Batteries: Where's everyone's goto shop/retailer/supplier for replacement batteries? (CR123A, CR2, CR2450)

I am just curious where everyone shops for their replacement cell batteries? I've been shopping on ebay for deals and sometimes battery junction. I would love to find a reliable battery vendor or retailer that doesn't charge big box store pricing for CR123A, CR2, CR2450's. I generally stock up on each for a year or 2 worth.

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I like Battery Junction, too. They seem to have reasonable pricing, and shipping is free for most items over $50, so I try to stock up once a year or so as well in order to more easily reach that threshold. I can get my 9V or AA smoke detector batteries while I'm at it, too -- also cheaper than most retail even though it's a common size. :slight_smile:

In a pinch, I'll use Amazon as long as it's sold by Amazon itself (third-party sellers often make mistakes like confusing CR2 and CR123A cells, or they come in a Ziploc bag or odd packaging--which Battery Junction does sometimes too since I assume they're splitting bulk purchases and not using retail packaging, but they're at least a seller I trust).

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Agreed about them. Batteries all read correct voltages when I open them form the packaging. Last just as good as buying them from retail giant stores. I'm glad to see that someone else finds them trustworthy and as a reliable and affordable supplier. I'm just trying to see if there's anyone I'm missing or a brand that I may not be aware of that is affordable and comparable.

I've had good luck with Titanium Innovations CR2. Have always bought Energizer CR2450's and CR123A's. Any other brands you may recommend that you've had success with?

I use Titanium Innovations, too, in no small part because they were the cheapest I can find. :slight_smile: But they (at least the CR2 cells) also work just as well as the name brands I was familiar with, lasting years in my Iris v2/Centralite sensors -- can't imagine that being much better. I use their CR123As as well but imagine Energizer would be good, too.

For coin cells, I'll sometimes pick Panasonic or Duracell for CR2450s since I have a couple SmartThings sensors that are oddly picky about the shape, and these are the only two known to fit the right way. But I'll also use whatever I can find easily. I've sometimes picked ones that report higher mAh since I assume they're more likely to last a but longer, at least in theory, but I'm sure real-world results may vary from this manufacturer-supplied spec (but I don't care enough to test).

I was so very pissed off wasting money on lithium cells that are junk, so I bought a battery capacity tester. It's a DL24 and works awesome. Can test drains as low as 10 milliamps.
this is the tester; FYI-cheaper on Aliexpress

2 brands that I personally validated(within 2 weeks) as good. Jesspow CR123A and for CR2032

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CQVRT7VJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

The problem is these relabeler companies can change suppliers at a moments notice, so what's good now, might be garbage in 3 months or when ever they might switch suppliers
I suspect.

Example of garbage CR2032, Brighttown & Tianqui, horrible

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My go to for 18650 batteries is 18650batterystore.com

Great selection and no junk. Prices are reasonable and shipping is fast.

For AA, AAA, C, D, CR batteries, I buy whatever whenever. Usually brands like ACDelco, Duracell. I have a box of AA and AAA batteries I bought at Sam’s Club. Member’s Mark brand. They have been just as good as the name brands for what I use them in.

This is the battery tester /charger I use. It will report the actual mAh of the cell.

Amazon sells it also but I couldn’t get the share link to work.

Man that looks fancy. I bought one of these and works for all my batteries.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DJ5SXQC

I'd assume it's probably no-where near as precise as yours. Although, it's close enough to let me know if I received trash or if my battery is in fact low voltage to replace before I need to troubleshoot the device itself.

That's what troubles me about Amazon. Flyby night manufacturers/vendors and rebrands or counterfeits.

I'm another fan of batteryjunction.com. I first used them because they had a great price on Energizer Industrial AA and AAA batteries, which are what my fire department's SCBA repair company recommended for use in them. Great selection, decent prices, and usually quick delivery (sometimes things are backordered, but likely not their fault).

I used to buy from Battery Junction, but it's not convenient for me anymore. I agree with everyone that, if you live in the US, that's a good supplier to get batteries from. Since I'm on Vancouver Island, I buy from Amazon Canada.

I'm all-Panasonic for lithium coin & cylindrical cells and alkalines. I buy them from Mouser. Pricing is fair after shipping and tax, but it arrives in one day and I know they're quality, authentic products.

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checking the voltage is a start, but that's not going to give you any idea of the capacity. Had plenty of normal voltage cells die in a month

For CR2 batteries I use EBL 3.7v rechargeables.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07RGQFBN1

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For Batteries . . .

BlueDot Trading LLC - on eBay (BlueDot Trading LLC | eBay Stores) and on Amazon too.

I do, too. They work great in my Iris v2 contact sensors. I have 48 of them, with about half in use right now; the sensors these are going into are just now finishing up the life of their last non-rechargeable battery.

I learned about them about 4 years ago:

Unfortunately, Amazon only has the 8 pack with charger in stock (your link). The extra sets of 8 batteries are OOS, on Amazon as well as on EBLs website. When they went OOS back 4 months ago, they were $15 for 8.

I found rechargeable CR2s didn't work so well on my Iris v2 motion sensors. As the battery got low, the motion sensor started reporting phantom motion events. So I continue to use disposable CR2s on those, while keeping the rechargeables for my contact sensors.

Does that just report voltage? If so, why not just use a multimeter?

I had bought Amazon Basics CR2s back in 2020 and they were great. However, I've heard reports of what they sell now is not the same at all (and the batteries physically look different).

I just wanted an effortless way to check the power. Pulling out the multimeter for some might be simple, for me it's a chore. It's also small enough to be with my battery storage and only used for that purpose.

Which batteries did you specifically try from this brand?

That's pretty well all you'll get from most battery testers out there. The problem with that is that a battery that has very little capacity remaining will often show normal or close to normal when measuring voltage with a multimeter or a tester that doesn't put them under any significant load.

This is why I finally gave up using a multimeter or those simple voltage testers and instead purchased a pulse load type tester. The ZTS MBT-1 has been around for many years and will give you a much more accurate measurment of a battery by its specific type.

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A couple of months ago I posted about a light that went into disco mode. It turned out it was the Iris V2 motion sensor sending out false updates. The plan now is to replace the battery around 50%. Since they stay at 100% forever this shouldn't be an issue. I expect them to last a year or so at 100%.

Now that the device page displays battery level it will be easier to keep an eye on it. I'm also in the process of creating a control panel that will include the battery states. I use multiple sensors in each room so if one drops out it won't be catastrophic.

Currently I have 24 of the rechargeable batteries and replace the original alkaline batteries when they fail. I still put a new Iris into service from time to time. I purchased 50 of them when they were under $5 each. :wink: I've also switched my preferred mounting to a magnet and thumbtack so it is easy to change the battery.

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