hi i am new here, have done some research. what i have is a battery pack purchased from ragecams.com. it is a 8 aa 1.5 volt each pack that is wired is series to give a 12 volt output with the 2.1 mm plug. the concept seems easy enough. i understand that in series the volts add and the amperage averages and in parallel the volts average and the amperage adds. my question is since i bought this i have come across 12 volt aa batteries, they have been there all along but wasn't looking for them). i also have a 4 battery pack, can i take the 12 volt batteries and install them in the pack were the + ends were in a row and the - ends were in a row and give 12 volts. would reversing every other battery change the polarity. thus giving an average of 12 volts and increasing the amperage. the pack is battery 1 positive up negative down. battery 2 is negative up and positive down. battery 3 is positive up and negative down and battery 4 is negaive up and positive down. if i put all batteries in positive up would this change the series to a parallel. hope i have asked clear enough.
james.

 

You didn't tell us what the total voltage of the 4 battery pack is. I assume it is 6V, 1.5V/batt. They are apparently hooked up in series. Placing 12V batteries in the "4 batt pack" according to the correct polarity would give you 48V. Placing all the batteries in this pack "positive up" is NOT putting them in parallel. They are still in series, just apposing one another and resulting in 0V given all batteries are exactly the same voltage. You would have to re-wire the pack to create a parallel pack.

 

the web site listed the 4 battery pack as a 5volt pack. and thank for the answer. that was partally what i was looking for.

 

these packs i have one is a 4 battery pack at 5 volts and one is an 8 battery pack at 12 volt output. the are designed to use the 1.5 volt batteries. as i have said i have since found 12 volt aa batteries and was going to see if there was a way to make these packs work with the 12 volt battery. unless they are parallel packs i can not use the 12 volt batteries, is that correct.

 

You cannot safely reverse some of the cells in a series stack to adjust the voltage - doing so would result in some of them passing current in the reverse direction. If you do this with primary (non-rechargeable) batteries, expect to see cells bursting before long. Rechargeable types might last a bit longer, but this is a really bad idea.

In any case, reversing every second cell (or battery) in an even numbered stack would give a total voltage of zero. The voltages do indeed add algebraically.

 

thanks for the answers, and really fast too. i guess if i want to use the 12 volt aa batteries i need to find a parallel wired battery pack. the hunt is on. thanks again.

 

thanks for the answers, and really fast too. i guess if i want to use the 12 volt aa batteries i need to find a parallel wired battery pack. the hunt is on. thanks again.

You would have to post a photo of the pack for us to see. For the most part they can be rewired as a parallel pack.

 

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/8AA-BATTERY-HOL...822?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519a19fe9e




this is a link to the pack i got

 

The problem with the pack is that you would probaably have to remove and cut each metal plate and rewire it. You might be better off buying 4 single battery holders and wire them in parralel right off the bat. These 12V batteries fit into a AA or AAA battery holder?