battery life (calendar life)

I have had problems with Duracell batteries- specifically I put them in my mini-m_gs, use the lights only occasionally, the batteries leak, the light is ruined. I have lost 2 mini's, one generic incandescent, and a couple of walkmen. Every one has been to Duracell batteries. I have not had any problems like this with Eveready or with drug store brand batteries, which leads me to believe that Duracell are inferior. Anybody else have this type of problem?

Now with more lights around my place using 123's, not to mention a couple of cameras using them, and all the talk about "10 year shelf life", does that mean that 123's are relatively immune to leaking when installed in your equipment?

If alkalines (at least some brands) are prone to leaking then if I buy a light for a non-light person to keep for emergency use should I make sure to install say AA Lithiums in it before I give it to them?

Hi there,

I've recently had a pack of Ray-o-Vac alkaline AAA batteries
leak like crazy. I've never seen anything leak THAT much
junk out of it! I thought, "well maybe it's a fluke",
but then i noticed ANOTHER pack (a little older) that
had also leaked (one battery out of 6). The leaking
one makes a mess so all the others look bad too.
Ray-o-Vac had been my favorite batteries for a very long
time, but i have to wonder now. Maybe that's why the
local Home Depot stopped carrying them (alkalines).

I didnt start a new thread because im getting tired of
being the one that points the finger all the time /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Besides, it would be easier to state:
"All US Products are bad"
and simply list the ones that are good.
This way, we could have all the good products listed on
one short page (hee hee) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

For reference, the first leaking set is dated 2007,
while the second set is dated 2005.

The first set leaked so bad it's hard to tell which
cells leaked and which cells just got leaked onto.

Appologies to Ray-o-Vac for the bad news, but perhaps they
are looking into this as we speak...

Take care,
Al

I have found modern alkalines to be very leak resistant overall, but an occasional leaking cell is always possible. It is more likely to happen if the cells are dead or past their expiration. I haven't noticed any brand-specific problems, though.

Lithiums are far less likely to leak, so yes, using them would be a good idea if you are concerned about leaking.

If you really want some leaky cells, try the old Carbon Zinc kind.

Hi,

Yes, i've found that too except for these two packs.
If it was only with one pack i wouldnt care i guess,
but both packs and with different dates doesnt make
sense.

I checked today and the local Home Depot does sell the
9v Ray-o-vac cells, and the AA ones too, just not the AAA.


Take care,
Al

The other thing to consider is the conditions under which they were stored. Maybe even before you purchased them. Heat, temperature fluxuations, physical shock?

But I agree, If I had that much trouble with a single brand, I would switch.

Well I don't buy those "copper top" batteries any more. Actually I've been buying alkalines at Walgreeens when they have them really on sale, but batterystation.com here I come!

Bjn70,

Were the batteries (in the flashlights) left in a vehicle or someplace hot for several months, this past summer?

I hope this isn't a stupid question. Does anyone know how prone are NIMH and NCAD to leaking. Are they likely to leak if accidently left in a vehicle for a few months, during the summer or winter.

In my case all of the failures were in my house at normal temperatures. I carry flashlights and so forth in my car and have not had any problems with those.

The only leaky batteries that I've experienced in the last several years have been duracells that have been old, probably dead, and left in the car too long (ran down there). Alkalines have been 'improved' over the last several years from about 2500mah (in around 1998 or so) to about 3000mah now. I think this has caused them to be a little more prone to leaks. AA lithiums, CR123s, and NiMH rechargeables are now the only ones that I keep in the car for more than a few days (camping trips).

Some NiMH batteries can vent if overcharged or overheated while charging but I haven't had that problem due to using smart chargers.
Before smart NiMH chargers were avaliable I used Nicads, which are a lot more tolerant of overcharging. IIRC, my first purchase of NiMH was about 4 years ago with a few 1600mah. I gave those away when I decided I needed matching cells in quantity & found 36 Duracells, 1800mah selling for $0.36 each.

I've not had any AA NiMH cells leak. I did have a few Chinese C cell NiMhs that apparently vented a little bit of a white compound when they were first charged. It is contained within the clear plastic outer wrapping and so far hasn't caused any problems, so I don't know for sure if it is corrosive. I assume it is pretty basic PH wise, so it might well be corrosive.