Duracells alkalines seem to leak often

[rasmasyean]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone else experiences this. It seems for the past couple of years, i've noticed that my batteries (AA in this case) seems to leak a lot. Then it occured to me, it's mostly a Duracell. Not just mine, but I noticed it when changing batteries for someone. I've used a mix of batteries and I've had other's leak before when they are old and/or drained down to zero and left there for a while, but Duracells seem to win the prize by far. It doesn't even have to be fully drained.

Thanks.

 

[Mr Floppy]

I don't think it is right to statistically infer that the Durcaells leak more than any other brand. In my limited sample, I would say the Maxell batteries don't leak but they are not that common. Duracells however are just about every where, along with energizer. They all leak, but couldn't rightfully say any leak any more than the other in such a limited sample size.

The cells that I have that hasn't leaked so far a LED Lenser, ****ie and Maxell but together I have less than 10 of them.

 

[WriteAway]

My own personal observation: Between the two commonly-available consumer brands (Duracell and Energizer) I have encountered far more leaky Duracells than Energizer AA and AAA cells over the past 4 years or so. I simply use Energizer Lithium cells in anything I value, and Energizer alkalines in the rest. But I check my battery operated lights and other equipment often, just to make sure. Most expensive item lost was a digital tape recorder, which Proctor & Gamble did reimburse me for.

You can also go the rechargeable battery route, but I have no real knowledge to help you in that regard.

 

[wrf]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone else experiences this. It seems for the past couple of years, i've noticed that my batteries (AA in this case) seems to leak a lot. Then it occured to me, it's mostly a Duracell. Not just mine, but I noticed it when changing batteries for someone. I've used a mix of batteries and I've had other's leak before when they are old and/or drained down to zero and left there for a while, but Duracells seem to win the prize by far. It doesn't even have to be fully drained.

Thanks.

Yes. Friend's lights and cells, purchased in past couple of years. Duracell AA. I haven't started using mine yet -- I'm still working on some older Rayovac. Generally I agree they all leak sooner or later, but it does seem some vintages are more prone than others.

 

[mcnair55]

I would make sure you are using genuine Duracell for starters and if you are you need to inform Duracell.I buy countless numbers of Duracell for my r/c race cars and the non retail Procell for my lights and never experience any problems.I always store to makers recommendation.

 

[Etsu]

All alkalines leak. Instead, start using low-self-discharge NiMH batteries, like Sanyo/Panasonic Eneloops. They can do everything that alkalines can, and better, and won't leak. And are cheaper in the long-run.

 

[yoyoman]

As Yogi Berra said, this is deja vu all over again. The last thread was locked. A few uncontroversial points:
> Alkalines don't perform well in high drain applications like high output flashlights. Please look at some of HKJ's posts and reviews.
> Energizer lithium primaries perform better in these applications and are much less prone to leaking. They are also lighter.
> LSD NiMH rechargeable cells, such as Eneloops, also perform well in these applications and are cheaper in the long run if you use your lights a lot.
> Many people have stories of Alkalines leaking. Many people don't have stories. Doesn't mean a thing because this is anecdotal evidence and not a statistically valid sample.
> I have had one bad experience and that was enough for me. I don't use Alkalines in anything valuable. I use either Energizer Lithium primaries or Eneloops or li-ions.

 

[mcnair55]

All alkalines leak. Instead, start using low-self-discharge NiMH batteries, like Sanyo/Panasonic Eneloops. They can do everything that alkalines can, and better, and won't leak. And are cheaper in the long-run.

Here we go again "All alkalines leak",that is simply not true.

 

[Etsu]

Here we go again "All alkalines leak",that is simply not true.

Okay, okay. I should have said, all manufacturer brands of alkalines leak some of the time. I've used a lot of alkalines in the past, and if I had to guess, I'd say about 5% of cells would leak (regardless of brand), but most of those were past the expiry date.

If you throw them out before they're completely discharged and before their expiry date, you can probably cut that leakage down to 1%.

 

[TEEJ]

Here we go again "All alkalines leak",that is simply not true.

No, its true...in context of brand discussions.

Obviously, its not true of every individual cell out there.

IE: ALL BRANDS of alkaleaks have leakers, and, if you have one of the individual leakers, it ruins your stuff, etc.

It doesn't mean that if you have an alkaleak that it WILL leak, its just that its more LIKELY to.....so if you have enough of them, the odds become greater that at least one of them will leak for you.

Some people buy a lottery ticket every day for decades w/o ever winning.

Some people buy one and win.


So there will be a ton of users who will know THEY used a lot of Alkaleaks, and never had a single leak. There will also be a ton of users who had a leak, and, statistically, despite some who used a lot w/o a problem, and some who used ONE and had a problem, the overall statistics essentially say that Alkaleaks leak...and, the more you use, the higher the odds of a problem.







