Button batteries or coin batteries can prove very dangerous to small children especially when swallowed. However, it’s not just children’s products that contain button batteries they are used for many common household products.
Can you please check your home if you have any products using button batteries. Button batteries can be in a range of products including bathroom and kitchen scales, thermometers (body temperature and for meat), watches, remote controls, night and reading lights, torches, bicycle and dog lead lights, flameless candles, toys and games, calculators, musical greeting cards
Please let us know in the comments below or send an email to money@choice.com.au:
What is the product (type & brand) eg Roche Glucosemeter
How easy you can open the battery compartment - do you need a tool like a coin or screw driver to open it or can you just open it with your finger or fingernail?
DVD player (Chinese branded one we bought when we lived in China - a rebadged Panasonic)
reasonably easy, depress the catch the slide holder releases easily
CR2025
Yangzhong China
Illuminated LED light
Typo brand illuminated LED light (Letter S)
Cover has locking screw, difficult to open
AG13
received as gift
Car Key Fobs
Subaru car fob key
Cover has locking screw, difficult to open
CR1620
Subaru dealership in Brisbane
Electronic thermometer
Unbranded electronic thermometer
Battery cover at the end requires some force to pull off (suspect that it may pop off if it is dropped). The battery itself is held in a metal bracket which requires a pen or other similar implement to push the battery out. Easy to access the battery, but more difficult to release the battery from its holder.
AG8
can’t remember but would have been a local chemist.
Electronic thermometer
Becton Dickinson electron thermometer
battery cover screws in and requires coin or screwdriver to remove. Hard to remove.
LR41
can’t remember but would have been a local chemist.
Luggage scales
HGF-Series luggage scales
the catch on the battery door is easy to push and remove
CR2032
received as gift
Kitchen Scales
Accurite kitchen scales model 4008W
catch on battery cover reasonably easy to use and release cover
CR3032
received as gift
Toy train
Kmart branded toy train with steam train noises
Plastic cover locked with screw. Hard to remove
Batteries were removed immediately after purchase as we didn’t want risk of the cover door breaking and batteries being released (also if our child didn’t know about the noise it made, there would be no need to continually replace batteries). Difficult to remove but plastic seems brittle and cover may break if damaged/hit.
Kmart
Seiko watched (lady’s and men’s)
Seiko lady’s and men’s watches
Rear cover requires specialised tools to remove. Very difficult to remove.
Don’t know
Can’t remember
Daiso LED watch
*$2.80 watch from Daiso
Back cover of watch is attached with a locking screw. Need screw driver to remove cover.
The small button batteries are ubiquitous. I have just listed what comes to mind.
Bathroom Scales
Slide off cover
not sure several years ago
Torch/Laser Pointer
Unscrew the end to get to 3x batteries.
bought out of China
Watches
Unscrew back plate - not easy to access
bought in a variety of stores and on-line
Garage door remote fobs x4
Batteries under a slip off cover. Fairly easy to access
Received with house and bought on-line
Clip on LED reading light
Batteries under a slip off cover. Fairly easy to access
can’t remember
Car key remotes
glued or screwed access
came with vehicle or bought on-line
Electronic clock / thermometer
slide off cover
bought on-line from China
TENS machine
slide off cover
old, can’t remember
Calculators various
slide off cover
old, can’t remember
Car A/V remote controls
slide off cover
came with equipment
Bicycle lights
slide off cover
bought from a variety of stores and on-line from China
Digital Caliper
slide off cover
bought from Aldi
Digital Laser Level
slide off cover
bought from Bunnings
Kids Toys
slide off covers, some screw down
bought from everywhere
I’m sure that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the only time I consciously take notice of what the battery type is is when something stops working.
In the scheme of things, it is small, but Snark clip on guitar tuner requires a button battery. It slides out easy with no locking mechanism, pop out old battery and pop in new one and push shut.
I’ve gone through a few Snarks because they battery slot has worked loose.
Never gave it that much though until I started taking my guitar to playgroups and little fingers like to touch… as I usually just leave it on my guitar head.
I just had an idea regarding improving the safety issues in regard to button batteries falling out of, or being removed out of products by small children.
I have just checked using a fridge magnet and the button batteries will stick to a magnet.
If products which use button batteries, especially childrens; toys, had a small magnet built-in to the bottom of the battery compartment, it would mean that the batteries would not fall out even when the cover was open or removed, and a small child would not be able to pry them out.
It would require the use of a small tool such as a very small screwdriver or a small metal shewer to prise them out, similar to removing the button battery from a computer mainboard.
Perhaps Choice could push for such an idea to be made compulsory?
A good idea. I have also seen holders which have plastic clasps that come up the sides and over the edge of the battery. These can also make battery removal very difficult and often require a small screw driver or something similar to lever them out.
There are also holders like this…
Maybe Choice should recommend a secondary retention device (magnet or gripping clasps) in addition to the lockable (e.g. screw) cover?
