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Mooly · 14th Oct 2019, 8:40 pm

A bit off topic bit I'm just updating this for completeness... and although not 100% scientific the result should be in the right ballpark.

So, the HP mouse which consistently runs for 5 to 6 months on alkaline cells (Sony/Kodak etc) has run for 48 days using the Kodak 'Super Heavy Duty Zinc' cells from Poundland. I mentioned Zinc Chloride in the above post but these actually do say just Zinc.

A pack of eleven cells cost £1 and so these worked out at approx £0.09 each or £0.018 for the pair needed as against the £0.50 per pair for the Alkalines and so the Alkaline did just about win out on overall cost.

The zinc cells operated down to approx 1.15 V in the mouse and had a short circuit current of around 220 milliamps. Placed in a Mag-light and they couldn't even get a glimmer from the filament.

14th Oct 2019, 8:40 pm	#86
Mooly Octode Join Date: May 2011 Location: Lancashire, UK. Posts: 1,351	Re: Amazing D cell discovery! A bit off topic bit I'm just updating this for completeness... and although not 100% scientific the result should be in the right ballpark. So, the HP mouse which consistently runs for 5 to 6 months on alkaline cells (Sony/Kodak etc) has run for 48 days using the Kodak 'Super Heavy Duty Zinc' cells from Poundland. I mentioned Zinc Chloride in the above post but these actually do say just Zinc. A pack of eleven cells cost £1 and so these worked out at approx £0.09 each or £0.018 for the pair needed as against the £0.50 per pair for the Alkalines and so the Alkaline did just about win out on overall cost. The zinc cells operated down to approx 1.15 V in the mouse and had a short circuit current of around 220 milliamps. Placed in a Mag-light and they couldn't even get a glimmer from the filament.