424
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #47,966 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★☆
LR44 vs SR44 -- a clarification on when you can substitute one for the other
I'm writing this "review" just to help folks understand the LR vs SR issue. I had to research this myself to understand what's going on. Here is what I discovered:
It is true that, due to identical shape and size, both types will fit and power up a given device. They will many times "seem" to work just fine if you swap one for the other, but over time, you will see performance problems (possibly). However, in many applications, they will work equally well, especially when the batteries are fresh and undrained.
L means "alkaline" in IEC terminology, where S means "silver oxide". The S batteries are quite a bit more expensive, so do not get them unless you need their specific performance characteristics. They have a "flat" voltage vs. capacity discharge profile; in other words, as you use them up, they remain "peppy" until they are pretty much dead, then they fall over. The cheaper L (alkaline) battery has a "sloping" discharge profile: as you use them up over time, they become less and less "zippy" and eventually "poop out" or just don't have enough "get up and go" to power the device.
This is why the Eveready Miniature Alkaline Application Handbook (for design engineers) states: "The substitution of miniature manganese dioxide [alkaline "L" type] batteries for silver oxide [the "S" type] batteries should only be made where recommended by the device manufacturer" [due to the "sloping" discharge characteristic].
So, technically, these LR44 batteries can be used in place of SR44 batteries if the device instructions say it's OK (the device can tolerate the droopy discharge life curve). Even so, you will probably notice an overall difference, such as total battery life, when substituting one type for the other in any particular application.
Generally, the extra money paid for the Silver Oxide batteries buys you a battery that will more reliably perform when you need it, then fall over dead quite abruptly. The alkaline batteries may, by contrast, get "weak" and affect the performance of the device (laser pointer, bark collar, etc) before it goes completely dead.
October 2013 · Health and Household