PX625 battery from Russia

[Frank53]

All this fuss about a tiny battery that contains an equally tiny quantity mercury, but they totally ignore the millions of fluorescent strip light tubes sold thoughout the world which also contain a quantity of mercury. Also as far as I am aware dentists still use mercury in teeth fillings. Can somone explain to me why batteries containing mercury have become the modern pariah.

As far as I know dentists stopped using those fillings years ago and they replace them when they spot one.
You can find a lot about the dangers of these fillings and mercury in general on the internet, so just have a look.
Regards,
Frank

 

[AgX]

All this fuss about a tiny battery that contains an equally tiny quantity mercury, but they totally ignore the millions of fluorescent strip light tubes sold thoughout the world which also contain a quantity of mercury. Also as far as I am aware dentists still use mercury in teeth fillings. Can somone explain to me why batteries containing mercury have become the modern pariah.

Here FL tube lights are restricted from delivery to common waste, they are collected seperately.

Here dentists have a seperation device for their effluent water, taking care of mercury. (The use of mercury in the mouth is a different topic, but you did not yet spoke to people who suffered badly from synthetic resin compounds in dentistry...)

 

[nanthor]

I am familiar with the mercury batteries sold from Russia. They are ~1.35V mercury cells, they are made well, no leakage, tight. The outside needs to be roughed up a bit for use, they have some kind of matte looking skin on them that does not conduct well. I actually just recently noticed that they are not the same shape as the old 625 cell. Was trying to put the battery into a Leica M5 and the cover cap would not engage the threads. Upon closer inspection, the negative side, which is the one that has both poles on it, is not tapered like the original battery or like the wein cells. There is a ridge present from the material that keeps the 2 halves of the battery separate. So, there are some installations that just will not work. The material can be carefully trimmed to get the battery shape closer to the proper taper, but it really never gets too close to the original shape. And doing any trimming, filing, or sanding is really not the best practice on something with Mercury inside it. I believe the best solution to the 625 battery replacement problem is still the MR9 adapter loaded with a silver cell. It's just too bad the prices of these has never really come down over the years. The price is sometime higher than the worth of the old cameras and meters.

 

[paul ron]

is lithium any less toxic than mercury n silver oxide?

 

[darkroommike]

The gentleman I bought my zinc air adapter from insists the silver cell adapters are supply inconsistent voltage on load.

And he sells Zinc-Air battery adapters, all batteries supply inconsistent voltage under variable loads. But the load on a battery in a camera meter is pretty consistent, the meter resistance changes, but the circuit is designed to compensate for that.

 

[darkroommike]

is lithium any less toxic than mercury n silver oxide?

Yes, and no, lithium reacts violently with water, so water can be used to neutralize lithium or sodium, or potassium.

 

[Chan Tran]

The majority of cameras require mercury batteries have mechanical shutter and can be used without battery. I would rather the use them without battery. It's more fun when you don't have the meter. If you do have to have the meter then there are many good, cheap cameras with excellent meter that don't need mercury battery.

 

[BMbikerider]

As far as I know dentists stopped using those fillings years ago and they replace them when they spot one.
You can find a lot about the dangers of these fillings and mercury in general on the internet, so just have a look.
Regards,
Frank

They are still widely used in the UK. If you believe everything you read on the internet you would shoot yourself. The dentist I use, very professional and well equipped, maintains that Mercury amalgam is far harder and longer lasting than the other medium which I believe is a sort of plasticised ceramic. He will use them if asked but is reluctant to do so.
I have a mercury filling that is 40 years old now and is good as when it was first planted. (I am yet to be poisoned.)

That still doesn't explain why they still promote the sale of the millions of fluorescent tubes. The only difference being when you dispose of them they are segregated from other rubbish and re-cycled seperately.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

As far as I know dentists stopped using those fillings years ago and they replace them when they spot one.
You can find a lot about the dangers of these fillings and mercury in general on the internet, so just have a look.
Regards,
Frank

NO, sorry, that is semi-bogus. I asked my dentist about this, and he said there have never been any verifiable statistics of ill health affects caused by amalgam fillings (the ones that contained mercury) with respect to mercury leaching into the blood stream, etc. Dentists in USA now usually use tooth-colored resin fillings for cosmetic reasons. I just had a gold cap made, and could have purchased a Hasselblad at that price....

 

[Helios 1984]

The big question: How are you going to dispose of this battery at its end-of-life?

Send them back to Russia

 

[guangong]

My suspicion is that the producers of mercury containing lights have much more lobbying and financial power and influence than the makers of px625 batteries. With the unavailability of these batteries I must always carry spare batteries when using cameras that require px625 because the substitutes die without warning, especially the wien battery because it is only available in some, not all, specialty camera stores. However, many later cameras have a sophisticated design that did not require 625 batteries.
Look at the latest green promotion-electric cars. The general impression presented is that recharging batteries is obtained miraculously from charging stations. No power stations, no energy lost through transmission of electricity from power station to charging location. And what if there were no taxpa

 

[guangong]

Using iPad. Inadvertently uploaded.
no taxpayer subsidies to manufacturers, buyers, no lobbyist money shoveled to politicians.
Nonetheless, upon reflection, because of corrosion factor already mentioned, perhaps the px625 battery would have been replaced through normal economic development.

 

[AgX]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/282012562905?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

He claims they are new for military use, but they could be old stock.

I guess so too. But military stock becomes outdated too. So the equipment these battteries were made/stocked for may have been succeeded time ago.

 

[John Koehrer]

Ummm, Isn't it illegal to import the mercury cells to the US?

Not to say it doesn't happen. Besides the EPA guy doesn't believe in lead poisoning either.
I know that sentence leans political

Remember when the big deal was to change to the spiral florescent bulbs & the stores would recycle them?
Now they don't and the theory is you save 'em and recycle them whenever there's a recycling event nearby.
.

