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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions


Q: What about privacy and security for the batteryBob.com website?

Q: How long will the battery last in my watch?

Q: Can batteries be dangerous?

Q: Can I replace my watch batteries myself?

Q: I have a small business, will you "blind" drop ship for me?

Q: What is the latest news about battery life?

Q: A customer e-mailed saying he had problems recharging batteries. Here is what our factory expert, Mr. Michael explains.

Q: What is the difference between BR and CR lithium batteries?

Q: Can I charge NiMH batteries in my old NiCD charger?

Q: Does batteryBob carry batteries that contain mercury?

Q: Does the rising fuel costs affect battery prices?

Q: What is the story about why are Alkaline batteries are at 1.5 volts yet Rechargeable NiCD and NiMH batteries are at 1.2 volts? The answer provided by Moe Michael.

Q: What about replacement batteries for discontinued batteries?

Q: Do you sell mercury battery replacements?

Q: How do I search intelligently?

Q: Tips on Casio battery changing

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions


Q: What about privacy and security for the batteryBob.com website?
A: Here is how we protect your name, address and e-mail address and CC information. We do not store any CC information on our computers. We only see the last 4 numbers and the type; no expire date, no CV2 number. We follow the Visa/MC security protocol and use their vendor Security Metrics to test our site and our procedures. We have an up to date SSL Certificate from Comodo. We have a daily Hacker Safe test and certificate. We are a PayPal Verified vendor. There is no company or government entity 100% safe from attack by criminal groups. It is in the news every day that criminals are successful. Criminal attacks and bogus CC numbers have cost our company thousands of dollars. We employ the latest prevention and detection tools available. This is a costly part of business on the web. We will not sell or rent your name, address, e-mail address or purchase history to any other company or person. Period. That has always been our policy. We use your name and address to send your orders, our catalogs and newsletters. We e-mail your order acknowledgment, confirmation and shipping details. We e-mail you free articles on compelling consumer issues about batteries, the environment and your safety. We collect feedback and have you rate the quality of our speed, accuracy and individual customer excellence and tell us what improvements to make in our products and services. We notify you of money saving special offers when we have a special sale. You are welcome to pay us by check. You can opt out for any e-mail communication, just tell us.

Q: How long will the battery last in my watch?
A: I borrow from the Horological Times, October 2005 article by Jim Door the best answer: The primary factors are the: 1. Storage capacity of the cell and the current drain of the movement. 2. The capacity is rated in mAh (milliamp hours). A cell rated at 20 mAh in theory last 20 hours under a drain of 1 milliamp. Usually drain for watches is measured in microamps. One milliamp equals 1000 microamps so this cell has a capacity of 20,000 hours use at one microamp. 3. Each movement is designed to operate within a particular current drain range. While there are times of increased drain, such as during date change, the rate is usually stable. Tech sheets generally list the acceptable current drain limit. The most common reasons for the current drain to change are dirt or other blockage, dried lubricants or a circuit problem. Excessive use of alarm, stopwatch or light functions will shorten its expected life. If we know the mAh rating of the cell and the current drain we can mathematically estimate the maximum life of the cell. The formula is capacity / drain = time. Example: 20,000: Ah (20Ah) / 1.1:A = 18,182 hours. Divide that by 8760 (hours in year) - 2.1 years. In theory the watch would run up to 2 years with this battery. This is based on several presumptions: 1. The battery is fresh. 2. There is no increase in the current drain. The watch isn't exposed to high heat as in a hot glove box.

Q: Can batteries be dangerous?
A: Yes. There are reports of police vehicles catching fire because of faulty laptop batteries. There are reports of flashlights exploding because of the cheap, poor quality CR123A batteries used. Batteries can be lethal anywhere used. I have reports from a customer of their digital camera in their bedroom catching fire and burning furniture while they were asleep. None of above when using batteries from my company. Buying batteries on an auction site or web site at what seems to be an attractive price could have a nasty surprise. Buy the best batteries from a good vendor who has been in the battery business with a track record.

Q: Can I replace my watch batteries myself?
A: Yes, follow these steps: Get a jewelers screwdriver set with mini Phillips and slot heads, a magnifier, a plastic tweezers and a Q-Tip with Vaseline. Work on a white surface with lots of lighting & raised edges for no roll offs. Keep the screws in a cup. If you encounter a retaining clip stop and take the watch to a watchmaker. You can bend the clip or it can spring out and fly away. Seal the cover with the vaselined Q-Tip, lightly. Use the same amount of pressure on each screw. Write the change date on a piece of pressure sensitive paper and apply inside the case back. AS a special order we sell a battery saver compartment cleaner that pickups up the corrosion particles, neutralizes the acid from a leaky battery, coats the battery terminals for battery current flow and prevents oxidation of the battery terminal. Viola! I am a member of the American Watchmaker and Clockmaker Institute and can use their resources to answer questions you may have.

