Reliable 9v Batteries

[sabaijai]

I'm looking for a source of reliable 9-volt batteries in Chiang Mai. I've had pretty spotty luck with most sources, with a near 33% fail rate, another 20% lasting a far shorter time than advertised or rated.

Is there somewhere in town where they maintain a supply fresh batteries, preferably not Chinese-made?

[Austhaied]

Panasonic Alkaline 9V , made in Japan available at B2S bookstore Central Kad Suan Kaew. I have had one of these batteries in our babies intercom for nearly 9 months and it's still working.

Edited June 11, 2007 by Austhaied

[Crow Boy]

I'm looking for a source of reliable 9-volt batteries in Chiang Mai. I've had pretty spotty luck with most sources, with a near 33% fail rate, another 20% lasting a far shorter time than advertised or rated.

Is there somewhere in town where they maintain a supply fresh batteries, preferably not Chinese-made?

I use them for guitar effect stomp boxes and the best place I have found is the Duracells at CarreFour on the Superhighway. I do a current test on them when I get home and they are pretty much up at the top. A lot of guitar effects chew up batteries like candy so I keep a couple in spare. The lower turnover on these relatively rare batteries makes the problem of them sitting in a Mom 'n' Pop store for the last 10 years a real problem. I had to buy a couple in an emergency some time back and they were dead within an hour of being used.

CB

[tigerbeer]

get those rechargable ones from IT City or Amorn Group. about 200 baht something for the baht but well worth it. GP brand.

[sabaijai]

I'm looking for a source of reliable 9-volt batteries in Chiang Mai. I've had pretty spotty luck with most sources, with a near 33% fail rate, another 20% lasting a far shorter time than advertised or rated.

Is there somewhere in town where they maintain a supply fresh batteries, preferably not Chinese-made?

I use them for guitar effect stomp boxes and the best place I have found is the Duracells at CarreFour on the Superhighway. I do a current test on them when I get home and they are pretty much up at the top. A lot of guitar effects chew up batteries like candy so I keep a couple in spare. The lower turnover on these relatively rare batteries makes the problem of them sitting in a Mom 'n' Pop store for the last 10 years a real problem. I had to buy a couple in an emergency some time back and they were dead within an hour of being used.

CB

I use them for the same purpose, go through quite a few of them. I used to have Philips brand 9Vs sent over from the USA (cheapest source) in batches of 24 but I found that if I didn't go through them quickly enough, they lost power too. So I went back to buying locally and it's pot luck.

No way I'd use rechargeable 9Vs for FX, they run low too quickly. Not into wall warts either as they're a pain and batteries sound better anyway due to the uneven nature of wall power. I've used Ultralife batts (4-5x the life of the alkaline) in the past with great success but can't find them in Thailand.

So maybe I'll try both sources mentioned here, thanks.

[Crow Boy]

I'm looking for a source of reliable 9-volt batteries in Chiang Mai. I've had pretty spotty luck with most sources, with a near 33% fail rate, another 20% lasting a far shorter time than advertised or rated.

Is there somewhere in town where they maintain a supply fresh batteries, preferably not Chinese-made?

I use them for guitar effect stomp boxes and the best place I have found is the Duracells at CarreFour on the Superhighway. I do a current test on them when I get home and they are pretty much up at the top. A lot of guitar effects chew up batteries like candy so I keep a couple in spare. The lower turnover on these relatively rare batteries makes the problem of them sitting in a Mom 'n' Pop store for the last 10 years a real problem. I had to buy a couple in an emergency some time back and they were dead within an hour of being used.

CB

I use them for the same purpose, go through quite a few of them. I used to have Philips brand 9Vs sent over from the USA (cheapest source) in batches of 24 but I found that if I didn't go through them quickly enough, they lost power too. So I went back to buying locally and it's pot luck.

No way I'd use rechargeable 9Vs for FX, they run low too quickly. Not into wall warts either as they're a pain and batteries sound better anyway due to the uneven nature of wall power. I've used Ultralife batts (4-5x the life of the alkaline) in the past with great success but can't find them in Thailand.

So maybe I'll try both sources mentioned here, thanks.

Most times now if I am using a simple rig I will put a single power plug into the Boss TU-8 Tuner pedal and then daisy chain of to the other Overdrive and Fuzz pedals. I just toss the lot into a backpack with the rest of my stuff and take in the one guitar. When I had the apartment in town I used a Boss Carry Case and had it set up. THen I can run a single line out to the amp and the second through the PA - just my personal preference.

