatever can be produced operated with batteries saves money for the industry for no more having to put a competent person to a hotline trying to explain the customer how to wire something up in order to have it working.

if you would actually produce something where a possibly unqualified person can get harmed in order to rig it up, you as a manufacturer get sued.

we make it up with batteries .. every idiot can change them .. problem solved

and the battery-business is happy too

its actually not for environment issues providing a device with batteries.
in fact an empty battery or an akkumulator at the end of its life-cycle is way more harmful to the environment than having the same functionality hard-wired.

its just for the money, again.
no hotline, no legal issues, no nothing .. stupid stuff for stupid people.
if it breaks .. throw it away and replace it ..

You said it better then I did, great post and many thanks indeed.

Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by gwynnhwyfar
Yup, they just nailed us on our alarm system. The thing began to shriek every night and had to be reset, until we bought a new one, which had to come from a specialty battery store.

What do you figure the life is on that battery pack and what will it cost you to replace it?
Thanks for making my rant here a real rant!
Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by Iwinder

It was much easier when the thermostat was hard wired.

While the following suggestion may not cure all your battery woes, perhaps this little tid-bit that I developed yeeeeears ago due to getting tired of my Walkman batteries constantly having to be replaced.

For you youngins, this is a Walkman...



The irony here is, I never really "walked" anywhere when I was using my walkman and listened to it at night in my room when I was a kid. I usually fell asleep with it on and of course the batteries would pretty much be dead by morning or not last through the next day.

The walkman took 2 AA batteries in which the output is 3 volts DC. So I went to Radio Shack (local electronics store) and purchased an AC/DC power supply (adapter). I cut the end off the wire, tied a knot about 2" up the wire, exposed the wires, soldered them accordingly to the positive (+) and negative (-) contacts in the battery compartment and cut a small area of the battery compartment cover so the wire would stay put. I set it to 3 volts DC and never had to buy another battery again.

This may be an idea for your garage panel and thermostat but probably not the best for things you'll need to carry around.

Originally posted by littled16
reply to post by Ex_CT2

 

Okay, here's where the environmentalists come in:

The environmentalists protest all the batteries being dumped into the landfills, polluting the environment. One of them invents rechargeable batteries- which are very expensive and batteries and charging stations have to be replaced every so many years because they peter out. The price of regular batteries goes up and up and everything you buy HAS to have batteries. But the regular batteries don't last nearly as long anymore, and only the rich can afford to keep replacing them. Average income people are forced by financial circumstances to buy the rechargeable batteries to try to save what they can in costs.

Somewhere an environmentalist with stock in rechargeable batteries is in cahoots with people in the regular battery business and the electronics industry- and they're all getting as rich as fat cats.

Just an off hand theory. Or I could be full of it.

You are full of wisdom and insight.
Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by UberL33t

Excellent post and great information, I for one am electrically hampered by my lack of know-how
If I could do what you say in you post I most certainly would do it.

I am sure you have helped some posters here escape the battery syndrome.

Many thanks for the informative post.
Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by UberL33t


I used to tinker with things that same way.

But you reminded me of another thing. It used to be that cordless drills were made in such a way that you could use them with the converter plugged in. If your battery was low, you just plugged the thing into the wall and got to work while simultaneously charging it. Now they're some complex affair where the battery has to be completely removed and put into a proprietary charger. Now you need 2 expensive batteries--in fact, better to buy 3 of the damn things, because one of them is going to go defective the second time you use it....

ETA: In fact, now that I think about it, a LOT of things used to be that way. You could carry the converter around and charge them while in use. Hmmm....

reply to post by Ex_CT2


i think due to the charger type needing to convert so much of the current down to 3 volts, its not actually very efficient compared to a full volt mains corded tool.

theres a fair amount of energy wasted during the conversion of the current and heat from the coils.

*but still far cheaper than standard or specialized battery's of course