CR2032 Batteries
 

I need to buy a quantity of the above battery. I will use it from replacing motherboard CMOS batteries to a few cyclometers. Should I cheap out on unknown brands or stick with the name brands, and pay considerably more?

I have found on batteries I have had terrible luck with cheap batteries. why risk it. you can get 12 or 20 count Duracell's for a decent price. I think I got a 12 pack at Costco for like $14 or so

I probably use a dozen CR2032 batteries a year, I have not found any significant difference between cheap no-name brands and the more expensive ones. That said, when I change a battery in my heart rate monitor or blood sugar meter, it is usually a 2 minute endeavor to clean the contacts and put in the new one. On a bike computer, add another 5 to 10 minutes for me to look up my latest data on odometer readings and wheel circumference data for that bike, and resetting all the data in the computer.

If it was going to be inside something more complicated to replace, I would spend more. I usually replace my own watch batteries and I pay more for those batteries because it might take a half hour to replace a battery. I do not know if they are better but I do that anyway.

I haven't had any problems with cheap harbor freight CR2032 batteries . Only place I run premium CR2032 batteries is in optics that Have to work

I recently had a pack of Duracell's that didn't have enough juice to work in anything. They were well within their expiration date. I think it's more to do with who and where the actual battery is made than what brand they are. I noted that the pack of Eveready's I replaced them with had JAPAN on each battery, the Duracell's that were bad had CHINA on them. I don't really think it's where they are made, but there might be something up with how well they are controlling the quality of manufacturing in that particular factory.

I've had some CR2032's from Harbor Freight that worked well as have Duracell and Eveready that worked fine. Other times they've been crap. I've noticed that all of them seem to get batteries made in two or more different locations.

I like this logic, but I have found the no-name batteries to vary in reliability. I buy the Eveready 2032 and 2016, but I only need a few per year. If I needed two dozen, I might try the cheaper ones.

There are YouTube videos testing and comparing different brands, some of them very thoroughly. There are wide differences. Here's one of many:

Hi Daniell,

Occasionally I've had name-brand batteries that were DOA, so it can be helpful to buy from a supplier that has a good return policy.
I mostly use BatteryJunction.

Thanks and good health, Weogo

I have some vintage VDO brand wireless bike computers on three bikes (only have two cadence sensors for the three), and those computers usually require new batteries each year. That is 8 batteries. I probably replace 3 a year in blood sugar meters. Heart rate monitors, I have one on each of about 4 or 5 bikes, that also includes several chest straps, probably replace 2 batteries a year. There are a few other things that surprise me on occasion, my kitchen immersion thermometer might use a 2032, I do not remember, etc. I have a couple wired bike computers, I get several years per battery on those, each computer only takes one 2032.

The main culprit is the wireless bike computers.

You must mean inexpensive wireless bike computers. My wireless bike computers have never needed battery replacement. And the sensors at most go at least 2 years and more with no need to replace their batteries. Except my PM I got a couple years ago did need a battery replacement at 1 year and that is the particular thing I experienced the issue with the bad Duracell CR2032's and had to replace it several times till I realized the entire blister pack of batteries all had too little voltage remaining in them.

They were pricy ones on a clearance price when I bought them over a decade ago. The age might have something to do with it, older electronics often were designed with more power hungry components. The display does show some text even when they are in sleep mode, wasting some power.

I buy CR2032 batteries from Ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...R2032&_sacat=0

10 for $3.68, $3.69. How could you go wrong? I use them for auto transmitter.

I’ve bought a bed pack from Harbor freight before. The last pack I got was Duracell from Costco. all were outstanding.

I don't purchase Duracell any more. They changed something and now their AA's leak, even still in the package.

Duracell DR2032's have a bitter coating to stop kids putting them in their mouth.
Good idea, but Stages recommends not using bitter coated batteries due to connection issues.

I use only Energizer now.

Barry

The whole trick to making good batteries is the purity of the chemistry and the attention to cleanliness. I've been in a bunch of these factories in Asia and seen the variance first hand. Based on that, get a name brand - you'll have better consistency and the pricing (from Amazon etc...) is comparable.

The issue is that the budget brands don't have as good of process management and cleanliness so you can get a great batch and you can get a junk batch.

There are so many counterfeit cr2032 that it's really a gamble every time you buy them. It seems like every Maxell battery is counterfeit, but they have hit other brands as well.

Buy a 10 pack from the ebay link I posted, and try them out for yourself. It will be a less than $4 gamble. Then you can judge for yourself if people are BSing you about "Asian" factory variance. They work for me.

Be aware that there are a LOT of counterfeit Duracell batteries coming out of China.

Duracell, Costco. Done.

A entire pack of Duracell's that I think I bought at Costco were the ones that I had to toss almost every one out. So nothing is for certain. Especially with coin batteries.

Cheap to buy name brand ones on Amazon if willing to buy 8 or more as a pack. A concern I have is with battery leakage and destroying the device and name brand ones are less likely to leak. The leakage also occurs after a battery is fully drained to better to replace them at intervals and not wait for them to die completely.

I think that if you're buying from amazon you're probably getting counterfeit ones due to their stock co-mingling. I think you're better off buying directly from a real retailer like Walmart, fulfilled by Walmart.

Ditto
Here's the link I used and have had excellent results https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...R2032&_sacat=0

Costco has excellent customer service. You should have returned the batteries for either replacement or refund.
Personally, I have never had a bad Duracell battery.
YMMV

fat biker

I know they have excellent customer service. I ordered a TV through their online store and had it delivered to the house. I watched in amazement out of my window as the FedEx guy tossed it onto the porch from five feet away. The screen was shattered. The local Costco returned my money with no issues. I can only hope they dealt with FedEx.

However it's not about returning them and getting some more. It's just annoying to have to do so. They aren't so expensive that I feel it worth the effort to return. I complain about too many other things.

The bad coin batteries just seem to come in cycles every 7 or so years no matter the brand whether expensive or cheap. Maybe it is counterfeiting as others suggest. Or just that the various places that actually make them for the brands that sell them just go through times of poor quality control.