Reliability of batteries and their damage to equipment

[Electronic M]

I once for some reason opened a working remotes compartment to find the battery leaking fluid. I imediatly pulled the batteries and washed the compartment out before it was damaged too much.

Seen some 80's duracells a couple years back that looked a lot worse than anything posted yet.

It is really impressive that those 80 year old C supply batteries are still good!

[Reece]

Back in ancient times flashlight cells of different sizes didn't have metal jackets, but were in a printed cardboard sleeve that you could push the cell out of! My Dad gave me a black and chrome EverReady penlight when I was 4 years old and of course I left the battery of two AA cells in it and they leaked leaving the flashlight plugged. At that time before 1950 or so RayOVac was I believe the only "sealed in steel" cell and guaranteed leakproof or they'd replace your flashlight. I think Burgess D cells may have been also in steel, when I got into radio in the early fifties. I remember seeing lots of the older carbon zinc cells leaking, but then ran across this no-leak anomaly which sits on my desk.

[Beachboy]

I've seen the most leakage issues with Energizers, although I've had some Duracells leak too. I've never had any Ray-O-Vac leak, although I don't have as many of that brand in service. In years past, I've had Duracells that were over 20 years old and still showed a full charge, and no leakage. I get the impression that battery makers have cheapened up the product in the last few years.

[jstout66]

I've had AA Ray-O-Vac's leak in (and screw up) my digital home thermostat...smoke detector.. AND DVD remote. Will never ever buy that brand again. (and all batteries leaked before the "best if used by" date)

[zenith2134]

I reckon the battery makers are now at the mercy of the 'green'/environmental advocacy groups.
Brands which I frequently use are Energizer and Everready...I have a few nice mag-lites and one had a bad leak which rotted the spring in the base... I was able to obtain a new part luckily for around 9 bucks in a local junk shop.
The leakiest ones I've encountered have been Duracells too. Starting to see a trend.
And it's ironic since, growing up, we ONLY bought Duracell and yes they were a high-quality product from what I recall.

[Geoff Bourquin]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

growing up, we ONLY bought Duracell and yes they were a high-quality product from what I recall.

Back then (well, when I grew up anyway) Duracell was a Mallory product, and I remember them being the best available at the time.
These days I don't see much difference between brands. I see just about all of them leaking, usually when I dig out someones remote control that has been in a drawer since 1995 and it still has the first set of batteries in it. I rarely see good batteries leak, but it seems the chemistry changes when they are dead. (Imagine that!)

[OvenMaster]

Just yesterday, I dug out a Canon T-50 film SLR and my old Bearcat scanner. The alkalines in the Canon and the Ni-Cads in the Bearcat have both leaked, and now I gotta find how to get them out and clean up the mess.

Ooh. I can get in touch with Eveready for the Energizers in the camera. Their warranty says they'll repair or replace anything that is damaged by a battery of theirs that leaks. Should be interesting as the T-50 has been out of production since 1989.

[lnx64]

Call me crazy, but I use Ultimate Lithium's from Energizer. Not only do they, in my Apple Magic Mouse, last a crap ton longer, but they NEVER seem to leak.

In this mouse, a Alkaline battery is lucky to last a couple weeks. On Ultimate Lithiums, it lasts several months.

[maxhifi]

Originally Posted by Reece

Back in ancient times flashlight cells of different sizes didn't have metal jackets, but were in a printed cardboard sleeve that you could push the cell out of! My Dad gave me a black and chrome EverReady penlight when I was 4 years old and of course I left the battery of two AA cells in it and they leaked leaving the flashlight plugged. At that time before 1950 or so RayOVac was I believe the only "sealed in steel" cell and guaranteed leakproof or they'd replace your flashlight. I think Burgess D cells may have been also in steel, when I got into radio in the early fifties. I remember seeing lots of the older carbon zinc cells leaking, but then ran across this no-leak anomaly which sits on my desk.

That's really neat - I didn't know they were called "D" cells so early. How do the top and bottom of the cell look?

[bgadow]

I've noticed a lot more leakage from alkalines compared to a few years ago. Most recently it was with an early 60s GE transistor radio that uses D cells. For some reason I pulled the battery cover and it was a mass of corrosion. They weren't dead and the radio would still work if I jostled the cells. I had ignored the warnings in that case and installed a hodgepodge of cells, I think a mix of Duracell and some Radio Schlocks.

[zenith2134]

around the early 90s my father bought a rechargeable G.E. wallmounted unit with slots for C, AA, AAA, and D cells and the batteries were branded G.E. as well. Black case cells with cursive blue GE symbols. That set-up lasted many years and I just got rid of it all a few years ago. We had to replace the AAs since they got the hardest use. I remember it was a big deal when he bought the system because it wasn't cheap.

[Zenith26kc20]

Ni-cads gas off when they get old too. My IVIE spectrum analyzer was a victim of it's internal batteries! I use Ni MH now for rechargeables.

[Ed in Tx]

I had excellent results from the Energizer "E2 Titanium AA" cells. I put a pair in my HVAC thermostat in 2001 and kinda forgot it has batteries in it until last summer. Expecting to see some leakage I took it off the wall and all was clean. Tested the battery voltage and they still had about 1.4V per battery. They had an expiration date in 2007. I think I got my moneys worth! Seems they quit making those when I tried to find more.

BTW I've had NiMH leak too.

[wa2ise]

Why do the makers insist on putting corrosive crap in batteries anyway?

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Zenith26kc20

Ni-cads gas off when they get old too. My IVIE spectrum analyzer was a victim of it's internal batteries! I use Ni MH now for rechargeables.

I use NiMH batteries in a 2-meter amateur radio transceiver as well. Its first set of batteries was, IIRC, four NiCads, but they never leaked or otherwise made a mess in the battery compartment -- they just got old and to the point where they wouldn't hold a charge any longer. That's when I bought a set of four NiMH cells, and never looked back. Those batteries are much better than NiCads because, among other things, they do not have the "memory" effect NC batteries have, so one can recharge NiMH cells whenever they get weak -- no waiting for the batteries to go almost completely dead, as with NiCads. The memory effect in the latter is the phenomenon by which a NC battery, if charged before it is completely dead, will charge only to a certain point, then will not take any further charging.

I have used NC batteries in my portable ham gear for years, but since discovering NiMH cells and being very pleased with their performance, as I said earlier, I will not go back to the former. A four-cell battery pack I use with another handheld I own also has NiMH cells, but it doesn't get much use for reasons better gone into in the Amateur Radio forum. That NiMH pack, however, to the best of my knowledge, still works, and well.

I wonder if NiCad cells are still being manufactured today, or are all rechargeable batteries sold in the US now NiMH cells or packs? I would think, considering the fact that NiMH cells have no memory effect and can have higher current output than NC batteries, the former have pretty much if not totally replaced the latter in most high-current applications such as two-way radios, TV remotes, flashlights, any motorized device, et al.