Batteries and Accessories by Brand:
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If you're in the UK and need a comprehensive selection of affordable batteries, chargers and related items, this Kent-based vendor has just what you're looking for. Browse this site for batteries for calculators, cameras and digital cameras, cordless phones, music and medical equipment, toys, watches, and much more. For most batteries, this vendor stocks a choice of several manufacturers, including Duracell, Energizer, Panasonic and others. For battery chargers and rechargeable batteries this vendor offers a broad range from Ansmann and Uniross, to ensure you'll find the right rechargeable battery product.
Battery Information
AA Batteries
Alkaline AA batteries are the most common AA battery type. They are pre-charged, and are rated at 1.5 Volt. In fact, the voltage of a fresh alkaline AA battery starts at somewhat more than 1.5 Volt, and while it is being used, declines steadily to 1.35 Volt and below. This feature makes it most useful in applications where a steady voltage is not too important. For example, you can re-adjust the volume on a walkman to counter the effect of the declining voltage.
Lithium AA batteries are the premium AA battery type. They are also pre-charged, and also rated at 1.5 Volt. In contrast to alkaline AA batteries, they maintain their voltage at a constant 1.5 Volt over their life. This AA battery is thus suited for electronic applications such as digital cameras, where a steady voltage is essential to maintain optimum performance. In such applications, a lithium AA battery will last much longer than an alkaline battery.
Rechargeable AA batteries have one obvious advantage over the other AA batteries. When you've used them, you don't throw them away, but you simply recharge them. For heavy uses, recharging is a lot cheaper than buying new batteries. Rechargeable batteries don't however maintain their charge as well as alkaline or lithium batteries when not in use.
AAA Batteries
The AAA battery is the smaller companion to the AA battery. While electronic equipment is becoming more efficient, using ever smaller amount of energy, battery technology is progressing, providing ever more power in the same amount of space.
This trend is allowing the AAA battery to slowly take over applications that were previously only possible with the larger AA battery. Especially in the Duracell Ultra M3 version, the AAA battery is a great example of what current state-of-the-art battery manufacturing is capable of.
CR2032
R2032 batteries are the most common lithium coin cell. Like all lithium coin cells, they are rated at 3.0V. The four digits in the battery designation actually give the dimensions of the coin cell. The first two digits, 20, mean that the coin cell is 20mm in diameter. The last two digits, 32, mean that the CR2032 cell is exactly 3.2mm high.
CR123
CR123 batteries are the most common lithium photo battery. Because they are so common, they are available from many brands, including Energizer and Panasonic. Battery manufacturers have never agreed to one universal standard for battery designations, so a CR123 battery can also be called a CR123A, K123LA, EL123AP, DL123 and a variety of other variations.
Because the CR123 is the standard for so many cameras, all of the CR123 batteries are rated at the same standard 3 Volt, and have the same dimension. Any difference between them is down to differences in manufacturing processes and quality standards. These mean that one CR123 may last longer than a CR123 from another manufacturer, but all CR123 batteries are compatible.
LR44
LR44 button cells are the most common type of button cell battery. They are manufactured in large quantities, and are available from just about every battery company.
All LR44 cells have a standard voltage of 1.5V, and size of 11.6mm in diameter by 5.4mm in height. As an alkaline button cell, they are inexpensive to produce. This allows for really cheap prices to end users. The multitude of battery suppliers has resulted in many different names for the LR44 battery, including AG13, G13, A76, L1154, V13GA, plus many more.
LR44 button cells are used in hand-held electronic toys, calculators, LED lights in wheel nuts on cars, and just about every other place that a small amount of electricity is required at a low cost. In all applications, an SG13 button cell (also called SR44, 357 or EPX76) can be used to replace the LR44. This uses Silver Oxide technology, and will last much longer - a key feature in medical devices, calculators, and any device in which you don't want to continuously replace the batteries.
