Reliability of batteries and their damage to equipment

[jhalphen]

Hi Guys,

Let me share my experience.

Having a lot of battery powered equipment in my collection, transistor radios, micro-TVs & test gear, non-leaking power packs have always been a worry for me.

10 years ago, i switched all to Ni-Mh rechargeables. I was very happy, no leakage, but as they loose 80% of the initial charge after 3 months, most demos ended up with swapping batteries at demo time.

Since a couple of years i have swapped 1st generation Ni-Mh batteries for the newer 2nd generation sold as pre-charged and which keep their charge up to 80% of nominal after one year even if unused. These are a Godsend for the collector. Also, more importantly, none have leaked (so far).

I now differentiate according to use:
Collector items: 2nd generation Ni-Mh

Heavy duty frequent use such as LED flashlights: highest A/h rating classic Ni-Mh.

Very long term "forget when changed" items (remote controls, test gear): Lithium.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

[Ed in Tx]

Oops.. forgot to take the batteries out of this remote. Found it today on a shelf with the obsolete stand-alone Sears Closed Caption Decoder it goes with.

Good ol' RadioShack "Enercell" alkalines.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Ed, I would consider that CC decoder as an interesting collectible item itself. If I remember right, Sears may have been the only seller of stand-alone caption decoders. Their original one had rotary tuning knobs but yours is obviously a newer one with remote control.

[Kevin Kuehn]

I just found this Eveready in a VTVM. Still reading 1.4 volts and powers the meter just fine. When was the last time a D cell sold for 25 cents? Also has the leak damage replacement flashlight guarantee printed on the side. Pretty cool how manufactures -use- to care about the integrity of their product.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

aw,, as someone who has lost a dog, that is a very sad picture. But a great advert for sure.

I lost a cat last year, so I do concur but it is a good picture.

[Ed in Tx]

Almost didn't catch these in time. Couple of Maxell-AA leakers in my Fenix LED L2P flashlight! Had to use a piece of wood dowel to force one of these out. Got to check these things occasionally. Flashlight was still working fine, no indication the batteries were failing. (Scratch Maxell off the list, as a good reliable battery.)

[dtvmcdonald]

Eveready, back in the Zn-Carbon days, used to guarantee that if their
battery leaked and ruined your anything they would replace, repair, or refund.

One seriously damaged an unusual scientific instrument of mine and they
insisted on trying to repair it, though it looked hopeless, and I had expected
them to renege. So I shipped it to them, expecting a renege anytime.

But it came back, untested, looking repaired, cleaned up and several
parts replaced. I turned it on and it worked fine for another 15 years.
(This was not a battery powered device ... the battery was a bias
gizmo floating at some high voltage.) I was amazed.

Doug McDonald

[Zenith26kc20]

Made in China.......
Watch out for high current NiMH cells (especially AA). They may be counterfeit low current relabels!
Also, had a radio come in for repair the other day. The customer had "Sunbeam" batteries in it. No corrosion but the top of the battery recessed into the cylinder and no longer made contact. Never saw that before...

[Jon A.]

Two of my mom's remotes were ruined by leaking batteries. Both just suddenly quit as I recall. Next thing we know, a lot of extra effort was required to remove the battery covers. No more alkaline batteries in her remotes, or in my remotes that actually use batteries. Lithium only. It's a wonder that the expired-last-year Energizer alkalines that came with my 1982 RCA remote when I got it in May not only hadn't leaked, but still worked. Even so, they have been removed.

[AdamAnt316]

Originally Posted by zenithfan1

Let us not forget about these batteries either.....LOL http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/...tches_fire.php

Oh yes, Lithium Ion as used in laptops and such can be nasty when something goes pear-shaped with them. Apple was the first to experience the combustible aspects of LiIon cells when they chose them for the infamous PowerBook 5300 (they switched to NiMH before it was released), and just about every other laptop manufacturer has had to deal with their flammable nature as well (not to mention Boeing with their infamous 787 Dreamliner!). I got lucky with my own MacBook Pro last year, turned it on, and saw that the battery indicator had a red 'X' over it. Looked at the bottom of the case, and saw that the top of the battery cover had swelled up quite a bit! After some online research, I brought it to the Apple Store, and took it to their 'Genius Bar'. The guy took a look at the swollen battery, took a new one off the shelf, installed it in place of the defective one, showed me that the computer still worked, and sent me on my way. Say what you will about Apple, but they offer great customer service!

As far as other batteries go, I've had to deal with the effects of cells being left in old devices all the time. It's usually fatal to old-fashioned LED wristwatches, as the resulting corrosion eats away the battery terminals, or otherwise damages the circuitry. Got lucky with another Apple computer I have, a Lisa 2, where the internal NiCd 5-AA pack corroded a little, but not enough to destroy the board. Haven't been so lucky with my Korg Poly 800 synthesizer, which had a set of batteries left in it at one time, and suffered corrosion on the circuit board. This has led to several lingering issues, including damaged circuit traces, and a myriad of circuitry glitches. To that effect, whenever I come across a battery-powered gizmo at a yard sale/flea market/swapmeet, I always open the battery compartment to look for signs of battery corrosion. If I find any, I often don't buy the thing unless I'm sure it can be repaired.
-Adam

[rca2000]

One VERY good reason NOT to pursue batteries with energy densities exceeding 500w/h. per pound....if something goes wrong....a LOT of instantaneous energy is released...very rapidly...BOOM!!

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by Zenith26kc20

...The customer had "Sunbeam" batteries in it. No corrosion but the top of the battery recessed into the cylinder and no longer made contact. Never saw that before...

Only ones I haven't had leak so far (give'em time) are some Sunbeam alkalines I bought at Big Lots maybe 2 years ago. Two in another Fenix flashlight I have I checked last night after finding these Maxells leaking, Sunbeams still look perfect, at least a year older than the Maxells that leaked.

[jhalphen]

Hi to all,

When i mentioned Lithium cells in remote controls, i meant Lithium use-once non rechargeable batteries, AA & AAA sizes.

Rechargeable Li-Ion or Li-Po(lymer) are an entirely different animal.

Also Li-Ion & Li-Po have a nominal 3.7V/cell voltage whereas Lithium non-rechargeables follow the standard 1.5V/cell pattern.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

[Jon A.]

That's what I use, non-rechargeables. Good to know that the rechargeables should be avoided though. Oops, just realized, it's not just the chemical composition that's different, they're entirely different.

[AdamAnt316]

Originally Posted by Zenith26kc20

Also, had a radio come in for repair the other day. The customer had "Sunbeam" batteries in it. No corrosion but the top of the battery recessed into the cylinder and no longer made contact. Never saw that before...

Had that happen with a Mag-Lite flashlight recently, using cheap "Ultralast" alkalines. The flashlight took a tumble, and became intermittent. Thought I'd broken something within the flashlight, but when I took out the batteries, the tabs on top of the Ultralast D-cells had been pushed in (not all the way, but definitely noticeable). Put in a fresh set of batteries, and the flashlight started working correctly again.
-Adam