+Chris n Maria Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 When I started caching I had the misfortune to be standing on a tube train wondering why my trouser pockets were getting warm! It turned out that my spare batteries were shorting accross my keys causing a near conflagration in my underpants.!! Since then I have been more carefull with spare batteries but have noteced that if they get thrown about a lot they can nock against each other and flattern all too quickly. Finally I have found A solution which works great - no more inflagrations round my naughty bits for me Just thought I would share. Chris Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 I've been using these boxes for some time now and they really are the 'mutts nuts'. In fact, I'm so impressed I've just taken delivery of another load to use as cache goodies and I'll be putting them in my own caches with spare batteries as and when I next visit them. The 'buy two, get one free' offer makes them really quite cheap at £1.66 each. Quote Link to comment
+Lizzzzeeeee Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 They are also useful for keeping stag beetles in! When Ali and I were doing Quantum Leap 1 on Mother's Day he found a Stag Beetle which he wanted to take to Beavers (little Cub Scouts) for his creepy crawlies meeting and the only thing I had to contain Staggy in was my battery box. I must get another one 'specially to collect wildlife samples. PS for all those wildlife enthusiasts amongst you, we are pleased to say that Staggy enjoyed his first Beaver meeting and is now playing happily in the surrounding woodland. Quote Link to comment
+stu_and_sarah Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 We just use a small pill tub. It's about the length of an AA battery, and fits three pairs of AAs and a sony memory stick quite snugly. Charged batteries point up, discharged one point down. Cheers, Stu Quote Link to comment
+THE BRAMBLERS Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 We picked a package out of the Secret Santa lucky dip at the Late Christmas Cache Bash and it turned out to be one of these boxes, batteries and all. We're really pleased with it. Pat on the back to the person who put it in. Quote Link to comment
+Sparky-Watts Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Well, those are pretty cool! Gonna have to find some for myself. On a side note about battery safety: Never store batteries and steel wool in the same drawer or container. If you don't know why, just touch a 9-volt battery to a pad of steel wool sometime! POOF!!!!! And worse yet, my wife had been using steel wool to fill holes in our cabinets to keep mice out (works quite well, as the the little critters don't care to chew on metal). However, she stuffed some down the hole that has the electrical wire for our garbage disposal. Several months later, she called me in to the kitchen, because the wire was shooting sparks when she cleaned around it. I saw the bare wires (from the mice, no doubt) and the steel wool and blew my top!! She didn't see anything wrong with it, till I tried to pull the steel wool out, and it made contact with the wires, engulfing my hand with a rather large fireball!!! Poor missus nearly fainted after realizing what that could have done in the several months since she placed it there!! BTW, glad your naughty bits are still in good shape, and I hope the only heat they get from here forward is of the natural kind they are supposed to get!!!! Quote Link to comment
Leoness Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Is that why you're called "Sparky Watts"?!!! Quote Link to comment
+Sparky-Watts Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 (edited) Is that why you're called "Sparky Watts"?!!! Close. This is the actual story, but I do believe it has something to do with my ongoing spate of bizarre electrical mishaps! EDIT: Warning, that story and the website may contain images and language not suitable for all ages. Edited March 29, 2004 by Sparky-Watts Quote Link to comment
+The Bennett Family Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 My ever resourceful wife has actually sewn a battery holder that holds about 16 AA's When its full it looks a bit like a small ammo belt....If Laura Ashley ever made ammo belts anyway 'cos it's in tapestry fabric!! Quote Link to comment
Leoness Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Thanks for enlightening me! I guess it's just a matter of degree and the size of the batteries! Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 ...just touch a 9-volt battery to a pad of steel wool sometime! POOF!!!!!... Now I'm going to have to try that... Back on topic, I like the container but wish they had them for a 4 back. Right not I use cardboard battery boxes I can get at work that hold 4. Quote Link to comment
+Sparky-Watts Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 ...just touch a 9-volt battery to a pad of steel wool sometime! POOF!!!!!... Now I'm going to have to try that... Back on topic, I like the container but wish they had them for a 4 back. Right not I use cardboard battery boxes I can get at work that hold 4. Ummm...just don't hold the steel wool in your unprotected hand when doing this. The results are really quite spectacular. They taught us this in grade school, as it has been the cause of many house fires, because people tend to keep all kinds of odds and ends in their kitchen drawers, and the most common are matches, batteries, and steel wool! Go figure! Quote Link to comment
+Papakas Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 As someone always looking for the cheap solution I wrap my spare set of batteries in plastic and stick a bit of tape around! It also helps to keep them waterproof when I'm swimming across rivers and crawling through culverts! The bit of tape I wrap around them I turn the end over on itself to form a tab. This is handy when speed caching when every second counts as I can easily pull the tape off and unwrap the batteries. Discarding the old batteries, tape and plastic over my shoulder on the run I can make the change to new batteries very rapid! Woh, steady on! I'm only joking! Of course I take all my rubbish home with me! You only have to take a look in the passenger footwell of my car to see that! Quote Link to comment
+Sparky-Watts Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Woh, steady on! I'm only joking! Of course I take all my rubbish home with me! You only have to take a look in the passenger footwell of my car to see that! Good save! Of course, in case your batteries all go dead, rendering your GPSr as useless as a price check at the Dollar Store, you can always use the trail of litter to find your way back to the car! Quote Link to comment
+Papakas Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 I used to use string to find my way back to the car! It did limit how far I away I could park from the cache but it was great fun gathering it all back in again afterwards! Then I discovered trackback! Quote Link to comment
+Teasel Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 I learnt that lesson the hard way too! I was having dinner with friends at the time and they were most surprised when I suddenly squealed, lept off my chair and pulled my trousers off! Quite amazing the sort of current rechargable batteries can deliver. Quote Link to comment
+Sparky-Watts Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 I learnt that lesson the hard way too! I was having dinner with friends at the time and they were most surprised when I suddenly squealed, lept off my chair and pulled my trousers off! Quite amazing the sort of current rechargable batteries can deliver. And now the burning question (no pun intended): Did they invite you back again for dinner? Or did they just invite you back for a show? Quote Link to comment
+Red Clover Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 lol I ended up stripping in front of a full camp ground after a "sparkler" firework type got stuck in my back pants pocket! Not fun btw. Quote Link to comment
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