What is the Size of a C Battery?

A C battery is also known as an R14 battery and is one of the standard size batteries in use today. People usually use batteries of this size for musical instruments, toys, and other electronics and gadgets that require only has medium drain applications. This battery may not exactly be the most popular battery size out there but it is very useful in today’s energy consuming society.

Sales Map

This battery size still covers a very significant portion of the demand in the alkaline primary battery industry. In fact, it accounted for about four percent of the sales in the United States in the year 2007. This battery size made a better performance outside of the US market since it was able to go up to 5.4% of the primary battery sales in Switzerland in 2008.

As a secondary battery, this battery size was able to make 3.4% of the total battery sales. The demand for the C battery will be affected by various factors. Part of the set of factors that affect the sales volume of this battery size is the way manufacturers design their electronics. If there are more popular electronic products that use this battery size then of course the greater will be the demand for this type of battery.

Dimensions

Here are the standard dimensions for the C battery. It has a diameter of 26 mm and it has a height of 50 mm. However, there are manufacturers that produce R14 batteries that are 46 mm in length. The usual alkaline weight of the R14 is 65 grams. Its NiCad weight is usually 72 grams while its NiMH weight is 80 grams.

Tip: If you can’t find a C battery to serve as a replacement for the old one that has gone dead then you can use an alkaline AA battery instead. The only hitch is that you will have to use a stub case or what is known as a plastic sabot to make the AA battery fit the battery compartment of the electronic equipment you intend to use it for.

Other Common Names

This battery size is known by many other names in different countries. In case you travel to a different country, you might have to know what they call a C battery other than R14 battery. For instance, they call this battery size as #2 in China. If you happen to be in Britain, you may hear someone refer to it as a U11 size battery. In Russia, some folks might call it as the Type 343 battery.

People refer to the C battery using many different names simply because it is one of the basic battery standard sizes used for flashlights. This battery size has been around for half a century making it quite commonplace in modern living.