Hobbico 1.5V Glow Plug Battery $5.99

A good battery is a good thing. I spent about 20 minutes cranking over a Thunder Tiger Magnum .15GP, until I replaced the glow start batteries.

The perfect retro-accessory for the "International Cox PT19 Fly It If You Got It Day" on Sept. 20th!! The last 1.5V screw-terminal hobby battery I had, was a "Mallory" with the black & white label back in the 60's. Mallory later became "Duracell".

Wiring two together lasts even longer and also works better in colder weather. I had pig tails made up and I used zip ties to hold them together. They can also be very dangerous. See the metal hex under the screw hold downs. My friend almost set his car on fire due to these being exposed. The solid lead out wires he used on the plane crossed those hex's in the car and shorted. Fire did indeed break out but he was able to extinguish it prior to it setting the interior on fire. From that point on, he would cover the entire battery aside from the caps with a piece of bicycle innertube. Ken

Ken Cook wrote:          Wiring two together lasts even longer and also works better in colder weather. I had pig tails made up and I used zip ties to hold them together. They can also be very dangerous. See the metal hex under the screw hold downs. My friend almost set his car on fire due to these being exposed. The solid lead out wires he used on the plane crossed those hex's in the car and shorted. Fire did indeed break out but he was able to extinguish it prior to it setting the interior on fire. From that point on, he would cover the entire battery aside from the caps with a piece of bicycle innertube. Ken

 Wow.. it just goes to show.. you can never be "too careful". Imagine if his flight gear was in the trunk.. along with plastic fuel bottles.. (to quote Eddie Murphy; "Now THAT'S a Fire!!")

Found this!
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Model-Engines-ATOMIC-POWER-1-5V_759731687.html
OK if you want 1,000.

You might also search for one called a "Pairdeer".  They should be available worldwide (being Chinese) but are pretty common down here.


I've used them before & they're not bad, but nowhere near as good as the old original Eveready No.6 telephone battery of the past.

Rod.

Oldenginerod wrote:Found this!
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Model-Engines-ATOMIC-POWER-1-5V_759731687.html
OK if you want 1,000.

You might also search for one called a "Pairdeer".  They should be available worldwide (being Chinese) but are pretty common down here.


I've used them before & they're not bad, but nowhere near as good as the old original Eveready No.6 telephone battery of the past.

Rod.

After reading the description, it's hard to believe they don't measure up

Strong point:

When storage batteries use in a low frequency or shot time, Its full-time maintenance still cannot reduce, obviously is not cost-effective. But R40 batteries can make up that.

1, Safe and reliable, even if the operating error, also no explosion leakage acid phenomenon

2, Easy to use, no maintenance, especially suitable for free maintenance environment

3, Because of easy to use, long storage period and safe, R40 battery is the emergency power supply

4, high quality and reasonable price

5, No Voltage pulsation phenomenon(When students power easy to operate miss damage the instrument or in the presence of voltage ripple caused by electrical experiment when not ideal)

6, R40 is the best price performance in dry cell, It can be single use only, also can form battery

Apparently they were still making this battery up until a few years ago. I spotted a few of these batteries in a hardware store up in St. Cloud last year. They were expensive and I even think they were a few years past their use-by date so I didn't get them.

For awhile there you could still get #6 Energizer dry cells up at the local hardware store, I see those are no longer available either.

Back in the late 1970's, I worked as student help in the electronics lab of the University of Hawaii's Geophysics Dept. I'd unsolder about a dozen and half of D-cell Duracells from their ocean bottom seismometers. They were throw aways, because the recording packages were so expensive and couldn't afford a battery problem. I'd test the best and put together a starting battery with about 7 or 8 of those soldered in parallel. Talk about a really long lasting battery.

Yes, I remember those single cell carbon zinc Everready door bell batteries of the 1960's and early 1970's. They would last at least a whole year if not more of starting planes with. They were reasonably priced, too. I also remember the Mallory batteries, too, and they were okay.

To equal the old bell battery, I think a minimum of 4 Alkaline "D" cells soldered (yes, soldered) in parallel would equal one of those Everready's. So far, I'm using 2 and they last about a month of use, so it falls a little short. 6 would probably be better.

The Pairdeer apparently is only available in Asia. Here in US, it is rare as hen's teeth. Problem is that there is no apparent need for them here. We don't need them to light 1.5V filaments in tube/valve radios, nor operate door bells. Even the 6V lattern batteries are getting harder to find. The LED flashlights have more or less supplanted the venerable Halogen 6V lattern flashlights.

For all I know, the Hobbico may be produced by the same source as the Pairdeer from China.

GallopingGhostler wrote:

For all I know, the Hobbico may be produced by the same source as the Pairdeer from China.

I suspect you're correct there.

Here's another one available out here.  



http://www.modelengines.com.au/retail_catalogue_27/AT-1.5_item.html

They don't sell retail from this site but from
http://www.worldhobbies.com/home_rc_radio_control_models_os_engines_castle_page.html

Couldn't find the battery on this one.

Rod.