Be aware EBay is awash with fake/counterfeit/copies of batteries & many other products, it's going to be a gamble whatever you buy.

Tony

LR44s are an acceptable substitute though will not last as long.

I get them from CPC/Farnell along with lithium AA, AAA and alkaline C and D cells.

And genuine batteries much too close to their use-by date! Inferior batteries contain less chemicals and/or impure chemicals, and cases that are more likely to leak. Cheap batteries can be an expensive way of buying electricity.

Trouble with ebay is it's a market-place. What you get depends on the actual seller, who might not be reputable. Although ebay has a complaints scheme I'm not sure it's effective on cheap stuff like batteries, or if you discover the goods are dud after a delay.

Dunno about Pound Max but Eunicell batteries are good enough to be faked!

My experience with ebay has mostly been OK. There are plenty of genuine bargains to be had. Unfortunately no-one can guarantee that everything bought that way will always be a perfect bargain! I take the line ebay is a shade risky and don't get upset when it goes wrong. There are always a few dishonest people about…

The only way to find out for sure if the batteries are good is to buy some.

Dave

I buy the multi pack coin cells that include 44's, 2025's & 2032's & several others from Poundland. They include many usefull batteries for watches etc in the packs. They last a reasonably good length of time & for the cost are very good value maybe not in the leauge of the top brands but plenty good enough for me. I have had one in my Mitutoyo vernier caliper for about 2 years and still going strong. Also have 2032's in my Bluetooth hands free and they last at least 6 months. All in all pretty good value.

regards

Plus one for SOD and Tony’s comments in particular about leakage!

Whats the cost (difference in cost) of a known brand from a known and trusted vendor compared to the cost of your precious tool ? I have had a cheapo calliper destroyed by cheap batteries no way would I put them in my Mitutoyo etc. However most by far of my tools are old fashioned analog no batteries needed !

John

obviously 'near to their shelf life'

no idea where new came from.

regards Martin

One thing that never seems to be mentioned is that SR44 cells, being silver something or other have a slightly higher voltage than do the LR44 range. Now, I know it's only milli-Volts, but it does mean that certain devices, my digital calipers for one, do last longer. I would also point out that the instructions for my digital calipers, do recommend SR44 cells only.

One final point that I have learned through bitter experience is that high street shopkeepers don't know the difference and will try to palm you off with LR44 units, and can get "upset" when you reject them having asked for SR44 cells.

In respect of Type 312 hearing aid cells, I use these and get them supplied F.O.C in packs of 6 by either the nearest NHS Audiology centres 14 or 27 miles away, or, more conveniently, by either Age Concern or the local library in my nearest town, still F.O.C. I can't be certain, but I suspect there may be other places as well, but have had no need to look for them. The downside, which may be a bit awkward for Peter if he uses non-NHS supplied hearing aids, is that I have had to show that I am a registered NHS hearing aid user, or to say who my GP is.

Peter G. Shaw

I bought a multi-pack of LR44s from Machine-DRO last year and when I opened one of the bubbles the cell was leaking! I checked the rest and they were the same. To their credit I got an instant refund but vigilance is needed.

Thanks Peter but did you notice the 🇨🇦 after my name?

Are the ones you mentioned re-chargeables btw, Peter? Regular 312s are not a problem to get hold of (and I think even NiMH versions are around – if you can find a charger for them) but the major manufacturer – ZPower – of rechargeable Silver-Zinc 312s went bankrupt a while back and any left-overs still in the supply chain are at stoopid prices.

(Another manufacturer – Riot Energy – has popped up but again, the price …)

[When ZPower went belly up my audiologist gave me a deal (sort of) on a new hearing aid using a Lithium rechargeable that was better sourced and with a longer lifetime. It fell off in the car over a month ago, when I removed my facemask . Dropped down somewhere – I heard it go tinkle, tinkle but for the life of me I can't find it. Don't have suitably young members of the family and more, to whom I can give 10-bucks to find it for me so I'm back to trying to use the old hearing aid.]

No problem, Peter.