Do Wein cells (625 replacement) poop out fast??

[chip j]

I want to use them in my Nikkormat FTn, Canon FTb, & Goessen Super Pilot cds.

 

[Ektagraphic]

I have found the Kodak branded ones to last longer than the Wein. For all I know it could just be luck, but the Kodak ones tagt I have had in camera have lasted probably 9 months dor far

 

[Dennis S]

I found with the Goodman adapter the 1.4 V batteries last longer and widely available. The .25 V increase of voltage is not that extreme and you can make adjustments. I use it in my Canonet QL 17 GIII

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

Chip

Weincells were improved a few years ago and now are said to deliver up to a year.
This is the most correct replacement for 625 mercury batteries. Any other solution is just that: an alternative way.
As above, I favour ZA675 with an O ring to centre the battery. The ZA675 doesn't last more than a couple of months.

 

[Xmas]

Lots of people use the hearing aid cells and block some holes up.
The zinc cells are higher voltage than 1.3 of mercury but drop to 1.3 under load in most applications, eg they should be ok in a canonet.
Your other option is to use a silver cell and point contact diode.
Some cameras can use the alkaline cells cause they use a bridge circuit or differential galvanometer.

 

[VisualDarkness]

I got one bigger beef with wein cells than the short lifetime. The two times I've used one both of the time they ended up leaking green goo all over the place when depleted.

 

[bernard_L]

Your other option is to use a silver cell and point contact diode.

Schottky diode, not point contact. Best is to select the type of Schottky diode according to data sheet so that the voltage drop is close to 0.2V for a current of 1mA.

 

[miha]

In my Leicaflex I use one of these: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/batt-adapt-us.pdf

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Chip

Weincells were improved a few years ago and now are said to deliver up to a year.
This is the most correct replacement for 625 mercury batteries. Any other solution is just that: an alternative way.
As above, I favour ZA675 with an O ring to centre the battery. The ZA675 doesn't last more than a couple of months.

The one I put in my Nikkormat Ftn lasted 37 months with all but one of the airholes blocked off. Wein cells are a waste of money IMO.

 

[bsdunek]

I find the Wein cells very uneven. Some last nearly a year, and I just had two that never worked at all. This was really frustrating, as the cells were in their plastic sleeve and the tape was well in place. I put two each in each of my FTN meters, and neither meter worked. I checked the voltage and one in each meter still read "0" after about an hour. The other two were fine.
I have used the 675 hearing aid cells with the brass rings also with uneven results. Went to buy some at the drugstore the other day and the ones in the package were already corroded. Showed them to the clerk and he just shrugged his shoulders and went on about his business. I think these larger cells are not popular any more so they don't sell very quickly.
Sure miss the old PX13's, they were always good. Damn government!

 

[M Carter]

The Wein cells are "turned on" once the sticker is removed and they'll drain over time with no use. I've had some dead out of the box as well.

And yes, if your camera will be unused for some time, take them out - I spent a couple pissed off hours cleaning the corrosion from my (badass-cool) Nikon super 8 camera.

 

[thuggins]

The Wein cell is just a zinc/air cell like hearing aid cells. So they deplete as soon as air is let in, whether they are "in use" or not.

The best solution is to get an MR-9 adapter. This not only converts a silver oxide cell to the proper voltage, it makes it the same physical size as the old mercury cell that it replaces.

 

[chip j]

I bought one MR-9 from ebay--it won't physically fit into my Goessen Super Pilot cds (Of course I only paid $7 for it). The $37 adapter isn't recommened for Goessens (it is for Sekonics), & it may short out my Nikkormat FTn.

 

[wiltw]

I bought one MR-9 from ebay--it won't physically fit into my Goessen Super Pilot cds (Of course I only paid $7 for it). The $37 adapter isn't recommened for Goessens (it is for Sekonics), & it may short out my Nikkormat FTn.

