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Light my lamps please!

Theotokos

Oct 23, 2017
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Hello and thank you for viewing my post. I have what may seem as a rather simple inquiry for my electrical knowledge is but on a high school level.
With Christmas coming up I purchased a miniature village along with various decorations and figurines.
What troubles me is the pair of battery operated street lamps.
They run off two AA batteries but seem to only last a couple of hours before draining the batteries.
Is there an alternative I can use besides the AA batteries?
Like I stated, I have little electrical knowledge but I know my way around a soldering iron!
Are there any alternatives, maybe a way I can make them plug into a wall perhaps and rid myself of buying batteries every other day?
Thanks for any help you can provide!
 

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Minder

Apr 24, 2015
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If you have two cells for each lamp then you could try using a 5v (6v are scarce) wall-wart and wire the Lights in series, observe polarity if LED.
If only 2 cells then we would have to go to plan B.
M.,
 

Harald Kapp

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Alternatively, use rechargeable batteries. You'll still have to swap them every few hours, but you don't have to buy new ones, simply recharge.
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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I just searched "3 VDC power supply"
If you have two cells for each lamp then you could try using a 5v (6v are scarce) wall-wart and wire the Lights in series, observe polarity if LED.
If only 2 cells then we would have to go to plan B.
M.,

I just searched "3 VDC power supply" on eBay and got 1611 hits. They looked like mostly wall-warts.
Alternately, a homemade 3VDC isn't that hard to put together from components if OP wants to go that route.
 

Minder

Apr 24, 2015
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The ebay route maybe the way to go then.?
M.
 

Theotokos

Oct 23, 2017
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If you have two cells for each lamp then you could try using a 5v (6v are scarce) wall-wart and wire the Lights in series, observe polarity if LED.
If only 2 cells then we would have to go to plan B.
M.,

Thank you for the idea! I would of never thought of that. I believe the lights are LED. It's not stated on the package either way. And I have a bucket full of wall warts haha so this could work!
 

Theotokos

Oct 23, 2017
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Its strange though because I have other short Strings of led lights that will run off two AA's and they'll last for weeks.
Searching through the ratings of these particular lamps, battery life seems to be a common issue
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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Alternatively, use rechargeable batteries. You'll still have to swap them every few hours, but you don't have to buy new ones, simply recharge.

Also good idea but if you're staying with batteries rather than use a wall wart, I would switch to D Cell rechargeables if the AA's are giving out that quickly. D Cell holders are reasonably cheap.
 

Theotokos

Oct 23, 2017
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Also good idea but if you're staying with batteries rather than use a wall wart, I would switch to D Cell rechargeables if the AA's are giving out that quickly. D Cell holders are reasonably cheap.
Actually I own a Nitecore Intellicharger i4 that charges my 18650's for my e-cig and it will charge AA's and AAA's!
Thanks for all the suggestions, it is a good day!
 

Minder

Apr 24, 2015
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Thank you for the idea! I would of never thought of that. I believe the lights are LED. It's not stated on the package either way. And I have a bucket full of wall warts haha so this could work!
Did you use a meter just to see what the current actually is?
M.
 

kellys_eye

Jun 25, 2010
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If they were LED the batteries would last a lot longer in the first place.
 

Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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Maybe the AA cells were cheap Chinese "super heavy duty" garbage that died on the slow boat from China.
New Energizer or Duracell alkaline cells last much longer.

Will you randomly select the current rating for the wall wart?
 
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