Usine a 9 volt and 2 AA's for 12 volts.

[carl1864]

I'm planning on making a project similar to one known as "pika shoes", and the main part is a 12v negative ion generator. I can't find the part on its own, so I plan to buy a little $5 car air purifier and yank the negative ion generator out of that.

I'm wondering, what's the best type of compact battery to power the 12v unit? Is using a 9 volt and 2 aa's in series a good way to do it, or is it bad to mix different battery types like that? I do see standalone 12v batteries that look like a AA but about half the size, but I don't know if that will have enough juice to run for long.

 

[crutschow]

Mixing battery types is generally not good practice although it will work.

You might try using a battery holder for 9 AA or AAA batteries instead. That will give you 12V with good battery life.

How long the small 12V battery will last depends upon the current draw of the ion generator. Can you measure it with a multimeter?

 

[carl1864]

I probably could once I get it. The various models seem to list specs, but I don't necessarily trust the accuracy. One type says it uses .6 watts, the other says it uses 3 watts. The 3 watt ones aren't as available, but I might try to get one.

I considered using 8AA's (your post say 9 though, wouldn't that be 13.5 volts?), that would be an option, although a little bulkier than I was hoping.

 

[crutschow]

I probably could once I get it. The various models seem to list specs, but I don't necessarily trust the accuracy. One type says it uses .6 watts, the other says it uses 3 watts. The 3 watt ones aren't as available, but I might try to get one.

I considered using 8AA's (your post say 9 though, wouldn't that be 13.5 volts?), that would be an option, although a little bulkier than I was hoping.

Certainly the 3 watt one will drain you batteries pretty fast. And you shouldn't need all that power just to generate a static charge for your body.

Yes, my math was off. 8 AA's will give you 12V. You could use 8 AAA's, which would take up less room (although they have only about half the capacity of an AA).

 

[k7elp60]

I probably could once I get it. The various models seem to list specs, but I don't necessarily trust the accuracy. One type says it uses .6 watts, the other says it uses 3 watts. The 3 watt ones aren't as available, but I might try to get one.

I considered using 8AA's (your post say 9 though, wouldn't that be 13.5 volts?), that would be an option, although a little bulkier than I was hoping.

9ea of AA's would be 13.5 volts. The individual cell voltage of alkaline cells is 1.5 volts. There are all kinds of configuration of battery holders that hold multiple cells, so you should be able to find some holders that will hold a total of 8 cells.
A lot of alkaline 9V batterys are made from AAAA cells, in short term quad A cells. They put 6 of them in the package. The quad A cells have less capacity than AA's. If you search google for Eveready battery co. you will be able to find a lot of technical information. I have data books on alkaline cells but the data is about 10 years old, so the information may not be correct.
Having the watts and voltage of the ion generator will let you figgure the life of the battery

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Mixing battery types is generally not good practice although it will work.

It's an absolutely terrible idea, and pretty well guaranteed to give abysmal battery life and make the batteries leak everywhere.

As already suggested, the way to go (particularly for such a high current device - 3W is a LOT for small batteries) is 8 x AA.

 

[audioguru]

Eveready is owned by Energizer. Go to www.energizer.com, click on technical Info then select the battery type.

3W at 12V is a current of 250mA. A 9V alkaline battery plus two AAAA cells (12V total) will drop to to only 8.7V in 1 hour.

 

[xkhplaya]

hey carl.. i've had the same problem. i'm unable to find a negative ion generator operating at 12 vdc. did you have any luck yanking out the generator from a car ioniser? pm with details..
Thanks

 

[Dean Huster]

Eveready is owned by Energizer. Go to Energizer Battery Company. Energizer Batteries & Flashlights. Energizer.com, click on technical Info then select the battery type.

Not sure how you got that information from the Energizer site -- I didn't see it anywhere there. Eveready was the original company that came up with the Energizer tradename for their alkaline batteries much like Mallory came up with the Duracell tradename. I think that the alkaline battery industry was such that the new tradenames took over the companys' product lines and both broke off their alkaline line as independent companies such that you don't see Mallory associated with Duracell or Eveready associated with Energizer. The only time I've seen "Eveready" products (used to have a cat jumping through the "hole" in a 9 for a logo) were as regular carbon-zinc cells made in China and sold in dollar stores. I'm not ever sure that that "Eveready" is the same company as it was in 1960.

 

[Dean Huster]

Hmmmm. Don't know what happened to the "edit" button, so I can't mess with my last post. Check out the Eveready site: Eveready Batteries - The name you know.The Quality you trust. No mention of Energizer there and they have their own alkaline batteries now.

 

[audioguru]

A few obsolete Eveready carbon-zinc battery datasheets are still online at Energizer.
Here is a sample:

 

[bountyhunter]

I'm wondering, what's the best type of compact battery to power the 12v unit? Is using a 9 volt and 2 aa's in series a good way to do it, or is it bad to mix different battery types like that?

It is bad to mix cell types.

I have popped the ends off "9V" batteries and taken the cells out to make odd voltages or get batteries that fit into small places (small light or cordless phone). A 9V alkaline contains six small cells, a "9V" rechargeable NI-CD or NI-MH will contain six or seven cells.

 

[alhoop]

hey carl.. i've had the same problem. i'm unable to find a negative ion generator operating at 12 vdc. did you have any luck yanking out the generator from a car ioniser? pm with details..
Thanks

Post you sucess or lack thereof here as I too am interested.
AL

 

[mbarazeen]

for a 3w consumption you need 250mA from 12V source, that mean if you use 2500mAh Ni-MH batteries (rechargable, 10 nos) then it would give you power upto 10hrs.
when you use 9V battery its capacity is very less and it can drain faster.
if you can try a rechargable lead acid battery of 12Ah capacity then it will last for 48hrs.

mixing two battery is not a big issue. in your case you should consider 9V battery to drain fast and its specification comes to the figure for your calculation.

 

[xkhplaya]

has anybody had any luck with a project like this; taking out a negative ion generator from a car ionizer or some other product??