Does any one collects old batteries? (plus other questions)
 

Does any one here collects old batteries? I have 7 old pieces (4 x 1.5 Volt, 1 x 4.5 Volts, 2 x 22.5 Volts). I intended to get an at least 16 years old one from a recycling bin this night, but it had leaks on the bottom, so :no:
I'm curios, when did you last seen for sale:
1) 45 and 90 Volts batteries;
2) 15 and 22.5 Volts batteries;
3) 1.35 Volts Mercury batteries.

I have a variety of them that I've pulled out of old portable radios and other devices, usually with some corrosion but sometimes not. Recently I stumbled upon some 4.5 volt rechargeable cells from the 60's.

As far as brand new batteries, some of the common types used in portable tube radios were still in the Antique Electronic Supply catalog at least in the 90's. In the early 90's I bought a few batteries at a freight salvage store, I think 15 and maybe 22.5. I never had a good use for them but couldn't pass them up for a dollar or so.

I think that a whole bunch of legacy batteries were discontinued when Eveready moved dry cell production offshore.

If you go on Amazon there's a company called Exell which makes batteries comparable to the old Evereadys with the same old numbers.

Plain white packs now instead of neat looking red cardboard, but they will still work.

I've seen that company.
So moving was probably the cause... yeh, why to Made in U.S.A.?
In Europe the lantern battery wasn't 4R25 (6 Volts), but 3R12 (4.5 Volts). It is sayed that the 3R12 where the best Romanian made batteries (and Romanian made batteries wheren't very good). I have 2 x 3R12 are Romanian made - yeh, I have 2 now - found one in an old measuring instrument whic camed as a gift to me - the gift was double after all. I think they are 1978-1986 made (the 2 batteries). They look like this: https://www.okazii.ro/baterie-de-col...ata-a163051017
But I will keep some newer "VARTA" 3R12 for the sake of history...
3R12 where also used in radio recivers (portable tranzistor), some measuring instruments.
Now I'm hunting old electronic stuff and old flashlights to see if I can extract old batteries (no older then 1998, maybe 1999).

Gush, only today I've seen the 2 replies :tears:

But do the old size 6 (R40) batteries where full size on the inside? Because I've seen a new trend: smaller stuff sqeezed into big stuff. Like smaller batteries put into whazt is suposed to be a R40 battery. Or D (R20) rechargable batteries that probably aren't D size on the inside (to light in weight).

Post 1989 Romania 4.5 Volts (4 and 1/2 battery). Got it 2 days ago. The only one with that cover that I ever seen.
"Dura" was the original name of the Romanian batteries - I think the company was intially owned by a German company ("Dura" Element had the same figure runing on the Earth Globe as some Romanian "Dura" batteries). After communism camed to power, it becamed part of "ELBA" ("ELectro BAnat" - Timişoara, where they used to make them is in Banat region) so the batteries where named "ELBA" too, but in 1990 they asked for a separation at the brand "Dura" resurfaced.
But somewhere around 1994-1996 the manufacturing of batteries ceased. The technology was outdated, resulting poor qualty batteries (Chinese batteries where poor qualty too, but they probably where cheaper). There is today one "Dura" company that produces some electric components for cars in Timişoara, but it's a German company, it haves nothing to do with the Zinc-Carbon batteries manufacturing. The buildings of the plant that used to make batteries still extist.

https://i.postimg.cc/zL6pg1WV/Bateri...2367760097.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/gXhsyBq4/Bateri...5447989657.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/LgMTxBxS/Bateri...0134300057.jpg


Does any one owns sizes AA (R6) - D(R20) recharageble batteries (accumulators) from the '70's-'90's?
In U.S.A. high capacity R20 accumulators are cheaper then in Romania...