Battery to power Raspberry Pi Zero and two generic motors?

Question

I plan to build simple RC car/robot with "2WD Two Wheel Drive Round Double Deck Smart Robot Car Chassis Kit For Arduino". I couldnt find the exact one I have, but I assume they are all pretty much similar. Those two "gear" motors should have voltage 3-12V and "eat" between 70 mA to 250 mA (as per https://www.tindie.com/products/upgradeindustries/-dc-gear-motor-and-wheel-for-robots/)

Last piece of puzzle I need is sufficient battery.

I normally use powerbank and simply connect USB to Pi, but that is too heavy and I don't need it to last for hours..

Tutorials I found generally used non-descript baterries to power all this stuff or even separate one for motors and Pi.

Could I possibly use classic AA batteries? Four of them would provide 4,5V, is it enough for Pi?

Answer 1

I suggest you look at two 14500 (AA Size) or 18650 (Laptop size) Lithium Ion Cells. This gives you 7.4 volts which is good for those motors. That's how I drive mine.

You can also use 3 x 18650 cells if you have motors that prefer 12v, and use a radio control BEC (battery eliminator circuit) to obtain 5v.

Here's an example: http://blog.unixbigot.id.au/2015/10/make-5-volt-battery-supply-for-any.html

Answer 2

4,5V is fair enough. So you can use a Powerboost to connect batteries in the RPI

Here is a Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 1200mAh (It's 5V with the Powerboost)

And Here is a 4 x AA Battery Holder, for the Powerboost