 

[AgX]

Ummm, Isn't it illegal to import the mercury cells to the US?

Yes, based on the international Minamata Convention.
Based on that convention it is also illegal to export such cells from Russia.

To my understanding offering these cells is against Ebay regulations.

 

[guangong]

On lead poisoning. As a NJ landlord for two apartments I was compelled to pay and attend a day long program on the dangers of lead poisoning. During a break, I mentioned to the chief instructor that my little friends and I spent much of out time collecting papers and stuff to take to the junk yard, which we exchanged for lead to melt down and cast lead soldiers. When in our teens we converted to molding bullets for self loading ammo. None of us suffered from lead poisoning. The instructor said that lead is not poisonous, but only the oxide. However, all the lead we collected was covered with dull lead oxide. The instructor turned away and took another question.

 

[railwayman3]

NO, sorry, that is semi-bogus. I asked my dentist about this, and he said there have never been any verifiable statistics of ill health affects caused by amalgam fillings (the ones that contained mercury) with respect to mercury leaching into the blood stream, etc. Dentists in USA now usually use tooth-colored resin fillings for cosmetic reasons. I just had a gold cap made, and could have purchased a Hasselblad at that price....

Same here with my dentist in the UK, a highly qualified guy who also does lecturing and examinations on University dentistry courses, and has a modern surgery offering all the latest restorative and cosmetic work. He said that he wouldn't want to disturb a well-made stable amalgam filling just to change it for a resin filling....it could cause more problems for no valid reason. He mentioned that he has had several himself.amalgam fillings for many years and isn't worried.

 

[Frank53]

Same here with my dentist in the UK, a highly qualified guy who also does lecturing and examinations on University dentistry courses, and has a modern surgery offering all the latest restorative and cosmetic work. He said that he wouldn't want to disturb a well-made stable amalgam filling just to change it for a resin filling....it could cause more problems for no valid reason. He mentioned that he has had several himself.amalgam fillings for many years and isn't worried.

Well, I'm not an expert in this field. All I know is that mercury has been considered to be very poisonous for ages (that should be enough for not wanting it in your mouth), those batteries were banned something like 25 years ago (there must have been a reason for that), it is not used in fillings in my country (and I suppose in several others) for at least 20 years and everything that contains mercury is considered toxic waste in most countries.
And about what doctors/dentists (don't) tell you, there is a website for that: www.wddty.com. Better don't look at it
Regards,
Frank

 

[Cholentpot]

Well, I'm not an expert in this field. All I know is that mercury has been considered to be very poisonous for ages (that should be enough for not wanting it in your mouth), those batteries were banned something like 25 years ago (there must have been a reason for that), it is not used in fillings in my country (and I suppose in several others) for at least 20 years and everything that contains mercury is considered toxic waste in most countries.
And about what doctors/dentists (don't) tell you, there is a website for that: www.wddty.com. Better don't look at it
Regards,
Frank

While mercury is dangerous we have gone a tad bit overboard. After all, the CFL bulbs are full of mercury gas! It's the gas that'll get ya, not the metal. I doubt some tiny batteries used by some enthusiasts using a format declared dead 10 years ago will have any effect on the environment.

I live near Lake Erie and eat the fish.

 

[hired goon]

The industry has solved this problem. Grab one of the battery adapters with the current reducing circuit, and use a $4 battery available everywhere.

 

[Frank53]

While mercury is dangerous we have gone a tad bit overboard. After all, the CFL bulbs are full of mercury gas! It's the gas that'll get ya, not the metal. I doubt some tiny batteries used by some enthusiasts using a format declared dead 10 years ago will have any effect on the environment.

I live near Lake Erie and eat the fish.

Living there and eating that fish is a good reason to have that opinion
Regards,
Frank

 

[benjiboy]

Do you see a conflict there? The silver cell w/adapter give a far more constant voltage and
longer life with the MR-9 that railroad man refers to than any zinc air cell does.

I have two of these MR9 adapters that I use in both of my Canon F1n's, and with easily obtainable PX 386 Silver Oxide watch batteries they work pefectly reducing the voltage output of the cell from 1.45V to the correct 1.35V producing exceptable discharge charicteristics and they last a long time, this is a much cheaper long term solution to the problem than buying Russian Mercury batteries that look pretty old on the picture to to me.

 

[Cholentpot]

Living there and eating that fish is a good reason to have that opinion
Regards,
Frank

I stay away from the Zebra Muscles. Those guys cleaned everything up and then killed everything.

 

[railwayman3]

Well, I'm not an expert in this field. All I know is that mercury has been considered to be very poisonous for ages (that should be enough for not wanting it in your mouth), those batteries were banned something like 25 years ago (there must have been a reason for that), it is not used in fillings in my country (and I suppose in several others) for at least 20 years and everything that contains mercury is considered toxic waste in most countries.
And about what doctors/dentists (don't) tell you, there is a website for that: www.wddty.com. Better don't look at it
Regards,
Frank

Mercury batteries use mercuric oxide which is highly poisonous, Mercury fillings use an amalgam of mercury and inert metal... not poisonous (or, at least I've not seen the bodies in the street )
Sodium metal is highly corrosive, poisonous and bursts into flame (by producing hydrogen gas) when put into water. Sodium combines with chlorine (poison gas from WW1) to produce sodium chloride....common salt.
All to do with school chemistry.

 

[John Koehrer]

Want to see what eating mercury fish can do for you?

Look at W Eugene Smiths book, Minamata
Agx mentioned the Minamata convention.

Going back to lead as poison......I think it's pretty well proven that eating lead based paint
chips doesn't do children a whole lot of good. Something about learning disabilities.