The MR-9 is sized to replace the PX625 mercuric oxide cell, such as used in the Olympus OM-1 and OM-2

 

[darinwc]

You have to push pretty hard to get them out. Eat lots of fiber.

 

[GRHazelton]

Jus' thinkin'.......

What if, instead of banning mercury cells, they had been sold with a hefty deposit, say, $25.00 or even more. Wouldn't that be a powerful incentive to turn the little buggers in, rather than pitching them? We could all then use our classic cameras and exposure meters, and I could enjoy my Bulova Accutron Model 214 (backset) Spaceview without any internal mods to accommodate silver oxide cells.

Jus' thinkin'........

 

[BrianShaw]

Interesting idea, but waaaaay toooooo laaate.

 

[Xmas]

What if, instead of banning mercury cells, they had been sold with a hefty deposit, say, $25.00 or even more. Wouldn't that be a powerful incentive to turn the little buggers in, rather than pitching them? We could all then use our classic cameras and exposure meters, and I could enjoy my Bulova Accutron Model 214 (backset) Spaceview without any internal mods to accommodate silver oxide cells.

Jus' thinkin'........

No they should never have been made so your camera and watch would have been made to used silver oxide or alkaline.
People knew how toxic mercury would be in landfill, people are good at ignoring or denying consequence.

 

[BrianShaw]

No they should never have been made so your camera and watch would have been made to used silver oxide or alkaline.
People knew how toxic mercury would be in landfill, people are good at ignoring or denying consequence.

This is the only worthy part of your posting, Noel. The rest is pure opinion and offensive too. What's going on in the UK today - a full moon?

 

[wiltw]

No they should never have been made so your camera and watch would have been made to used silver oxide or alkaline.
People knew how toxic mercury would be in landfill, people are good at ignoring or denying consequence.

Silver oxides didn't exist back when mercuric oxide batteries were needed for meters; the VARTA patent for silver oxide was not filed until 1975...besides, silver oxide batteries become hazardous on the onset of leakage; this generally takes five years from the time they are put into use (which coincides with their normal shelf life). Until recently, all silver oxide batteries contained up to 0.2% mercury.

 

[Xmas]

This is the only worthy part of your posting, Noel. The rest is pure opinion and offensive too. What's going on in the UK today - a full moon?

Even if you and Suz... thought it was opinion and offensive, I thought it was merely factual, time will tell.
And I'm sorry if I offended, I did not see a possibility of that.

 

[Xmas]

Silver oxides didn't exist back when mercuric oxide batteries were needed for meters; the VARTA patent for silver oxide was not filed until 1975...besides, silver oxide batteries become hazardous on the onset of leakage; this generally takes five years from the time they are put into use (which coincides with their normal shelf life). Until recently, all silver oxide batteries contained up to 0.2% mercury.

You are attributing blame to the camera manufacturer, I was blaming the battery manufacturer.
If the battery had not been manufactured cameras would have stayed with selenium photo cells or used AAA cells, e.g. one of the Konica SLRs used AAA cells.
And yes I don't even understand how silver button cells can be manufactured, silver ions in the water table are not wonderful.
I think the self life is very dependent upon temperature e.g. I still have a live mercury cell in my OM1. note I remove it after a days shoot, and leave it in a zip lock. It was not manufactured this century.

 

[fstop]

The Wein cell is just a zinc/air cell like hearing aid cells. So they deplete as soon as air is let in, whether they are "in use" or not.

The best solution is to get an MR-9 adapter. This not only converts a silver oxide cell to the proper voltage, it makes it the same physical size as the old mercury cell that it replaces.

That's a reasonable solution, but I don't care about replacing batteries, they are cheap enough. At 7.00 bucks a pop who really cares if it only last 6 months?
Its less than 4 cents a day. People waste more than that on food they don't eat or gas warming up their car for 10 minutes in the morning with their remote start, or on film forgetting to take the lens cap off but are going to cry about 4 cents?