Talk:Zinc–carbon battery

message: This thing is totally messed up! When I finish my finals I'll clean it up. Kr5t 22:37, 21 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: If you have a chance, could you also re-write the intro? When the article was first created, the text was simply copied from the World Book Encyclopedia. Most of that text is still there. It's not a lot, but it'd be better if this were entirely written by our editors, rather than stolen from another encyclopedia. -Will Beback 20:18, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

text: Seems good now Linlithgow (talk) 14:44, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
thread_title: Messed up

message: The main components:
# zinc- anode
# carbon rod- cathode
# paste of MnO2, NH4Cl, H2O as the electrolyte
# Porous paper- separates the paste from the Zn casing, also allows for the diffusion of ions.
# wax seal prevents the evaporation of water.
An anonymous user made this comment on the dry cell talk page. I moved it here, since it does not apply to dry cells. The comment was modified slightly. -- Kjkolb 08:10, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Zinc-carbon dry cell components

message: I have now edited the dry cell page to form a link and make it a bit clearer that a zinc-carbon battery is one example of a dry cell. I hope I have made this article a little clearer to readers by doing so. Also the carbon rod is not really the cathode but is merely a collector. With reference to the above comments the manganese dioxide and carbon powder acts as the cathode as stated in the original wikipedia article zinc-carbon battery! By a former physics teacher 14 50 1st November 2006
I agree: 65 years ago dry cell typically refered to a much scaled up version of the AA cell. I believe they were otherwise identical, except they had thumb nut terminals. The inside of the zinc can had a thin film of mercury to prevent local action. A thinner film of mercury meant poorer shelf life. No mercury meant the zinc carbon battery was unacceptable for any application, but I suppose they are still made in some countries, less strict about mercury.
The manganes dioxide is called a depolarizer as it removes the hydrogen bubbles which otherwise partially insulate the carbon rod from the rest of the battery. New zinc carbon batteries could deliver about 15 amps briefly to a very low resistant load. Modern alkaline batteries only about 5 amps. Typical applications require 1/2 amp or less.
See alkaline batteries Ccpoodle 21:40, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Amendment Made to Clear up Confusion of Definitions of Dry Cell and Zinc-Carbon Cell

message: I've revised the introduction and the chemistry reactions - hopefully that is now clear enough for interested readers. (I shifted to normal html for the equations as it is simpler and gives the same result.) Also included is a link to the Dry Cell page, which gives a simpler account. I added some details on the heavy duty (zinc chloride) cell, and more references. I removed all specific mention of hydrogen as (1) it isn't a significant side-reaction (2) some of the chemical equations were wrong.Ian 12:29, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Revised Article - clear enough now? 

message: When were ordinary AA/AAA/C/D batteries first commonly sold?
-69.87.203.130 (talk) 01:10, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  History 

message: This article uses both. – Mwongozi (talk) 08:13, 24 June 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Today I changed the initial text in the lead from «A zinc–carbon battery» to «A zinc–carbon battery (or carbon zinc battery in U.S. English)».  --Dan Harkless (talk) 08:11, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Zinc–carbon or Carbon–zinc? 

message: consensus against move
:Zinc-carbon battery → Zinc-carbon cell — The electrochemical battery is simply a pair of electrochemical cells. this article deals around how this type of cell works.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.245.90.148 (talk)  11:55, 9 October 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Move

message: Someone wrote: please edit on how to dispose of this battery! 
Anyone care to amplify on this in the article? I'm not aware of any special disposal method for zinc-carbon batteries.
--Wtshymanski (talk) 21:40, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Disposal

message: There may be controversion about the inventor of the dry version of this battery. This article mentions Carl Gassner as the inventor, while the article on Wilhelm Hellesen claims that he was the first inventor. Rune Kock (talk) 00:08, 5 September 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Inventor of dry cell 

message: i bought one of those cheap 40 packs and kept them in a drawer. and used them as i needed. i discovered that after a certain time the used ones would leak. even if i used them for a moment, this would cause them to expand later on. the ones i had never used yet still looked new, and would expand later if i used them even for a bit. is there any explanation for this? it doesn't quite fit the explanation of the zinc corrosion in the article (The zinc container becomes thinner as the cell is used). Charlieb000 (talk) 20:18, 23 September 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: There would be side reactions and self-discharge going on even in unused cells; they all rot through eventually if you leave them long enough. --Wtshymanski (talk) 02:55, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  leakage discovery 

message: It's not purity has made batteries work four times longer but right ideas. 95.72.34.15 (talk) 20:19, 9 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  It seems author has little problem with purity ) 

message: The reaction for the depolariser in this article is at variance with that in the Leclanché cell.  One is clearly incorrect.  My belief is that this article is correct and that the other is wrong, but I can't find a suitable reference. 109.145.22.224 (talk) 15:59, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Depolariser reaction. 

message: It should say "The zinc can...is marked negative" and "the positive pole...is marked with a plus sign."
165.91.49.64 (talk) 21:33, 22 February 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Polarity is reversed. 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: So our text reads that the "flashlight" battery was invented before the flashlight.  What, an inquiring reader would want to know, were "flashlight" batteries used for *before* flashlights?  It's called a "consumer product" - but what application would it have had? A D cell is too small and short lived for auto ignition, #6 cells are better fit for connecting up for telephone circuits, because they have convenient screw terminals, and there was no "radio" to speak of in the 1890s, at least as a consumer product.  What were they used for? --Wtshymanski (talk) 19:44, 10 October 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: <Somewhat later>  The text (even back in October 2017), claims that the battery was invented before the flashlight, but at no point does it claim that it was called a 'flashlight battery'. The 'dry cell' was invented in 1887 (though not really mass produced until 1896). The flashlight was patented in 1899. So what were the batteries doing between 1896 and 1899? Well the miniature lamps used by the flashlight certainly existed, as miniature carbon filament lamps were in existence by 1890. The new dry cells would have been perfect for powering such lamps. It was but a small leap of imagination to put the cell(s) and the lamps in a single tubular structure (bung in a switch for good measure) and the standard burglar model flashlight was a reality. DocFergus (talk) 17:36, 9 October 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Chicken/egg

message: In the "Chemical reactions" section, the following sentence can be found: "The zinc is oxidised by the charge carrier, chloride (Cl−), via the following half-reactions" etc. My perplexity is about the role of chloride ion as oxidizer; actually, it should be further reduced, which I think it is impossible. In my opinion, zinc is oxidized, so-to-say, by the reduction half-reaction that is simultaneously taking place at the cathode, and by its need of electrons, which causes electrons be released by metallic zinc and its contextual transformation into zinc ions. So, in my opinion, that sentence should be modified. Ekisbares (talk) 10:20, 6 April 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Perplexity about the zinc half-reaction 

message: Zinc-Carbon batteries often are labelled as containing lead, which is not mentioned in the article. 2001:871:22B:38A9:6153:5263:5055:CBB2 (talk) 21:06, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lead content