Keep Battery in when AC connected?

[Scotty Lonesome]

Do you keep the battery in the pedal even though the pedal is receiving AC power? I mean, keep the battery actually connected to the leads? Does it make a difference as to what type of pedal?
Scotty.
My current pedals:
SD-1
Keely 2-knob comp
Boss tuner
Tube Screamer
Sparkle Drive
DD-3

[vjf1968]

I never do but when I purchased my Barber Tone Press it recommended to keep a battery connected. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong or read it wrong. But I don't do it because that would drain the battery because I keep my pedals connected via cables on my board. I really need some coffee right now.

[Paul in Colorado]

I always keep batteries in my pedals even though I use a power supply. I may be wrong, but it seems that when I have a power supply plugged in, it doesn't cause the batteries to run down even though there's a plug inserted in the input jack. I've had batteries in my pedals for months and the LED lights up brightly when I unplug the PS. I don't know why this would be since there's no switch in the PS jack. ????

[bosstone]

I usually keep the batteries connected. If, for any reason, you lose external power to the pedal, you have an instant backup.

[badmelonfarmer]

personally no, I don't.

No real reason other than I would be worried about the batteries leaking and damaging the pedals.

Cheers

BMF

[wnorcott]

Power jacks are switched. Whenever a power plug is plugged in the battery is switched out of the circuit. So even if you have effects on a pedal board where all the pedals are permanently patched together with patch cords, as long as the power jack is plugged in to it will not drain the battery.

I leave batteries in all my pedals and never had a problem with leakage. Modern alkaline batteries have a shelf life of several years.

Bill

[Paul in Colorado]

Originally Posted by wnorcott

Power jacks are switched. Whenever a power plug is plugged in the battery is switched out of the circuit. So even if you have effects on a pedal board where all the pedals are permanently patched together with patch cords, as long as the power jack is plugged in to it will not drain the battery.

I leave batteries in all my pedals and never had a problem with leakage. Modern alkaline batteries have a shelf life of several years.

Bill

So they are switched. I thought so, but have never disected one to see how it works.

[gitlvr]

Originally Posted by wnorcott

Power jacks are switched. Whenever a power plug is plugged in the battery is switched out of the circuit. So even if you have effects on a pedal board where all the pedals are permanently patched together with patch cords, as long as the power jack is plugged in to it will not drain the battery.Bill

Depends on the pedal. I have an old MXR M202 Dynacomp. It has a light for on(red) and one for off(green). I plug my pedalboard into a power strip, and when finished playing, shut the strip off. If there's a battery in that pedal, even if the power plug is still plugged into the adapter jack, the green light will remain on and it will drain the battery. I suspect a lot of pedals are similar, in that if you cut the juice off, even if the power plugs are still connected to the pedals, they'll switch to battery. If you plug your power supply into a strip like me, and switch it off after use, you could have problems with battery life, depending on the pedal. However, having said that, with 90% of the pedals in use today, this won't be a problem.

[Guitar_Ninja]

Well, if it's feeding a LED at all times then obviously it's constantly drawing current.

[gitlvr]

Originally Posted by Guitar_Ninja

Well, if it's feeding a LED at all times then obviously it's constantly drawing current.

Agreed. The point I was making was that not all pedals are constructed the same way. It depends on the pedal. The only way to know for sure is to put a battery in the pedal, plug a cable into the input, and then pull the adapter from the wall or switch off the power, without disconnecting the AC adapter jack from the pedal. If at that point you step on the pedal and it doesn't light up, you're good. However, I would point out that none of my other pedals(mostly Boss) draw battery power with the adapter connected, and it's probably only a small minority that does, but the possibility is there, depending, again, on the pedal. There are so many types of pedals out there, you never know.

[FenderGuy53]

I always remove the batteries from the pedals before connecting my pedals to the daisy chain of my OneSpot. It's a personal preference.

[wnorcott]

OK well I will correct that then: I build all my own pedals, and in all the pedals I build for myself and others the DC jack is switched. The only time the battery is in use is when a guitar cord is plug in and the DC jack is unplugged.

I guess I should not draw broad generalizations based on the way I construct pedals I build mine to maximize battery life.

Bill

[Voodoo Chile]

Power jacks are switched. Whenever a power plug is plugged in the battery is switched out of the circuit. So even if you have effects on a pedal board where all the pedals are permanently patched together with patch cords, as long as the power jack is plugged in to it will not drain the battery.
I leave batteries in all my pedals and never had a problem with leakage. Modern alkaline batteries have a shelf life of several years.
Bill

What Bill said.

[hou35male]

LOL, I got you all beat!!! Arion stereo delay I have, you can unplug the jack and the thing will still stay on until you step on the switch to turn it off. Don't know how it works with a PS, but I'm sure once the power is cut, so it should be too.

RJ

[Hiker]

That's a good idea for leaving the 9V in there for an AC backup. However, I've got a GPS, radios, chromatic small tuners, metronome, and lots of stomp boxes that use batteries. With a fear of batteries leaking on my sometimes expensive gear, I prefer to leave batteries out if possible except TV/DVD remotes. I HATE leakage inside a battery compartment.