D Cell Battery Shortage

My father needed D Cell batters for his flashlights but the problem is he went a few days late after the panic. NONE nowheres NO D cell batteries at all....The strange thing tho is AA and AA Are as abundant as if there was nothing at all that they powered in this world. I have narrowed my battery usage down to AA and AAA but i guess most the world is still alittle slow to roll on the simplicity and abundance of this.

There's no shortage here, we have two bricks of Duracell alkaline D-cells that I bought when there was no panic or crisis. They're good until March of 2018. Why wait until an emergency to secure your stockpile? I have a couple D-cell Maglites and my other half has a couple D-cell LED lanterns.

I would probably get some of the LSD Ansmann D cell or Imedion D-cell , they are pricey initially but they will work out much cheaper in the long run.

The Ansmanns work very well with the Ansmann Powerline 5 Charger, which will take a 12V Cigarette power Supply

...also, a while ago I saw AA to D cell form factor converters of 3 different types on eBay. The most common one accepting 1 AA cell is easy to find, the less common 3 AA cell holder may not fit all kind of electronics (MagLite is OK, though) and usually expensive, and once I've stumbled upon the 2 AA cell holder model - less effective, but should be more compatible with tight battery compartments. Just google it if interested.

By the way, I have also standardized on AA cells. And I don't see any problems improvising a D cell out of 3 of them using some duct tape and parts from a dead D-Cell, or even just aluminum foil instead.

Frisket, the rapid disappearance of D cells from store shelves is something that people commonly comment on after various events, which is one big reason why I have tried to standardize on AA for most of my battery operated gear for quite some time now.

However, that does mean that many people may have some spare D cells during an event, so I wouldn't totally throw out all your D cell flashlights, in case you need more batteries and the only thing available from someone are D cells. With the amazing efficiency of LED flashlights now, you don't need big D cells to get many, many hours of usable light nowadays. In the past, you needed big 6V lantern batteries or multiple D batteries just to get some decent runtime before your light started rapidly turning a dim orange.

In many cases, C cells are also pretty available when all the D cells have been gobbled up, so that's another option. But more equipment take AA's than C's so you probably get more interoperability with AA's or even AAA's.

I've "standardized" on AA also, but I keep a supply of most other batteries with the exception of C cells and coin format.

I stock a mixture of AA and AAA batteries, both rechargeables and lithiums. I have a Goal Zero rig for off grid recharging. Appliances using C's and D's are disappearing from my kits. I try to keep enough batteries on hand so that what might be available in stores is irrelevant.

I was noticing that on the news here, too -- that stores were stripped clean of "D" batteries.

I haven't used those for years. I'm all AA, AAA, 123 and the little button and wafer batteries -- and have gobs of them.

We have weather-related power outages often enough around here that it is mind-boggling to me that more people don't have multiple functioning flashlights on hand, always.

At the height of "Superstorm" Sandy, I had flashlights (Fenix and Surefire) in multiple rooms and had a Petzl Zipka on my wrist.

And there are other occasions to use them, of course, A couple years ago I gave a friend one of Doug's e-PICO lights. For all I knew she'd thrown it in a drawer. But turns out she threw it in her purse. She e-mailed a few months ago to let me know she and her husband had returned to Dulles Airport after a trip to find that their car battery was dead.

Her husband was lamenting not having a flashlight when she whipped the e-PICO out of her purse. It did the job and after that she asked for recommendations for a bigger flashlight to keep in their cars.

What friends are for.

I've mentioned this before, but my entire "prep" for this year's hurricane season was to purchase a 4 pack of "D" cells and a Coleman High Tec 3AA LED lantern....the D's are for my ceiling fan project and a 2D LED MagLight....the AA Eneloops work the 2D LED MagLight with adapters (I stick a quarter in the base to make better contact) but only get a couple of hours on the fan as opposed to 9+ hour output of a D cell...very happy with my conversion to AAs across the board.... the CR123s are for the high output SureFire LEDs (retro fit modules from Malkoff and SolarForce (HK)...

D cells are pretty much paperweights to me. When digging thru some boxes last summer I found an old 3 x D-cell Mag-Lite I bought back when they were the SOTA (in other words, somewhere around when I graduated HS...1987). It hadn't been used in a decade and a half at least but I decided to see if it still worked. When I looked for batteries I was stunned to see how expensive D's had become. Now, I had no intention of dropping $9 on Energizers when I didn't even know if the light would even work! Eventually I found some off brand alkaline D's at Big Lots.

BTW, the light worked...but it still sucked! Even my cheapest $7 Chinese LED was brighter with better throw and more usable spot.

I upgraded my old 3xD cell MagLite with an LED emitter. It's way too big and bulky to carry around, and it's not bright enough for anything but close-up work. However, it makes a great troubleshooting-the-sump-pump light, as it survives horrific abuse while providing long runtime.

(I'm not picking on you, Phaedrus, I'm just incapable of not commenting on a flashlight thread .)

I should probably do that since I already have the light. Of course, I also wind up "throwing good money after bad" sometimes by refusing to ever throw anything away!

again mentioned before... for a "door buster" at Lowes a couple of years ago for hurricane tax free days here in Florida, 2 and 3 D cell LED MagLights were on sale for $12 and $15....if you haven't seen the D cell LED Maglights, they have serious throw and spot compared to the incandescent older versions... true, you don't put them in your pocket (I attached a key ring with a plastic cable tie to attach it if necessary) but they are my "go to " light for routine duties... guess old habits die hard...(change of topic warning)... if you live in a jurisdiction that prohibits, or you choose not to carry a handgun, the 240 and 320 lumen tactical lights IMHO are a better option than pepper spray... they can seriously disorient if flashed in someone's eyes...

I suspect the D cells disappear quickly because they are not anywhere near as commonly used as AA cells are.

I also upgraded my late 80's vintage 3D Maglite with an LED emitter, but I splurged and bought a 3 watt emitter that had the voltage regulation circuitry in the bulb. It's a big light but the throw with a focused beam is fairly impressive. I did the same with my newer 2D Maglite but with that I used a 1 watt emitter and then put it in my truck.

The emitters were not cheap, but it was a one-time thing and now they are very useful lights as long as you aren't carrying them. For a lightto keep on your belt (as I do when I walk the dog at night), AA and 123A lights rule.

One thing D cells give is a lot of run-time before a battery change is required. Since these are both back-up lights, I hope for the batteries to hit their expiration date (March 2018) before the light dims.

Yes - the D cell mag lights were the best and brightest at one point - We all had them. But now there are better options for most applications.

i keep a bunch of AA-to-D cell adapters around so i can use AAs in my D-cell tools ('lights, radios, etc).

they aren't expensive and sure come in handy. i love running my big old D-cell radio for hours on almost-worn-out AAs that were used in other tools.

Got some AA/D cell adapters,use them rarely,they are pretty much dinosaurs anymore.

D cells then AA cells are the first to disappear here in Florida. I've walked into an otherwise stripped battery section and found C cells though.

Just stock up before the first day of hurricane season and don't sweat shortages. That goes for all expendables, batteries, water, TP ... propane. The last minute should be reserved for topping off things like auto fuel tanks and putting lawn furniture away.