Run Your Kitchen Timer On a More Common Battery

I have several kitchen timers that are just sitting around not being used in my house because they run on those tiny little coin-cell batteries, which are expensive to replace, making them more bother than they're worth in my opinion. So I got to thinking today that LR44 batteries are 1.5 volts, same as "AA" batteries, so I should be able to run any one of my timers on a "AA" with a little work. Now I'll show you how to do that as well.

Step 1 Tools and Materials

For this project, you will need:

- A timer that runs off of a coin-cell battery
- Small screwdrivers
- A soldering iron and basic soldering skills
- A "AA"-type battery holder, preferably one that holds the battery in with clips
- Glue

Optional if you want to give the contacts a good cleaning while you've got the sucker open:

- Rubbing alcohol
- A cotton swab

Comments

[Shiftlock]

This is a great idea if you have the battery holder handy, but going out and buying a AA battery holder is probably more trouble and money than just buying a new LR44 battery, which Walgreen's or CVS sells in a pack of 3 for a couple bucks. The package I last bought said "batteries for kid's toys" or something like that on it.

[WirelessMonk]

Thanks for the idea! I don't know why it didn't occur to me.

[camintmier]

According to Wikipedia, an LR44 battery only has 150 mAh of capacity, and a AA alkaline has 2700 mAh capacity, so replacing the battery essentially makes it work 18x longer. Amazing to think that just an LR44 alone will easily give you 6 months to a year of use. Replacing it with an AA battery will probably make it outlive any refrigerator that it's magnetically attached to.

[TheMadTinker]

I'm just using a "dead" battery that won't run my camera anymore, so I won't be getting quite as much run-time as I would from a new battery, but the price is right.