I thought Ven's summary of the alternatives summed it up pretty well.


I think its like smoking, etc...its a statistical risk. Not EVERYONE who smokes gets cancer. Those who smoke are simply more LIKELY to get cancer than everyone who doesn't smoke.

If you smoke and DON'T get cancer, obviously, that's great. Telling people cigs don't cause cancer, because YOU didn't get cancer, is an extrapolation of a small data set that doesn't hold up statistically.

So, ALL cigarettes can cause cancer, and ALL Alkaleaks can leak.

YOU may not have a leaker, or cancer....(Hopefully not), or, you might.

 

[rasmasyean]

Well, I just found this...where it appears that leaking Duracell is a common complaint.
So maybe they changed their manufacturing plant recently? China? Who knows. So it doesn't look like just a bad batch and anecdotal. Unless the bad batch was the supply for the past few years. lol

http://reviews.duracell.com/8105/co...iances-duracell-coppertop-reviews/reviews.htm

 

[mcnair55]

Well, I just found this...where it appears that leaking Duracell is a common complaint.
So maybe they changed their manufacturing plant recently? China? Who knows. So it doesn't look like just a bad batch and anecdotal. Unless the bad batch was the supply for the past few years. lol

http://reviews.duracell.com/8105/co...iances-duracell-coppertop-reviews/reviews.htm

You need to find the failure rate against actual sold to show a proper % as otherwise it is dissing a brand for no reason other than to scare consumers off which i find totally unfair.Is it 1 in 1 thousand sold or 1 in 1 million etc etc?Drop Duracell a line and give them a chance to respond sounds fair.

 

[troutbum1971]

In my experience Duracells do leak. Especially the AAA. 1.5s

 

[lwknight]

My experience is opposite. Duracell leaks less often than Eveready. We use batteries by the 10s of thousands annually where I work. There seems to be a pattern of leaked batteries being used partially then stored for some time. Evidently, once you start using the cell it is likely that it will leak in a few weeks.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

I see no correlation at all. Most alkalines work fine. I have had a few leaks, but in different brands, some new, some old, some used, some never used.

 

[rasmasyean]

I just dug up a box of Duracell Procell 9 Volts cuz one of my smoke alarms needed one.
There were 7 dated March 2015. One was 0.11 V and another was like 7.0 V. The 0.11V leaked!!!
They each had plastic terminal covers so a short was unlikely.

There were 10 originally so ASSUMING that the first 3 were OK, at least 2 were defective. That's 20% failure rate before expiration for my box sampling!

I bet the 7.0 V one is leaking inside. I guess I'll keep it and see what happens to it in like a year.


EDIT: corrected numbers. I thought I had 12 originally, but checked the receipt and I had bought 10 on 12/2011.

 

[Jakefreese]

My experience is opposite. Duracell leaks less often than Eveready. We use batteries by the 10s of thousands annually where I work. There seems to be a pattern of leaked batteries being used partially then stored for some time. Evidently, once you start using the cell it is likely that it will leak in a few weeks.

What do you do that y'all go through that many? I bet we go through that many at our power plant, they seem to balk at the rechargeable idea....

 

[rasmasyean]

What do you do that y'all go through that many? I bet we go through that many at our power plant, they seem to balk at the rechargeable idea....

Looks like high drain application if it leaks in a few weeks after he uses it. Maybe heat damage? I've seen ppl take them out of smoke alarms for cooking and forget to put them back in for a while all the time and they don't leak cuz of that.

But the problem with rechargeables anyways, is the much lower voltage (1.2V / 8.2V). That might not be high enough for certain electronics.

 

[lwknight]

What do you do that y'all go through that many? I bet we go through that many at our power plant, they seem to balk at the rechargeable idea....

We have discovered that the led headlight is the greatest single invention of the century as far as productivity and safety for maintenance personell. Honestly , a 1 hour job could cost 8 man hours having to string up lights. We don't even need string lights with the headlamps. I use the Coast H7 and the 3AAA batteries are only good for a couple hours and I use about 6 per week. Some groups work by headlamp constantly. Most use the streamlight but I hate the off balance in front.
I work at Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant same as you LOL!. I just wrote all that other stuff for the benefit of other readers.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

But the problem with rechargeables anyways, is the much lower voltage (1.2V / 8.2V). That might not be high enough for certain electronics.

That may have been an excuse 30 years ago, but almost all electronics now work just fine with 1.2v, as they do with 1.5v. If they don't, then the device is intentionally leaving 50% of the capacity in the alkaline battery when it stops working. If I bought something that wouldn't work with NiMH cells, I'd return it. There's no excuse for designing crappy electronics like that.