Best configuration for 16 1.5V batteries to have 12V with as much electrical current as possible

Thread Starter

ajoaodetodos

Joined Jun 8, 2020
15
I have 16 1.5V batteries, and I need 12V with as much electrical current as possible. What would be the best configuration? Thanks!
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,840
I need 12V with as much electrical current as possible.
What is the load and how long does it need battery voltage to be 12V?

Batteries will typically be above their nominal voltage when fresh and will drop as the battery discharges. The rate of voltage drop off depends on battery chemistry.
 

schmitt trigger

Joined Jul 12, 2010
868
I'll join the chorus of people here requesting more information.

To make an extreme example: if you require 100 amps and all you have are AA batteries, there is no configuration which would satisfy the requirement.
 

Alec_t

Joined Sep 17, 2013
14,280
So the current draw from the AA cells will be at least 10 times the current needed by the 'household appliance'. Which appliance do you have in mind? Those cells won't be able to power any mains appliance drawing more than a fraction of an Amp.
 

KMoffett

Joined Dec 19, 2007
2,918
You're going be disappointed when the TV blanks out and you won't know if the hero saves the pretty girl tied to the railroad tracks. :(
 

Thread Starter

ajoaodetodos

Joined Jun 8, 2020
15
How can I connect 2 batteries in parallel? I know that one assumption is that the voltage should be the same and there is another assumption related to the internal resistance of the battery and the resistance of the load. Anyway, how 2 batteries can be connected in parallel in a functional way? For example, if a have 2 batteries Duracell 1.5V to power a 5W device. My objective is to increase the current.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,840

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,976
Maybe a small TV.
You need to be specific. This is like asking someone on an internet forum what kind of car you should get and then when they ask you what you are going to use it for not giving enough information to even distinguish between going to the convenience store to get a gallon of milk and towing your five ton travel trailer across the country.

Find out how much power your "small TV" needs.

But, as others have already indicated, the answer is most likely that you are not even close.

Let's look at the limiting factors. A Duracell AA alkaline battery is going to have ~2500 mAh of capacity. At the nominal terminal voltage of 1.5 V that's about 3.75 Wh of energy per cell. With 16 cells that totals about 60 Wh of energy. IF you could convert every joule into useful work you could power a 60 W light bulb for about an hour. But that ampacity is for reasonable loads and you are probably not talking anything close to a reasonable load.

The Duracell data indicates that pulling a constant 1 W from an AA cell results in an expected time to 0.8 V of less than 90 minutes. So, with 100% transfer efficiency, that would translate into powering a 16 W load for about that length of time. If your conversion efficiency is about 80%, then that drops to something more like 13 W. Pulling any more power than that will quickly run you afoul of the limitations imposed by the internal resistance of the cells.
 
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