PP3
9 Volt (or PP3) batteries are quite common, accounting for about 5% of all batteries sold in the UK in 2001, according to the British Battery Manufacturers Association. They are used in smoke detectors, telephones, microphones, and a wide range of other devices that need a higher operating voltage than the 1.5 Volt normally delivered by an alkaline battery.
The alkaline PP3 battery is in fact a small engineering marvel, packing six 1.5V alkaline cells into its small rectangular package, and connecting them to the battery terminals such that the operating voltage becomes 9V.
PP3 batteries are also available using Lithium technology, or as NiMH rechargeable batteries. The lithium PP3 battery packs more punch than the alkaline version, and is thus ideally suited for critical applications, such as in smoke detectors. For frequent users of 9V batteries, the rechargeable version quickly becomes more economical than repeatedly buying new pre-charged batteries.
Audio Batteries
The range of audio batteries is specially selected for high performance and hours of listening pleasure. Whether the battery is for an MP3 player, a Discman, a Walkman or another portable audio device, you won't be disappointed with these great offers from the Uniross audio battery range.
Each battery is designed to directly replace one or more batteries available from the manufacturer of the player. Because the original Sony, Sharp or other code is in the product description, finding the right replacement battery is easy.
"Analog" (Film) Camera Batteries
Batteries powering modern cameras have to perform under pretty tough conditions. They have to be light and small so that don't add bulk or weight to a neatly designed camera. They have to provide bursts of high voltage (e.g. for a flash), and provide lots of steady power (e.g. for the film advancement motor).
With these demands, most current cameras run on lithium batteries, which provide a great solution to all of these requirements. Silver Oxide technology works very well in cameras that aren't as power hungry - especially if the battery is driving only a light meter or focus electronics.
For heavy battery users, rechargeable batteries are the most economical way to take many great pictures. Many modern digital cameras require special rechargeable battery packs. Because these are custom designed, they facilitate the design of smaller and lighter cameras, without any sacrifice in battery life. We have a whole section dedicated to digital camera batteries here.
Digital Camera Batteries
Modern digital cameras have to perform under pretty tough conditions, and the designers often leave little space for a battery to power all of the great functions of the latest models. Many new camera models thus work with special battery packs designed to maximise use of every bit of the available space. Fortunately just about all of the battery packs are rechargeable, so that the expense of a custom battery is offset by the ability to charge it up again.
Digital cameras use either Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) or Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries.
Watch Batteries
The vast majority of watches which run on batteries, take one of the 300-series of watch batteries. All of these are button cells, and they all use Silver Oxide technology. They all have a voltage of 1.55V, and last for a long time, both in use and while stored.
Compared to other battery technologies, Silver Oxide technology features one of the greatest capacities to store electricity for a certain volume. This obviously matters in a watch, where the battery is often not easily accessible, and there's no space to waste. Silver Oxide technology also provides a near constant voltage over the entire life of the battery. This is essential to ensure watch accuracy, and could not be attained easily with alkaline battery technology.
Unfortunately, battery manufacturers have never agreed one standard convention for battery labels. The 300 numbers are a very common way to identify a battery, but for example a Type 377 battery could also be labeled SR626SW (e.g. by Maxell), 606 (Bulova), BA (Timex), 280-39 (Citizen), SB-AW (Seiko), and SR66 or SR626 by the IEC. It gets tricky once you discover that a 626 (Bulova) battery, is a Type 389 battery, and not an SR626 or Type 377. Fortunately, our database has cross-referenced most of these labels.
Alkaline Batteries
Alkaline batteries are the most common type of battery in use today. They are the result of continued development of Zinc Carbon battery technology. The greatest advantage of alkaline batteries over Zinc Carbon batteries is that they:
* Perform better, and over a longer period, in high-drain applications,
such as electrical motors in shavers or toys. This equates to effective
operating times that are multiples (between 4 to 15 times) of those for
a comparable Zinc Carbon battery.
* Have a longer shelf life, with some current premium brands exceeding 6 years.
* Perform well even at lower temperatures, down to about -30°C.
