Rechargeable calipers

[CarLuver]

all the calipers I have all eat the battery just sitting around .

Finally it seems there are rechargeable calipers

Gonna order some

HARDELL Rechargeable Digital Caliper, 6" Plastic Calipers with Large Orange Screen (Non-Backlit), Inch/mm, Auto-Off Micrometer – Everyday Caliper Measuring Tool for Woodworking, DIY & Household https://a.co/d/03gGFO5X

 

[Nessism1]

Those cheap chinesium calipers are famous for eating batteries. Get some quality Mitituoyo calipers and the battery lasts a long time (and they don't even turn off by themselves, but it doesn't matter.)

 

[GSCJR]

I leave the battery in the case not in my Mitutoyo.

I'm more worried about cell leakage and ruining the battery contact.

 

[D60]

Looks like a built-in battery? That would give me extreme pause. I'd prefer 357s I can replace indefinitely.

The better Mitutoyos turn off and batteries last .....I dunno....long enough it's not a nuisance.

I've also got Mitutoyo solars that have never needed a battery.

Generally speaking, if your use case is infrequent enough that you can't justify some Mitutoyos, you're better off with basic dial calipers. I keep a set in every truck and even if I pull them out after 5 years, they work : D

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Depending on which battery it takes, you can get 2-4 of them for 1.50 at the Dollar Tree

 

[GSCJR]

Generally speaking, if your use case is infrequent enough that you can't justify some Mitutoyos, you're better off with basic dial calipers. I keep a set in every truck and even if I pull them out after 5 years, they work : D

+1

I've got 3 calipers; good, better, best. It all depends on what I'm doing with them.

 

[JHZR2]

Rechargeable batteries have a finite lifetime too. When they go, you have a piece of junk.

Never understood what the problem with one of these was…

 

[JavierH19]

I wish people would just use dial calipers, they're easier to read than at first glance. Most all of them are both metric and SAE.

I would never buy a cheap dial caliper though. You need the mechanism to be of proper quality to be accurate and reliable. My mitutoyos, brown and sharp, and starrets are old but still perform like new. Never had to change the battery.

Regarding that rechargeable thing it's okay for the price so if you don't need something super accurate just rough accurate down to the single decimal millimeter with a probable +/- .2 mm accuracy and nothing more I think it'll be fine.

 

[billt460]

The electronics in most all of them come from China. Regardless of brand, type, or cost.

 

[bdc101]

Rechargeable batteries have a finite lifetime too. When they go, you have a piece of junk.

Better to be able to replace the battery than to have a "rechargeable battery" that failed after the first year of use, like most cheap chinese Amazon crap electronics from fake made-up brands.

 

[Carmudgeon]

When I bought cheap calipers, I specifically sought out models that employ CR2032 lithium coin cells, instead of the xR44 button cells.

2032s have become cheap, and readily available, due to their widespread adoption in everyday applications.

 

[Motu]

When I bought my Limit caliper the battery lasted about a year, every battery since is lucky to last a couple of months.

 

[D60]

When I bought cheap calipers, I specifically sought out models that employ CR2032 lithium coin cells, instead of the xR44 button cells.

2032s have become cheap, and readily available, due to their widespread adoption in everyday applications.

I hear ya, but we know from results 357 buttons can last ~2 years. Mitutoyo has pulled it off (for decades).

Chinese manufacturers are simply too cheap to employ true shut down. Instead the display goes blank but it's still chewing power invisibly in the background.

My three 6" calipers have batteries in them constantly. They're used regularly so removing and inserting batts is flat out unrealistic. My fourth is solar and that's the REAL solution. It works in very low lighting -- lower than my failing eyes would ever want to do anything that requires a caliper.

 

[Trav]

I have a German made Kern dial and a Swiss made Brown & Sharpe digital, the battery in the B&S last a long time. I have a Starrett but it is in inch so to me its just not very useful like the rest of the inch stuff, metric only here.

 

[D60]

Actually I forgot I have two solars. The silver IP66 units (not a part #) do not eat batts excessively. The solar is amazing because it needs nothing but a tiny bit of light.

They stay at mill #1, mill #2, primary lathe and I now keep one on my service cart at all times. I'll often just measure across the flats of a bolt or nut rather than play try-a-socket four times in a row

 

[supton]

I remember when these got cheap ~15 years ago. We bought like 3 of them. My coworker measured the current draw and concluded that turning off did not change battery draw.

I "fixed" mine by storing with the battery out. It might still be on the original battery, or maybe I have to replace it every 10 years. I don't use it that much.

I did find some low cost dial calipers and have one that does both metric and SAE. I don't trust it to a thousandth but it's good enough for my minor needs. But it always takes a minute or two to remember how to read it.

 

[dubber09]

Since I don't use mine often I just pull battery when done using it. The case has storage spot for the battery.

 

[D60]

One of my first dial calipers about 20 years ago was a 6" Kanon (made in JP). They were quite good but eventually something infiltrated the rack and they were never the same.

I see a couple used on ebay right now, listed as "vintage." If you ever stumble upon Kanon calipers in good shape, they're not junk.

 

[Rand]

problem with digital mitutoyo is they are notoriously counterfeited.
be careful with ebay etc.

 

[Nessism1]

problem with digital mitutoyo is they are notoriously counterfeited.
be careful with ebay etc.

There are videos on how to judge fake vs. real. It's quite easy since the fakes are so poor.

Regarding cheap calipers, iGAGING makes some decent ones. Feedback on durability and accuracy is good.