The most popular battery size is AA, the most widely used worldwide, along with AAA. Then, there are C and D-size batteries. It kind of makes you wonder whatever happened to B-size batteries. Did they ever exist? What were they used for, and what happened to them?
As it turns out, B-size batteries did exist once upon a time, but they disappeared because there just wasn’t a market for them anymore. As the market for batteries progressed, AA and AAA batteries became popular for smaller products that didn’t require a ton of power, while C and D batteries were suitable for products that had more demanding power requirements. B-size batteries, meanwhile, offered the same voltage as A-size batteries, but they were bigger, so it didn’t make sense to keep them in rotation. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to look back on the history of B-size batteries, what they were initially for, and why they disappeared.
The history of B batteries
As dry cell batteries started to become standard after World War I, the War Industries Board together with government agencies and battery manufacturer representatives, worked with the American Standards Association and National Bureau of Standards, which eventually became the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), respectively, to name batteries based on their size. It was logical to make it simpler to differentiate among them and to standardize naming conventions. Using an ascending alphabet made sense. A size naturally came to describe the smallest ones, while the larger ones were given B, C, D, and other designations. But when AA and AAA batteries came to be, especially with smaller sizes and longer average lifespans, there was simply no more use for the B battery.
Other battery sizes continued to exist to fulfill the needs for various products, like AAAA batteries for items like calculators and pen flashlights, CR batteries for items like car key fobs and watches, and even the massive No. 6 battery invented by Dr. Carl Gassner in 1888 that measured a whopping six inches long and was most commonly used to power telephones and early automobiles. The B size was basically phased out, sitting within a category that really didn’t exist anymore.
What products used B batteries
Part of the reason that B-size batteries disappeared is that they were mostly used in products like vacuum tubes for radio and early television sets. Once transistors replaced vacuum tubes, and transistor radios switched to 9-volt batteries, B batteries did not have a place in the market anymore. At the same time, personal electronics continued to get smaller. B batteries largely offered the same 1.5V as A-cell batteries, yet they were bigger. So, it makes sense to eliminate them since most smaller devices could be powered by AA or AAA cells from one of the most popular battery brands. Larger devices, meanwhile, or ones that needed more power, jumped to C, D, or others.
It’s worth noting that the standard A battery largely disappeared as well. However, A batteries are still in use in regions like Europe, combined to create larger batteries to power products like portable lanterns. Further, while B batteries aren’t in production for consumer use, you may still find them in niche industries, like industrial companies using them for backup power, or in precision instruments. So, B batteries were once here; they do technically still exist, but you’ll never find a product that needs one, nor see them packaged in a store. AA and AAA batteries have you covered. Just make sure to properly recycle them when you’re done. Even if they ever go out of circulation, they’ll last for up to 100 years if left in a landfill.