Q: I have a small business, will you "blind" drop ship for me?
A: We will ship with your name on the return address and your paperwork, the entire process is transparent with you as the vendor.

Q: What is the latest news about battery life?
A: This article is from the NYT: April 6, 2006 Helping Batteries to Keep On Going and Going By PETER WAYNER What good is a tiny thin sliver of electronic gadgetry if the battery dies in your pocket after a few minutes? Not much, and now that manufacturers have mastered the building of pocket-sized wonders that are often too small for our fingers, they are starting to pay closer attention to battery life. New machines come with smarter batteries and miserly circuitry that works longer. In some cases, the manufacturers are even making the gizmos a little bit bigger to accommodate a battery with more capacity. The designers are working within the limits of several laws of physics. They all want their latest gadgets to offer bright screens, faster action, infinite range and long battery life while weighing next to nothing, but there's no way to escape the fact that the flashiest features consume more power. So some designers are cutting features while others are adding fatter batteries as they try to satisfy the demands of consumers. Of course, others are continuing to pile on features for customers who don't mind frequent trips to the recharger. One of the biggest challenges for designers and consumers is the fickle nature of batteries. Temperature, age and use patterns affect life span, and it is possible for two people to get widely differing performance from the same device. While keeping batteries cool and well charged helps, all batteries wear out. Gadget designers are combating this challenge by building in more intelligence that regulates the power consumption with all of the zeal of someone raised during the Depression. Most devices now have dedicated chips that shut down parts of the device when they are not needed. Some even have special chips that watch the battery and simulate the internal chemistry to optimize the charging process. Laptops The laptop marketplace is separating into the world of so-called heavier and cheaper desktop replacements: the ultraportable notebooks that are optimized to run long and weigh little. The Lenovo ThinkPad X60 ($1,400 to $2,000, depending on options), the latest in the well-regarded laptop line, weighs close to three pounds, but it can last longer than eight hours on a single charge. The secret is the ability to add more batteries. You can pry out the DVD drive and replace it with a battery that adds several more hours. If that's not enough, you can add a flat battery that weighs about a pound to the bottom of the laptop and adds several more hours of use. The extra batteries are just one part of the equation. The X60 would not be able to live as long if it was not careful with the power. Howard Locker, Lenovo's chief architect for the ThinkPad line, says the laptop comes with a separate chip inside that constantly audits the power used by all components. There are other features, like dual antennas for Wi-Fi, making it easier to pick up a signal. "If you have poor antenna design, you can overcompensate by giving it more power," he said. "We are so focused on our antenna design, and that can save a lot of power." Panasonic, another competitor in the ultra-portable world, is actually adding a bit of weight in its latest offering. The Toughbook T4 ($1,980 to $2,300) is now 3.4 pounds, about half a pound heavier than its predecessor, the W4. The electronics are lighter, but the battery pack is bigger, providing about three extra hours of work. The shell of the T4 is made out of magnesium, a choice that Panasonic made because the designers found it to have five times the strength of titanium for the needs of its designers and 20 times the strength of the plastic found in most laptops. The metal conducts so well that some of the slower Panasonic laptops can be sealed up to run without a fan, a feature that saves more power and keeps dust and other contaminants out of the inside. Kyp Walls, a manager in the laptop division, also says Panasonic is quite proud of its displays because they are among the brightest in the market without consuming too much extra power. Mr. Walls said the company identified five factors that were each worth a 10 percent improvement in brightness. "It's a different kind of fluorescent bulb," he said. "It's a different kind of gas." And it is all a result of "a lot of investigation." Digital Cameras From the beginning, Kodak realized that good batteries were a crucial part of ensuring that consumers enjoyed its products. Digital cameras often draw power for short, intense peaks after the shutter button is pressed, a pattern quite different from the slow, steady drain of laptops and flashlights. James DeJager, the technical director of Kodak's battery division, says Kodak began by building a special line of batteries, Kodak Max, with a slightly different chemistry designed to handle the peak demands. One model (Kaardc), for instance, is rechargeable and uses a nickel-metal-hydride chemistry to take four times the pictures of a standard alkaline cell. These cells are available in standard sizes (AA, AAA) for their cameras, a feature that Mr. DeJager says makes it easy for customers to replace batteries while on the road. They cost $2.69 to $10, depending on type. While many of the lower-end cameras from Kodak use the standard cells, there is a growing demand for the high power densities and thinner profile of the lithium-ion batteries. The Kodak EasyShare P880 ($459 to $560), a new digital model, uses a larger lithium-ion cell that is expected to fuel about 320 pictures on a full charge. Cellphones The Nokia 1100 cellphone ($50 at www.nokiausa.com) may not offer Bluetooth networking, a camera or even a color display, but it can go up to 16 days without being recharged. Colin Bullock, a senior engineer at Nokia in Dallas, says that stripping away the extras and using a black-and-white display sharply reduced the slow drain on the battery, something the engineers call the "quiescent current." "There is really only one gadget on 1100, and that is the flashlight," Mr. Bullock said by e-mail message, meaning that the phone, offered by Cingular and some smaller carriers, "only draws comparatively small current when on." The engineers are also working on reducing the power consumed by the phones during calls. Wayne Ballantyne, an engineer at Motorola's lab in Plantation, Fla., says the newer phones scan the air less often, allowing them to shut down transmitters and receivers for several milliseconds longer than in the past. The company is even experimenting with using tiny accelerometers to measure whether the phone is going anywhere. A motionless phone does not need to use power searching for the closest towers again and again. MP3 Players One way for other manufacturers of MP3 players to distinguish themselves from Apple is to offer wider options for batteries. Apple drove some users to sue when capacity of the lithium-ion battery in their iPods dropped sharply. The early iPod batteries were not easily replaceable, and customers complained that they felt forced to buy an entirely new iPod. Today, Apple offers detailed notes on battery care (www.apple.com/batteries) and a program that replaces a worn battery for $59. Creative took a different tack with its Zen Nano Plus ($99). The flash player uses a standard AAA cell, a feature that lets the user swap out alkaline or rechargeable batteries while on the road. The standard forms may be convenient, but they have limitations. The Apple Nano may be wider and longer than the Zen Nano, but it is also much thinner because the lithium-ion cell is thinner than a AAA cell.

