12 Volt Battery Hack! You'll be Surprised...

Save $40 with this easy to do hack that takes less than a minute! Pay attention to the battery type as that is important.

This can also be done with a 9 volt battery!

Step 1: It's so EZ!!

I picked up a couple of A23 Energizer Batteries at Wal-Mart for $1.88. What a deal!! If you look carefully at an A23, there is a split in the label/housing. I used a small screwdriver and peeled away the housing revealing a piece of paper.

Step 2: What's inside??

Peeling back the paper, I found 8 (1.5 volt) button cell batteries!! These are perfectly good button cells that will work in any 1.5 volt device they fit in!

Step 3: Save $40!!

I matched the battery at Radio Shack and 1 of those button cells cost $4.99! Do the math! This easy hack gets you 8 button cells for about 1/2 of what one costs! Have Fun, Be Sfae! Hope you enjoyed this EZ, money saving hack!

Comments

[NerdofSteel]

I just attempted this with a Duracell MN 21/23 12v battery and this trick works for it as well. As for the button cells themselves, they have "LR932" written at the top of them. Thanks for the cool tip Kipkay! :)

[frenzy]

This posting has won today's "I Made It" Challenge. For winning you will receive a 3 month pro membership!

Thanks for using instructables!

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[eyesee]

Creative

[jschap1]

What's the difference between an A23 battery and a AA battery?

[qazxsw21000]

Replying to old posts, FTW.
A23 is small and 12V for certain cameras.
AA is for general purposes and are 1V5 (1.5V)

[toezar00]

Can u give tips on more little batteries in batteries?
I would like to know.
Awesome!

[pipsqueakboy]

Okay, so now im confused. before i open a battery and possibly scar myself with battery acid, Is this real?

[ktalex]

lol u can get like 8 of those batteries at the 99cent store. good hack though?

[doo da do]

Be weary of the dollar store usually they are out dated or very bad performance. Doodado

[KingOfCatfish]

This is so true! I saw those at the 99 Cent Only Store a couple of days ago and bought a pack, I'm so going back for more!!!

[nepheron]

The trouble with dollar store batteries is that they work awfully. The voltage on those is not standard 1.5v...and they only hold a charge for a matter of minutes.

[KingOfCatfish]

The ones that I bought from 99 Cent Only Store are holding up fantastically!!

[grharder]

Just tried this the other day (2-16-12) and it was still as described here. It was a generic brand though, so that may make a difference.

[minimoto]

LISTEN UP THIS ONLY WORCKS WHITH ENERGISER. I opened up a 1.5v battery up and got 8 button battery's. Than I opened up a 9v battery and found 6 AAA batters inside. Last I opened up a 6v heavy duty battery up and found 32 AA or AAA I forgot !!!!!!!!

[sbeltz]

HD 6V batteries have 4 F cell batteries. THERE ARE NO AA BATTERIES in 6V batteries.

[account3r2]

9v=6AAAA not AAA

[account3r2]

32AA or 32 AA batteries as in there are thirty-two batteries

[sharlston]

no a lantern battery has around 4 d cells

[cjmproduction]

wrong 1.5 battery is actually a cell not battery 9 volt has 6 AAAA cells in it...(1.5v each) 6 volt has 4 large cells...(1.5v each) if a 6 volt had 32 AA or AAA batteries it would be 48 volts

[minimoto]

shosh up alright thats just what i found and the 6v heavy duty has so got that many batteries otherwise it would last 5min in a torch

[account3r2]

do you have a camera for pictures?

[Colonel88]

If it is wired in parallel then it is more current not voltage so it will be like 6 volts and a lot more mAh. But it does have 4 D cells...

[mikerice126]

minimoto right
cjmproductoin partial credit. :)

32 AA or AAA *in series* would be 48 V. (32 * 1.5 = 48). However, 8 *parallel* banks of 4 AA or AAA in series would be 6 V at 8 times the current (amps).
(4 * 1.5) = 6, 8 times. Series connection adds the voltages; parallel connection adds the currents.

*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*                    * is 6 v, i amps

*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*    *   *     *   *
*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*    *   *     *   *
*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*    *   *     *   *
*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*    *   *     *   *
*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*    *   *     *   *
*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*    *   *     *   *
*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*    *   *     *   *
*-+*-+*-+*-+* 
*                    * is 6 v, 8i amps

[brocknessmonster27]

what do you mean

[dacker]

While it is cool there are button batteries stacked inside the A23 casing, your cost comparison is off. it is like comparing tangerines and oranges.

The Eveready Energizer A23 is clearly marked "Alkaline" whereas you compared it to a single silver-oxide button battery. Two different chemistries with big performance differences and big price differences.

[busterbuster18724]

i tryed a Duracell MN 21/23 12v but acid came out :(

[jumpingcat]

yay it works

[aweaver4]

Apparently Energizer saw this instructable and now have "tamper proof" metal tubes to encase the little batts. It has a solid bottom on the positive side and is rolled over the negative end, which is obviously a "watch" battery.

[baven]

I´ve just opened a Sony 12v 23A battery and found this. Sorry for blurry picture I´ve taken it with my phone camera.

[WendyLD3]

does it work on chinese energizers?

[account3r2]

why are there A23 12v batteries when there are 23A 12v batteries? 23A are smaller.

[account3r2]

it would be bad if stores found out... ...probably

[Cheezpaper]

Does this only work for this specific kind of battery, or can it be found in other more common batteries like AA or AAA batteries?

[camiller]

No, AA and AAA cells are a single cell unto themselves and are each 1.5 volts. For cylindrical alkaline batteries with a voltage that is a multiple of 1.5 volts it is likely (but not absolutely) true that it is a stack of 1.5 volt cells inside.

[warmario]

Are the batteries inside the A23 LR41's?

[chi chi chippy]

i think there lr44

[mikerice126]

Not LR44.

[clibanarius]

 Just opened my first A23 (Energizer, from Target, $4.14 for 2-pack); it had eight button cells, just as advertised. Cool! The batteries Kipkay matched them with are LR45s; elsewhere I've seen them referred to as LR932s, about which I can find no data. I was kinda hoping they were LR41, so I could use them in some finger flashlights, but they seem to be a mm or so too wide.

[Paulkartking25]

this is awsome

[BucketBasher]

I have a question: Does anybody know if the info from this instructable is still usable? You know, if you can still find some A23 Energizer batteries a a relatively low price? Cause I noticed the date this was published is August 18, 2007, which was 2 years ago and the batteries could have changed since then.