If you are in an emergency and need the use of an electronic device like a flashlight or headlamp, but don’t have the batteries your device takes, all is not lost. As long as you have batteries that fit in the battery slot (smaller batteries will fit, and then have extra room, batteries that are too large will just not fit, but if you have a 9 volt you still might be in business) and some aluminum foil, you can make it work.
- Simply place the batteries that you do have in the device.
- Tear off some foil, either aluminum or tin foil will work.
- Roll the foil into balls the size of the diameter of batteries meant to go into the battery slot of your device.
- Place them on the negative side of your batteries, making sure there is enough tension to keep the batteries in place.
- Tape them in place if you need it.
And that’s it! This works best for converting AAA to AA. But you can also use AA instead of C. But what if you don’t have AAA? Well, hopefully, you have a 9 volt laying around.
If you remove the other layer and packaging of a 9-volt battery (depending on the manufacturer this might be a little bit of work, but a box cutter and a pair of pliers should do the job without too much trouble) you will find inside of it 4 smaller batteries. These batteries should be just slightly smaller than AAA. They can be used in substitution for AAA, which can be used as a substitution for AA, which can be used for substitution for C.
The process for substituting for a 9 volt is slightly more difficult. But, it can be done by daisy chaining AAA or preferably AA batteries together and attaching the business end of a 9 volt battery to the daisy chained smaller batteries. It is basically the reverse process of substituting a 9 volt for AA or triple AAA.
When substituting smaller batteries for larger batteries, remember than the life of the battery will be decreased in direct proportion to the difference in size from the battery the device calls for and the battery being used.
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