The electronic world is replenished with a thousand types of batteries. Starting from the button cells to the gigantic batteries to electrify the bigger systems, there is an ever growing size and shape of batteries in the world. This article discusses a particular type of a modern battery.
Scientifically, it is known as the CR2032 battery. A lot of people confuse this battery with its brotherly model BR2032. So, we are going to analyze both types of batteries. This will help you in spotting the differences between both models and selecting the one that suits your needs.
An overview of the CR2032 battery
The CR2032 is a micro battery. Technically, it is the button cell Lithium Manganese Dioxide Battery with the nominal voltage of 3v and the cutoff voltage of 2v.
Most of the people might have seen this battery inside their computers as it is commonly used as a CMOS battery. However, some might have also come across these batteries when they are using other devices.
The diameter of this cell is considerable as it has a 20mm nominal diameter with the nominal average height of 3.2mm. The battery altogether makes a round button cell as a finished product.
Moreover, depending upon the Original Equipment Manufacturers, you may find a slight variation in the diameter of the cell as manufacturers may bring some changes in it.
Furthermore, the weight of battery also differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. After the inspection of batteries from around 14 suppliers, the weight range that is found is 2.8g to 3.9g. Except for a couple of batteries with the lower and higher weight, most of the weights are between 3.0g and 3.2g.
It has the capacity of 225 mAh. You can use it for the temperature range of -40 degree Celsius to 70 degree Celsius. The average continuous load discharge time may last from 1100 hours to as long as 2400 hours of continuous use.
However, this continuous discharge time will depend upon the temperature conditions – It may last up to 700 hours on -30 degree Celsius and up to 1100 hours on 60 degree Celsius. The optimum drain timing of this battery will definitely be achieved on the room temperature e.g. 24 Degree Celsius.
The OEMs also test these batteries to optimize their performance and further specify these batteries with certain attributes like Service output (load characteristics), Service output (Temperature characteristics), Storage characteristics at high temperatures, Short circuit characteristics like Temperature of battery surface, Change of off-load voltage after short circuit, Shape, Dimension, Appearance, Over-discharge characteristics, Charge characteristics, Heat shock test and Vibration test performances etc.
If you are allergic to be bogged down in to this much technicalities, you just need to be sure about the applied load, operating temperature and cut-off voltage of your system for which you require cr2032 battery.
So where can you find cr2032 batteries? A lot of reputed battery manufacturers are offering cr2032 Lithium Manganese Dioxide Batteries. The prominent and the trusted OEMs include
- Sony Corporation
- FDK Corporation (Fujitsu)
- Mitsubishi Electric Home Appliances Co. Ltd
- Panasonic
- Energizer
- Duracell
A Comparison of CR2032 Battery with BR2032 battery
The BR2032 is often mistaken with the CR2032 cell because the both look almost the same. However, the BR2032 comes with a lower nominal and, therefore, the voltage and capacity of this battery are also less. However, it is usable for extended temperature ranges.
It comes with a typical capacity of 190 mAh and possesses the nominal voltage of 2.8v with the cutoff voltage of greater than cr2032 i.e. 2.25v. The battery can be used between the temperature ranges of -30 degree Celsius to 85 degree Celsius. Furthermore, the positive point of this battery is the self-discharge rate which is much lower than the CR2032.
What is with C and B
You might have noticed that the only difference between the IEC names of these two batteries is C and B. One is CR while the other is BR. So, it is pertinent to clarify what they actually mean.
The C refers to the lithium electrode at the negative side while the manganese dioxide at the positive side of the battery.
On the other hand, the B refers to lithium electrode at the negative side while instead of manganese dioxide; the carbon mono fluoride is at the positive end. So, the C and B indicate the difference between the chemical formulas of BR2032 and CR2032 batteries.
While you may find these batteries with other names as the manufacturers may have a different name to refer to these batteries but the commonly used names are mentioned cr and br2032.
Bottom line
Cr2032 and br2032 differ in their chemical formulas and their characteristics but you need to either consult the OEM of your system for which you require such micro batteries or you can use the above mentioned details like the applied load, operating temperature and cut-off voltage to decide what deems fit to your system’s requirements.
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