Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Screwfix are selling PP9 batteries for £1.94 . not sure of the quality but worth a try at that price.
regards, Tim.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

I bought some rechargeable PP3 and D Varta batteries from Screwfix last year and have found them to be of good quality. The PP3s are £4.99 a piece and the D cells are £4.99 a pair.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Probably the ones on this page then;
https://www.screwfix.com/c/electrica...e=rechargeable

Strange how they don't quote the capacity in the specifications, the picture seems to imply the C & D sizes are both rated at 3000mAh. Which seems quite low to me, especially when compared with some old Ni-Cd Sanyo D cells rated at 5000mAh I have.

David

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

I think Tim is referring to the Diall zinc carbon non-rechargeable PP9 (not the smaller PP3) currently on offer at Screwfix. Dry PP9s of any make normally retail at between £4 and £6 so £1.94 looks like a bargain. Guess it's a clearance item with not too many available off the shelf at a store near you. Still available via the 'next day' Internet service though.

Incidentally, Ni-Mh rechargeable PP9s seem to retail at around £40 or more these days.

Alan

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Alan , thats correct , i am collecting 4 from accrington tomorrow ordered via next day . 4 for the price of 2 ever ready types sold in Wilkinsons. A treat for the Hacker !
regards, Tim.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

B and Q are selling the exact same battery for £5 !
regards, Tim.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Screwfix are de-stocking - these are a clearance line for them.

Don't go to your local store expecting to get any batteries over the counter or you'll be on a fool's errand. I've just checked the stock at the six stores within a 30 mile radius of my location and only two stores have one battery each in stock - at the other stores they're a 'collect next day' item. You can order as many as you want online and pay for them for next day collection while stocks last. (They accept paypal by the way).

Screwfix and B&Q are both owned by Kingfisher, (just as Toolstation and Wickes are owned by Travis & Perkins). B&Q may still have sufficient demand for PP9s to justify continuing to stock them, but it seems that Screwfix don't. I'd have thought that overall, the demand for PP9s is on an inexorable downward trend towards extinction, as happened with the PP7 some years ago.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

I was amazed to discover this.

It is worth checking the store stock online. I suspect they have one in each store, on average. ;D

I had the impression on test that maybe they are not so fresh, but I have one working well enough.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Just be aware that this is a clearance item because the stock has reached its 'best before date'. Not necessarily an issue at the price but the website doesn't make this very clear unless you look at the reviews.

Alan

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

I very much doubt that is so.

Only one reviewer makes that statement, and I think that they're mistaken.

The date is on the underside of the battery and simply says '07/2018'. It does not say 'Best before/Use by' etc, so I'm more inclined to see that as the manufacturing date. (July 2018). The distributor is stated as B&Q - a sister company of Screwfix. Batteries have a long shelf life from new - for example, AAs and PP3s that I have are stated as 'best before 2027'. Hence, it's inconceivable that Screwfix have had these batteries in stock for several years till they reached their expiry date - much more likely that they're recent production and that Screwfix are rationalising their inventory of low turnover items.

Would Screwfix really pass off batteries as new and of merchantable quality when their 'use by' date expired a month ago, without making that crystal clear? I don't think so.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Pretty certain the label on the cellophane wrapper says 'see base for best before date' although David has me doubting my sanity so will check when I get home later today.

Alan

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

I buy my PP9's from either Wilko's or the local hardware shop in Bath markets to fuel my Hacker Hunter TP38A, Bush TR130 and 230 and Roberts R250. The prices are generally around the £5 ish mark and they last well.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

In the 1950's my father used to say that you should always buy batteries from Woolworths as they had a high turnover rate. Batteries purchased from a hardware or radio shop on the other hand might have been sitting on the shelf for months.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

I think Graham's father was absolutely right back then. However, today consumers have the advantage of being able to see the various dates provided by manufacturers. It seems to me that any reputable retailer should make it clear in its promotional material that a product with an expired 'best before date' is being offered regardless of whether or not it's a clearance item.

Alan

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

I think I may have to eat my words Alan!

I've had another look at the label on the side and albeit the label doesn't give a date, it does state: 'Best Before - see product'.

As I said earlier, the date on the bottom of the battery simply states '07. 2018' with no other wording, so putting two and two together, as that's the only date stamped on the product, by inference they are indeed past their 'best before' date. In that case - without Screwfix making that very clear on their website, simply calling them 'clearance stock' - bearing in mind that customers (real or potential) can't examine the batteries before they buy them, it seems highly questionable business practice. True, it's not as though it's food which is no longer fit for human consumption, and no doubt if anyone felt misled they could simply take them back for a refund or not accept them on collection, but that's beside the point.

It would be interesting to know if the self-same batteries on sale at B&Q for a fiver a pop have long 'best before' dates.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

I was under the impression that in the fifties and later the EverReady battery man came to every shop every couple of weeks, replenishing the stock and replacing any batteries that had been around for too long - of course modern batteries have a much longer shelf life so this isn`t much of an issue now

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Possibly, but I don't remember batteries of that era having a date code. Cylindrical batteries such as U2's would be supplied in a long cardboard tube which you sliced with a knife to give the number of cells you required.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Glad to know I'm not completely losing the plot David, thank you.

Alan

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

Don't forget that the PP9's in question are zinc carbon whereas those AA's and PP3's are probably manganese alkaline with a lower self discharge rate.

Re: Cheap PP9 Batteries at Screwfix
 

They were clearing N cells for 20p a month ago, I bought a quids worth as I have a couple of clocks that use them. These had 06-16 on the packet, but 06-19 on the cell.

Edit... Just looked on their website and they still have stock of N cells at 20p each.