Battery Dispenser

Okay, I'm looking for something that I wouldn't think would be so darn difficult to find.

I keep a large stock of Eneloop batteries on hand, for use in dozens of battery-powered things in my home. I'm also a bit of an geek for organization, and I set out to look for a nice dispenser for my AA and AAA batteries. What I didn't expect is that such a thing doesn't seem to exist!

After searching through Amazon and Google/Google Images, I haven't found a real product available anywhere that even remotely matches what I'm looking for.

Ideally, what I'd like is something like this, except able to hold a larger number of batteries (like 15-20). I'd then attach something like that to the back of a closet door or something and just be able to pop out a bunch of batteries when I need them.

Instead, everything I see looks ancient, and they're all designed to house AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt batteries. While I do need to keep more 9-volts around, I have almost no need for C and D batteries. And if I do need them, I have the Eneloop housings for them that I can keep elsewhere (I don't need the same kind of easy access).

Can anyone else find such a product? My Google-fu is weak on this one...

DIY solution ???

http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-plans/shop-organization/battery-dispenser/

That looks better than anything my googling came up with.

You'll see dispensers like the one Matt linked in the OP for candy like Lifesavers in some store displays. I've never seen anything like it sold at retail expressly for dispensing batteries though. Both that and the design Cris linked to would be pretty easy to make out of wood or any material able to be cut/shaped with wood-working tools. I have a few 1/2" thick $5 polypropylene (or similar) cutting boards from Ikea that would be excellent raw material for something like this.

Thanks for the reminder Matt, I need to buy a bunch more Eneloops to finish replacing the remaining standard NiMH I still have around. I also really want one of those large capacity Maha chargers that handles each cell individually.

Or I could just drop ~$2500 for a Makerbot and use the Thingaverse blueprints


Yeah, I still have a small assortment of NiMH batteries, but they rarely get used, and usually for little throw-away stuff. I now have a full assortment of Eneloops, especially now that Costco sells them separated now! They used to sell a package that included the 4-cell charger, 4 AAA, and 8 AA. Of course, this was annoying for two reasons: I don't want to buy the charger every time (although I have two of them now), and I happen to have a much greater need for AAA batteries than AA. Now they sell the AA's, AAA's, and charger separately at Costco, so I picked up two packs of AAA's and one of AA's, and I should be pretty stocked up. I just want a nicer way to store them than in a tupperware bucket.


Oooo, link?

Costcos up here no longer sell Eneloop in the store. The used to sell a set with charger and a set without, but I believe due to contractual obligations, they no longer sell anything except Duracell.

I'm not sure where I'll getthem from yet, maybe Thomas Distributing, the place I used to buy NiMH cells from well before you could buy them in most regular stores.

Here's an Amazon link for the Maha charger: http://www.amazon.com/Maha-Powerex-MH-C808M-Cell-Multi-Charger/dp/B000E65DG6

You get Lifesavers candy over there too? An old favourite here!

I have been using a Maha MH-C9000 Wizard One for several years. Much more compact than the linked unit, which seems optimized for C and D size batteries.

I have been quite happy with my unit. Once you get your head around the UI it is straightforward to snap the batteries in (AA or AAA), then click Enter twice per battery to start the charging process with default parameters.

If you want to tweak the charge rate then it is a few more clicks.

I have found the ability to cycle/calibrate a battery (or several at once) and tell me the actual mAh capacity per battery to be useful for weeding out weak cells and capacity matching of batteries when I want to maximize the run time of a device, such as my high output LED flashlights.

While I'd like all of those features, and certainly don't need C and D charging capabilities, I don't think I'd bother replacing the ~$7 standard Eneloop chargers unless I could charge more than four cells at a time.

I love the thinking you're putting into the process, though! That's definitely where I want to be with my rechargeables.

I need to be able to do at least 8 at a time, all controlled individually. I already have an older, but excellent Maha charger (200 series) that does 4 - in pairs.

With a bunch of baby/kids toys, I'll probably take the opportunity to buy a few C and D cells too.