My Solution For Dead Batteries

[John McClanahan]

I really like my fractional digital calipers, but I'm tired of feeding it batteries. I figure 1 AAA battery will have about 10 times the capacity of those little watch batteries. It's not as bulky as it looks.

[Matt Day]

Nice mod! Dead batteries are a pain in those. But I have one that eats batteries and one that takes a battery every year or two. The one that lasts much longer has a couple cracks in the display, but it's my user because the battery life is so much better.

[John Terefenko]

Hey if it works for you and you are happy then that is all that matters. To me too bulky. Ebay is your friend. Buy 1000 of those batteries for such little money. You can change one a day and not run out for the rest of your life. that is what I did.

[Matt Day]

i think it's more the annoyance of being in the middle of something then having to stop and find the batteries, etc.

A neander would say just use a traditional vernier caliper and not worry about batteries at all.

[Ed Aumiller]

Have both digital and normal calipers.. only time I take the time to install a battery is when I am just playing and not worried about time..
The same thing applies to the other digital instruments I have, i.e. angle meter, etc..

Bought a lot of batteries off of eBay and by the time I need one, half of them are bad.. very annoying..

[Grant Wilkinson]

I have this one from Princess Auto (similar to Harbor Freight in the US). It has a very small solar panel on it. The lights in my shop are strong enough to keep in going. I've never changed the battery in it. It may be dead for all I know.

http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/6-in-solar-digital-caliper/A-p8372054e

[Adam Herman]

its because its a cheap knock off and not designed correctly.

watch here: skip to about 4:40 for relevant info on the current draw of the real stuff vs. the knockoff.

I just use dial calipers, almost as easy to read and ill never have to change a battery.

[Jim Koepke]

its because its a cheap knock off and not designed correctly.

watch here: skip to about 4:40 for relevant info on the current draw of the real stuff vs. the knockoff.

I just use dial calipers, almost as easy to read and ill never have to change a battery.

It seems you may have forgotten to include a link in the "here."

A dial caliper is fine for me. If it needs to have its accuracy checked an old school micrometer can do that.

About the only tools where a battery works for me are flashlights and my DeWalt drill motor.

jtk

[John McClanahan]

I like this caliper because it does decimal, fractional and metric. It will convert the measurement with a press of a button.
The problem is it uses a small battery and when it starts getting weak the calipers will loose positioning, resulting in a false reading.


John

[Steve Peterson]

That's a great idea, as long as it doesn't get in the way when making inside measurements. I have pretty much given up on the cheap digital calipers and switched over to dial indicators.

My shop also has a lot of angle finders or other measuring instruments. I try to take the batteries out on those after I am done using them. Otherwise, they become a one time use tool.

Steve

[Jim Koepke]

I like this caliper because it does decimal, fractional and metric. It will convert the measurement with a press of a button.

There is a chart on the one of my walls for that. Besides, most of the time it is easy to convert in my head. My simple Lufkin caliper is in 64ths and 32nds. Most of the time that can be converted to decimal for drill bit sizes without looking at the chart.

Going from the decimal reading of my caliper to fraction isn't all that hard either.

Just because I am good at math doesn't mean I like it.

jtk

[Adam Herman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnDype-j3hk&t=490s

whoops. here is the relevant video. the knock off mitutoyo draws 16 micro amps when off and the real one draws 4.

[Mike Henderson]

I'm in the mechanical camp - never have to worry about batteries. The Starrett caliper gives fractions and decimal on the same dial.

Mike

[Frederick Skelly]

Mechanical here too.
Only digital tool I own is a Wixie Gauge. I remove the battery after use.
Fred

[Kev Williams]

HF sells a 24-pack of button cell batteries for $3.00, 10 of which will fit most caliper mic's. That's my easy fix :)

[Ed Labadie]

My digital calipers are solar powered........

:p

Ed

[Ken Combs]

I know what you mean. Since I don't use mine that often, I just store it without the battery and just pop it in when needed.. Haven't had to replace one since starting that, over 3 years.