[cowboy1964]

My quest for a perfect battery storage system continues. What I really want is some kind of case or even just a tray that is customizable. All the solutions out there have a fixed number for each type and generally no place for oddballs like CR123s.

This might be a good excuse to buy a 3D printer

 

[bdcochran]

There are many different kinds of battery cases. I have them for 123as!

You go to eBay. Your order from Red China. Over the last 2 years, I bought many plastic cases. If I have two different types of the same battery, like 18650s, I buy two different colored cases. Otherwise, they are clear.

Problem solved. The battery cases can come in 2s, 4s, 8, and multiple types of batteries in one plastic case. Just look!

I had a battery experience today and this is as good a place to post it.

The following comments may be of assistance. Essentially, there are one use akaline AA which may be 7 year shelf life for Costco brand and 10 years for name brand. The lithium AA have a shelf life of 20 years! The rechargeable AA can do a minimum of 500 recharging cycles. All will fit into C and D battery shells so you don't have to buy C and D batteries anymore.

My remaining life expectancy is less than 20 years, but I have about a 25% chance of making the 20.

Some points are obvious. If you have rechargeables, can keep track of them, regularly recharge and the applications aren't critical, they are great for routine usage.
If you have a shtf emergency, handheld walkie talkies and flashlights will gooble up batteries like there is no tomorrow. As a practical matter, you probably cannot keep enough solar rechargers at home without adding a shed!
The lithium batteries cost about 3x the price of an alkaline. The problem is that you cannot tell when shtf will occur. In the past, I had kept alkalines past the nominal expiration point - there weren't decent rechargeables or lithium batteries on the market.

I have been keeping blister packs of alkalines with the handitalkers and with the radios. I won't be using them until shtf. In the real world, and not the ultra efficient discussion world in forums, I tend to pack things away, have difficulty finding them and so forth. So, now, I am replacing the blister packs of alkalines stored with the shtf radios with blister packs of lithium batteries.

 

[quake]

In the pantry:

In the truck toolbox (the empty-looking spaces on the right and at the top-center are actually small coin-cell batteries in individual ziploc bags):

These pics are old; after encountering leak issues with duracell alkalines, we've pretty much standardized on energizer brand for almost all alkalines & lithiums, main exceptions being coin cells and oddballs like the mini-12-volts at the bottom-left of the last picture.

I also have a few of these, mainly for glovebox & such:

They're from www.storacell.net and other places, and work very well. Even have glow-in-the-dark versions which could be handy in some situations.

 

[mac66]

I use these. They come in a bunch of different sizes

http://www.dx.com/p/4-x-aa-battery-case-holder-3-pack-3558#.VWCI3VId0-A

 

[cowboy1964]

In the truck toolbox (the empty-looking spaces on the right and at the top-center are actually small coin-cell batteries in individual ziploc bags):

That type is probably about the best I'm going to be able to do. I want one box that holds a lot, not a bunch of small boxes that hold 4 or 8 of each type.

 

[Morgo]

I use this sort of setup

[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pelican-1050-Case-precut-insert-hold-40-AA-cr123-cr2-Battery-nameplate-/320818135523?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab24041e3"]Pelican 1050 Case Precut Insert Hold 40 AA CR123 CR2 Battery Nameplate 019428082758 | eBay[/ame]

They come in different layouts/sizes to suit different sized cases and different battery types.

 

[fasteddie565]

Surefire makes various holders for CR123's.

I use a pelican, similar to morgo's

 

[quake]

That type is probably about the best I'm going to be able to do. I want one box that holds a lot, not a bunch of small boxes that hold 4 or 8 of each type.

That one is a case that our work-related gel-cap connectors come in, but you can get numerous sizes of similar boxes in the fishing section at walmart & such.

 

[bdcochran]

I see large hard plastic boxes on ebay that will certainly hold more than 8 AA batteries for under $5.

Frankly, batteries are heavy. The flip over and lock inexpensive Chinese clear plastic 4 and 8 unit boxes won't last forever. So, I use snapware clear plastic containers that lock. Inside, if I have taken batteries out of the blister packs, I put them in the 4 and 8 clear plastic Chinese battery cases. It is very handy to put a 4 pack of AA batteries in the car glove compartment, side compartment, cup armrest or in the pouches behind the front seats.

 

[FireForged]

I use the 8 count AA/CR123 carrier that comes in the maxpedition pouch.

 

[cowboy1964]

Looked at all the fishing boxes at Walmart, none of them really work for me. The only ones deep enough to stand up 9V batteries are just too big overall. I just don't like the idea of laying 9Vs on their side due to potential terminal contact with other batteries.

My search continues...