Improvised battery?

Question

OK, so I have an adapter that hooks up to a regular old AC outlet. Can I make a power source by hooking up some D batteries with copper wire then wrapping that wire around the plug prongs. I know in theory it should work, but how much power will I need? How much power does a wall outlet put out

Answer 1

It's not going to work because batteries are DC (direct current). Adapters generally have some type of transformer in them, and that requires AC (alternating current) to work. If the output of your adapter is DC, you can replace it with D-cells or other batteries. A D-cell provides about 1.5 volts, and the voltages will add up with the batteries in series (connected end-to-end).

Answer 2

Mmm, modern wall sockets use 120 volts of alternating current.

AAA, AA, A, C, and D batteries all put out 1.5 volts of direct current.

You would need 80 batteries, and an alternator... but the amperage would probably be wrong anyway. Some sort of converter might make this a little bit more appealing, but I don't know the amperage on D batteries, so I'm not much help here.

Question: why not instead use a car battery. I know the amperage and voltage can be made about right using a converter.... and the converters can be found at Radioshack, because lots of people want to run household appliances from their car batteries. Also, the car batteries are rechargable.

If this isn't your thing, then I do know that car batteries are 12 volts, and so are hobby batteries, which are quite a bit smaller (Smaller than a stack of eight D cells too...) and I think these might convert pretty easily.

Of course, if by "Regular Old AC outlet" you mean one that was used before the 120 VAC standard that we use now was developed, then I think you'd need less voltage, and less amperage... maybe 80 volts. But that would be very old, and not regular any more.

There's some electrical formula, with voltage, amperage, and something else... Find that and you can calculate it all out.

Answer 3

A wall outlet in North America and many other countries supplies 120 volts alternating current at up to 15 amperes. A D battery delivers a volt and a half, up to about one ampere, of direct current. If the device you are trying to power can work on direct current (and you had better be damned sure!), and you have 80 batteries, you could make it work. Of couse, the batteries will set you back a hundred bucks.

Answer 4

1. D cells are not rechargeable

2. The current in the wall is alternating current which will not recharge even a rechargeable battery

3. The current in the wall is 110 Volt current which is far to high for a D cell and would probably cause them to get hot and rupture.

4. The current in the wall is running at 60 cycles per second. This is close enough to your heart rate to make it the most dangerous form of electricity you are liable to encounter. Best to learn a lot more about it before you experiment.

5. It is good that you wander about things - it shows intelligence.

Answer 5

Generally 110 v