Live I prefer to have the pedals connected to the power and with a battery, just in case the power goes weird such as when you get everyone running off a single powerbrick. It is slightly more noisy due to cycle interference but in the sort of places and the way I play makes no difference. It also helps to even out uneven power circuits. At home if I am recording I like to use slightly worn batteries ah la Eric Johnson. A friend in Australia told me that a company in the US has created a power pack that has a load capacator curcuit that as you pull current through it via a pedal it replicates the same effect as a battery being drained. It is very subtle but apparently is being used a fair bit with especially blues style players who like a more dynamic field.

I don't know if it is true but I have been told that it is illegal to bring in batteries by post because of the possibility of them exploding mid transit turning the plane into a start sequence for Survivor with Tom Hanks. My experience is that the postage was pretty horrible so as to make it an unrealistic propostion.

I was looking at your posting and am wondering if you play a green Washburn (?) with a maple neck? Not meaning to out you in front of your legion of fans but curious.

[sabaijai]

I'm looking for a source of reliable 9-volt batteries in Chiang Mai. I've had pretty spotty luck with most sources, with a near 33% fail rate, another 20% lasting a far shorter time than advertised or rated.

Is there somewhere in town where they maintain a supply fresh batteries, preferably not Chinese-made?

I use them for guitar effect stomp boxes and the best place I have found is the Duracells at CarreFour on the Superhighway. I do a current test on them when I get home and they are pretty much up at the top. A lot of guitar effects chew up batteries like candy so I keep a couple in spare. The lower turnover on these relatively rare batteries makes the problem of them sitting in a Mom 'n' Pop store for the last 10 years a real problem. I had to buy a couple in an emergency some time back and they were dead within an hour of being used.

CB

I use them for the same purpose, go through quite a few of them. I used to have Philips brand 9Vs sent over from the USA (cheapest source) in batches of 24 but I found that if I didn't go through them quickly enough, they lost power too. So I went back to buying locally and it's pot luck.

No way I'd use rechargeable 9Vs for FX, they run low too quickly. Not into wall warts either as they're a pain and batteries sound better anyway due to the uneven nature of wall power. I've used Ultralife batts (4-5x the life of the alkaline) in the past with great success but can't find them in Thailand.

So maybe I'll try both sources mentioned here, thanks.

Most times now if I am using a simple rig I will put a single power plug into the Boss TU-8 Tuner pedal and then daisy chain of to the other Overdrive and Fuzz pedals. I just toss the lot into a backpack with the rest of my stuff and take in the one guitar. When I had the apartment in town I used a Boss Carry Case and had it set up. THen I can run a single line out to the amp and the second through the PA - just my personal preference.

Live I prefer to have the pedals connected to the power and with a battery, just in case the power goes weird such as when you get everyone running off a single powerbrick. It is slightly more noisy due to cycle interference but in the sort of places and the way I play makes no difference. It also helps to even out uneven power circuits. At home if I am recording I like to use slightly worn batteries ah la Eric Johnson. A friend in Australia told me that a company in the US has created a power pack that has a load capacator curcuit that as you pull current through it via a pedal it replicates the same effect as a battery being drained. It is very subtle but apparently is being used a fair bit with especially blues style players who like a more dynamic field.

I don't know if it is true but I have been told that it is illegal to bring in batteries by post because of the possibility of them exploding mid transit turning the plane into a start sequence for Survivor with Tom Hanks. My experience is that the postage was pretty horrible so as to make it an unrealistic propostion.

I was looking at your posting and am wondering if you play a green Washburn (?) with a maple neck? Not meaning to out you in front of your legion of fans but curious.

No Washburns. I wasn't getting the Philips batts (which are really good by the way) via post, rather from a friend who travels here on business from San Diego every couple months. Ultralife now makes the same lithium battery under the brand name PowerBug, specifically for musos, at a lower price than the original Ultralife. They work out to be cheaper in the long run than any alkaline.

I'm wondering of PhotoBug might be a reliable source of 9V batts? No cameras use them but some camera accessories do.

I avoid power bricks and wall warts, just don't like the clutter in addition to the uneven power issue.

Of course Eric J swears by carbon batteries ...

[p1p]

Best to connect to a decent UPS. It gets rid of mains hum and evens out the peaks & troughs of power here. Save the batteries for when you are away from base.

[sabaijai]

Best to connect to a decent UPS. It gets rid of mains hum and evens out the peaks & troughs of power here. Save the batteries for when you are away from base.

I'm always away from base, when using stomp boxes ...