Eneloop D adapter help

[Hem Jung]

I've switched some of my devices to Eneloop AA's in Eneloop D adapter
cells. The problem I'm having is that sometimes the cells don't seem to
be making good contact with the device battery terminals. It's not
corrosion, the positive terminal on the Eneloop D is quite small and I
believe is the culprit causing intermittent if not positioned correctly.
Is there anything I can do to improve the positive Eneloop D adapter
contact with the device positive terminals?

[danny burstein]

You're going to laugh at me but... seriously, consider
crumpling up a bit of aluminium foil.

I've done this in a similar situation where the tip of
a cell didn't reliably reach the contact.

--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

[Hem Jung]

On 3/6/21 10:00 PM, danny burstein wrote:
> In <s21aqg$q58$1...@dont-email.me> Hem Jung <he...@netco.net> writes:
>
>> I've switched some of my devices to Eneloop AA's in Eneloop D adapter
>> cells. The problem I'm having is that sometimes the cells don't seem to
>> be making good contact with the device battery terminals. It's not
>> corrosion, the positive terminal on the Eneloop D is quite small and I
>> believe is the culprit causing intermittent if not positioned correctly.
>> Is there anything I can do to improve the positive Eneloop D adapter
>> contact with the device positive terminals?
>
> You're going to laugh at me but... seriously, consider
> crumpling up a bit of aluminium foil.

No, that's actually what I did, but I have shorting concerns. Some of
the electronics are moved around so there is the possibility of foil
shorting.

>
> I've done this in a similar situation where the tip of
> a cell didn't reliably reach the contact.

I'm not real happy about the positive side of these cell adapters.
Seems it's tiny and almost recessed.
>

[ohg...@gmail.com]

You can add a solder ball to the contact, but this will negate the plating and require periodic redressing of the solder to keep a good contact.

[Abandoned_Trolley]

Tried cleaning up the terminal and putting a blob of solder on it ?

Or how about just shelling out on a proper rechargeable D cell ? -
although I know for a fact that some of them are just AA cells wearing a
D sized overcoat. The capacity figures are usually a giveaway.

Also, I dont know if its relevant in this case, but on the page at
https://eu.nkon.nl/aa-naar-d-converter.html theres a comment in the
review section saying:

"Please note, to an AA to D converter with a Maglite you may have to
insert a piece of metal, eg a 5 cent coin, into the spring. That
prevents the back of the AA from shooting through the spring"

AT

[Peter W.]

Ummmmm.....

I do not understand! An adaptor in this application is by its very nature a kluge. Use the right tool for the job. If you need D batteries, purchase D batteries. If you need rechargeable D batteries, then purchase those - along with the appropriate peripherals, of course. Similarly for 9-volt, A, AA, AAA, C & N batteries. Even lantern batteries, comes to it. They are all 'out there'.

I would not undertake to cut down a tree with a scalpel, nor would I wish to do surgery with an ax. That is the level of discussion applicable here.

Of course, you will get all sorts of advice and offered all sorts of solutions with the full understanding that this venue exist to give bad advice and bad solutions to simple problems, then discuss those same bad solutions across dozens of posts.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[Abandoned_Trolley]

[Hem Jung]

My solution turned out to be modifying the actual D cell holder itself
and not touching the battery adapters. I simply screwed in a couple of
bolts with head sizes larger in area that the original positive
terminals. Then, cut off the thread part of the bolt ends and sealed
off with liquid electrical tape to offset any short possibility.
Problem solved.

By the way, some suggested using the right battery for the right job.
To my knowledge, Eneloop doesn't make a D cell. Others do, but I only
trust Eneloop. They do have multi AA to D adapters, but for the small
amount of current drawn, I went with a single AA to D this time around.

[Peter W.]

> By the way, some suggested using the right battery for the right job.
> To my knowledge, Eneloop doesn't make a D cell. Others do, but I only
> trust Eneloop. They do have multi AA to D adapters, but for the small
> amount of current drawn, I went with a single AA to D this time around.

That is your choice, of course. But there are many manufacturers as reliable and established as Panasonic that do not require you to indulge in a questionable exercise to adapt to the basic inadequacies of their designs. In addition, one does wonder what Panasonic would do in the case of a spectacular failure within the warranty period - would they perform, or not? After all, your adaptation did alter their design - under very nearly any scenario, that voids any warranty, expressed or implied.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-rechargeable-batteries/
https://reactual.com/portable-electronics/d-size-rechargeable-batteries.html
https://www.ign.com/articles/best-rechargeable-batteries

[Hem Jung]

The thing is, these are being used in equipment that is seldom used,
maybe occasionally (half a dozen times) a year and even then for brief
periods. What attracted me to Eneloop a decade ago is that I still have
electronics with the original Eneloops that have not been recharged for
nine years and they still come on and work properly after all that time.
Plus, I can leave them in the equipment and not be concerned with
leakage, something I often encountered with regular batteries.

[ohg...@gmail.com]

I've had the same experience. I remember misplacing a set of the original AAA Eneloops, and later found them in a remote control in a box with other remotes in my shop. Damned things were still charged after four years of being AWOL and they were already about 5 years old when I lost them. They also don't leak.