One significant technical challenge in the development of alkaline batteries was the containment of what are quite aggressive chemical substances. Only advances such as seals made from nylon or cases made from modern plastics allowed the commercial development of alkaline batteries.
Development of alkaline technology is still continuing, and has resulted in a number of premium manufacturers introducing 'ultra' versions of their batteries. The improvement in performance of over the regular alkaline equivalent is real and measurable, and ranges from 30%-100%, depending on the application. This performance increase is the result of applying additional coatings to the electrodes, using finer grains of chemicals, and packing the same physical space more densely.
Lithium Batteries
Lithium technology has only emerged in batteries over the past 20 years. It is a particularly attractive substance to use in batteries because it combines very light weight with chemical features that make it suitable for the design of high voltage batteries. Lithium batteries have the following beneficial characteristics:
* A high cell voltage (of typically 3V), compared to 1.5V for a typical
alkaline or silver oxide battery.
* A virtually constant voltage over the discharge period, allowing their use
in sensitive electronic equipment.
* A shelf life of up to 10 years.
* A wide range of operating temperatures from -30°C to +60°C.
These features make lithium batteries an ideal candidate for these applications:
* Low drain long-life applications, such as calculators, smoke detectors
or computer memory backup.
* Demanding, high voltage applications, such as cameras or flashes.
Rechargeable Batteries
Rechargeable batteries are the standard battery fitted to many common devices, such as cordless telephones or camcorders. They are also available as replacements for common household batteries, e.g. as an AA rechargeable battery.
In all cases, rechargeable batteries are more economical than pre-charged primary batteries when used intensively over a period of time. The best household rechargeable batteries, such as those from Uniross, last for 1000 recharge cycles or more. When you compare buying that number of pre-charged alkaline batteries to the only slightly higher cost of rechargeables at the start, a heavy battery user will easily save hundreds of £'s with rechargeable batteries.
Calculator Batteries
Calculator batteries have to meet a large number of design objectives, including:
* They have to be small so as not to add bulk and weight.
* They need to provide a high voltage, to support fast processing speeds.
* They should last long so that battery changes don't prevent calculator use.
* They must have a long shelf life, because we all want to calculators to work,
even if we've not used them for several weeks.
Fortunately, battery manufacturers have refined calculator batteries to meet all of these demands. Early calculators used alkaline batteries, that had a high risk of leaking when not used for a while, possibly even destroying the calculator. More recently, silver oxide batteries were used because they provided more power in a smaller space, and both a constant voltage and long shelf life. Most current calculators run on lithium coin cells, because lithium batteries have all of the advantages of silver oxide batteries, but can provide more power with a higher voltage.
Cordless Phone Batteries
Cordless phone batteries have become reasonably standardised, allowing manufacturers such as Uniross to manufacture battery packs that are compatible with the vast majority of cordless telephones.
With a new cordless phone battery pack, it is essential that you leave it in the phone to be charged for at least 24 hours before use. The charger units built into cordless phones produce only a tiny charging current to avoid damaging the battery pack when the handset is left on the base unit for days or even weeks without use. The result is that it takes about 24 hours before a new battery pack is fully charged. You can enhance the performance and extend the life of your new battery pack with this simple procedure.
Hearing Aid Batteries
Hearing Aid batteries have to be small, light and provide a steady level of power for hearing enhancement equipment to work well. A key feature of this battery application has helped in the design of current Hearing Aid batteries: Hearing Aid batteries are not used intermittently, but are typically used in one continuous stretch from unpacking until their charge is fully used.
This unique usage profile enables the use of Zinc Air technology in Hearing Aid batteries. Before use, a small tab is removed from the battery. This allows air to enter the previously sealed battery, starting a chemical process that creates electricity. Unlike other batteries, the end of life of Zinc Air batteries is not determined just by use, but by the time by which this process comes to an end due to depletion of chemicals in the battery. The use of Zinc Air technology thus allows for smaller and lighter batteries that literally generate power while they are being used.