Memory Saver when changing out the 12 volt battery
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No need for one.. I changed mine out and lost nothing.
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I didn't lose any radio presets, nor did I lose my home screen configuration. However, some of the other settings returned to default, like the door locks, entry and exit lighting and charge interruption alerts. I had to go in and reset those for my preferences. I just took a video on my phone scrolling through the settings before the battery got removed. Made it easy to go back in and make changes.
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If it were me, I'd just hook up another 12v battery I have laying around with alligator leads while I swap.
If one doesn't have a 12v battery laying around, that would be a good excuse to buy a 12v boost pack for emergency use. ~$20, and you'll never have to worry about an unexpected dead battery. Plus, charge your phone when you're otherwise not near a charger.
If one doesn't have a 12v battery laying around, that would be a good excuse to buy a 12v boost pack for emergency use. ~$20, and you'll never have to worry about an unexpected dead battery. Plus, charge your phone when you're otherwise not near a charger.
When AAA has to disconnect a 12v battery, they use a boost pack to maintain everything. In the olde dayze, they would drag in jumper cables from the truck. They've done the battery several times in my Priuses (Prii?). I had to show one of them where the remote battery terminals are in the fuse box because the battery itself is buried in the trunk and there's no good way to connect there while you're working.
The one time I had the dealer do it, they didn't bother with the booster pack and cleared everything. Grump.
That said, even when my Bolts have been in for a software reflash (including when the battery was done), the radio presets and the utility price schedule all came through fine. I'm pretty sure the didn't use a "keeper" for that. The rest of the settings were reset to factory default, so I needed a little quality time to go through all the screens and change them back to what I prefer.
I have Uninterruptible Power Supplies for my desktop computer and router. The ancient alarum clock (chez Goodwill) has a 9V backup battery. So why can't your coffeemaker have a battery backup?
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That was 1 example, but things like the oven and microwave always lose their settings when the shortest of power outages occur, which is probably about 6 times per year here.
No need for a battery, which itself has to be replaced. A capacitor costs a few cents, and in theory, can last the life of the device.
Plenty of stuff in our lives are made unnecessarily poorly simply because there is no practical way to advertise something like capacitor memory to consumers, who aren't long-term thinkers, but short-term impulsive buyers. So, the company saves $0.27 per unit, and everyone spends their one and only life programming the time into their coffee maker several times per year.
I've always contemplated a UPS, but I refuse to buy one that uses lead acid batteries. Don't need more things that need attention every few years. My criteria is a UPS that I can ignore for 20 years.
Computer motherboards have used button batteries to backup BIOS settings for decades. Probably last the life of the coffee maker. Full discloser: Coffee makers don't last long in my house. They are abused.
Cheapo power supplies...
Bulk capacitors do exist, even if they aren't really needed for a lot of consumer products. But they aren't 27¢ parts any more. I recently had experience with replacing the bulk capacitors (a pair of 8800 µf 50V) in an old amp. Had to get "snap-in" parts and do some metal-bending with needle-nose because through-hole parts are no longer available. They were about $10 each. Granted, that was in small quantity, but I checked around before ordering and that was the lowest price I could find for that voltage & value, and only one place actually stocked some (limited quantities - they weren't taking orders for quantities above 10). Restock (if you wanted more) was listed as >52 weeks. Also, they're not small.
Brain fade warning: polarity matters.
Older equipment that doesn't use the cheapest possible power supply can ride through the typical brief power blips around here; most stuff running off a cheap wall wart can't. Even our microwave seems to be able to hold its clock through a 1/2 sec outage. But yes, I understand. Microwaves and clocks on ranges and gadgets are the new blinking VCR.
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I don't know what size cap is required to retain memory, but it would be very small.
I'm seeing 470 uF caps for $0.06-$0.07 if buying in bulk. My 27 cent made up cost included the R&D and other parts needed to keep the clock memory. As I said, I'd be willing to pay a buck more for that feature, but most consumers would just see a product that needlessly costs $1 more than a competing product, and choose the cheaper one.
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