Q: A customer e-mailed saying he had problems recharging batteries. Here is what our factory expert, Mr. Michael explains.
A: Bob, Regarding the batteries not being fully charged there are several reasons for this. There are many older consumer chargers and OEM chargers that are NOT designed to fully charge high-capacity batteries or regulate the charging consequently over charging the batteries. Both under charging and over charging will shorten the over all life of the batteries. Until a couple years ago the highest mA ratings were 1500 mAh consequently the chargers were manufactured to those specifications and as you know now there are batteries as high as 2600 mAh consequently many chargers will never fully charge the batteries. Older & inexpensive chargers are seldom smart enough to use without careful supervision, but it's usually safe to leave your AA's in inexpensive trickle or overnight chargers for extended periods. Just make sure the trickle charger's current rating in milliamps (mA) is no more than 10% of the rated capacity (C, in mAh) of the batteries you intend to charge. For example, it's safe to leave C = 1500 mAh AA's charging indefinitely in a trickle charger rated at C/10 = 150 mA or less. Because NiMH AA's safely tolerate long-term charging currents in mA up to C/10, chargers this slow generally don't need to be smart. Most overnight chargers fall into this category. Slow may be safe, but slow charging promotes crystallization within NiMH cells and reduces overall service life Regardless I have no problem warranting these batteries however your customer should be educated to the fact he may experience similar service life unless he uses our Empire Scientific Charger 801000:

Q: What is the difference between BR and CR lithium batteries?
A: These are both used in watches, calculators, computers, car alarms, blood pressure monitors and other electronic devices. The BR is used in low drain applications in high temperature situations and the CR Manganese Dioxide Lithium is used in high drain applications and can be used in place of a BR type in most cases but Panasonic engineers rate the BR Poly-carbonmonofluoride-Lithium cells as excellent for work under high temperatures like motherboards.

Q: Can I charge NiMH batteries in my old NiCD charger?
A: No. Do not try to charge any NiMH type battery in an older NiCD charger meant only for NiCD. It could be hazardous. There are dual chargers that charge both types.

Q: Does batteryBob carry batteries that contain mercury?
A: These batteries have been outlawed and are no longer made due to environmental issues. You may substitute a silver oxide cell of the same size. Mercury 313 substitute with 357 or 303. Mercury 323 sub with a 309. Mercury 325 use the 392 or 384. Mercury 343 sub with a 344 or Accucell-1. Mercury 354 use our 386 or 301. Mercury 355 use our 357 or 303. Mercury 387 use our 387S, Mercury 388 use our 329 or ACC-2. The ACC series are special order.

Q: Does the rising fuel costs affect battery prices?
A: Our shippers all have terrible times with fuels costs. Both UPS and DHL add on a surcharge on ground and even more for jet fuel. Our primary shipper, the grand USPS is affected even more. Here is a quote from Tim Moore President of Sun International, a mailing guru: As the operator of the world's largest fleet of civilian vehicles, the USPS used 93,625,449 gallons of gasoline in 2004 plus 3,434,436 gallons of diesel and 1,541,547 gallons of alternative fuels like biodiesel, compressed natural gas and E85 (a mixture of ethanol and gasoline). The USPS estimates it pays an additional $8 million every time the price of fuel rises by a penny.

Q: What is the story about why are Alkaline batteries are at 1.5 volts yet Rechargeable NiCD and NiMH batteries are at 1.2 volts? The answer provided by Moe Michael.
A: For most high drain electronic applications NiMH batteries are ideal substitutes and you needn't worry about the voltage differences. Even though alkaline batteries are rated at a nominal 1.5 v, they only deliver 1.5v when fully charged. As they discharge voltage continuously drops. Over the course of their discharge, alkaline average about 1.2v. That's about the 1.2 v of a NiMH battery. The main difference is that an alkaline battery starts at 1.5 v and gradually drops to less than 1.0v. NiMH batteries stay at about 1.2 v for most of their discharge cycle. There are a couple of cases where their actual voltage difference may be important to you. In the case of a radio, where a higher voltage can mean a stronger signal, a fresh alkaline battery may be desirable - & more expensive - than a rechargeable NiMH battery. This is also true for a flashlight, which will be brighter with the initial higher voltage of alkaline cells. This minor difference may not be important to you and is probably offset by the much lower cost of operating NiMH batteries. Keep in mind that the alkaline only has a higher voltage when it is fully charged. Once it gets to 50% capacity or less, it will be delivering a lower voltage than a NiMH battery. The one time when the voltage difference of the two is important would be in the case of a device that checks the voltage of a battery to estimate the amount of charge left on the battery. Because the voltage of an alkaline drops at a very predictable rate it's possible to estimate the amount of capacity left in an alkaline based solely on its voltage. (1.5v - fully charged, 1.25v - 50% charged, 1.0v - almost fully discharged). But a NiMH (or NiCd) stays at about 1.2 vuntil it is nearly discharged. This makes it almost impossible to know the amount of capacity left based on its voltage alone. When a device that's using NiMH indicates it is low, it's time to change now!

Q: What about replacement batteries for discontinued batteries?
A: For the 313 use the 357/303. For the 314 use SR716W. For the 323 use the 309. For the 325 use the 392/384. For the 348 use SR421SW. For the 354 use 386/301. For the 355 see SKU 601111. For the 372 use SR916W. for the 388 use my SKU 388329.

Q: Do you sell mercury battery replacements?
A: Mercury batteries are no longer legal. Here are some replacements: 313 use 357 or 303 323 use 309 325 use 392 or 384 343 use 344 or my SKU 100001 for Accutron 355 use my SKU 601111 387 use 387S 388 use my SKU 388829 or my SKU 100002 for Accutron L13 use L13ZA L312 use L312ZA EXP625 use my SKU 662025

Q: How do I search intelligently?
A: Don't put spaces like CR 2032 CR2032 is correct Don't put chemistry like lithium or lithium ion Don't use word Battery or Batteries or Model or Model No. Don't use wild cards like *.* Wrong: LIION BL6C every BL6C is lithium ion Wrong: WENGER SWISS ARMY too general open and get movement number for search Wrong: Stream Light 77175 should be Streamlight Wrong: LIION 3.7V 1300 MAH there innumerable batteries like this; too general. Call me and I will tell you quickly the best battery. My brain is the best battery search engine in the UNIVERSE.

Q: Tips on Casio battery changing
A: Use a jeweler's headband (we sell SKU 300326) with the flip up magnifying lenses which aids greatly in seeing what you are doing. Use jewelers tweezers (SKU 190004) which have extremely fine tips. Use one of those to depress the retaining bar to release the battery retainer. There is one side clip that will release the battery after battery's changed then you must reset the watch with two small screwdrivers (or paper-clips straightened out) one on ac on circuit board and other on battery: make sure both are touching each other as V upside down for an second.


MAXELL 379 SR521SW - Box of 100 Batteries. 20 Strips of 5 Batteries $87.00 LR44 Maxell (Replaces A76 or PX76A) - Box of 200 Batteries $120.00 MAXELL 344 SR1136SW - 100 Batteries 20 strips of 5 Batteries $165.00 MAXELL 315 SR716SW - 100 Batteries 20 Strips of 5 Batteries $103.73

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