Alkaline batteries leaking......again. How would you avoid them?

[KevinL]

I really hate 'em. They leak, in EVERYTHING. Everywhere.

I just finished cleaning up another big mess after four D cells decided to puke their guts out. They were sealed in their package, and while my back was turned, they vomited out everything, and the mess burned its way straight through the plastic. At first I thought the package simply came apart, but there is no other explanation for literally half the plastic eaten away. It's gone. I can't find it anywhere. It's literally gone.

So then there is the hassle of removing the batteries and decontaminating everything else in the same storage box. I guess I can't get all of it, I got as much as I could.

Not so long ago, two AAA's leaked and cost me a clock. I now rely on my Blackberry and a watch as a bedside clock. Probably long overdue since I am such a technologist anyway, but either way, I was not pleased with the demise of the clock. The batteries managed to destroy the contact springs and get everywhere inside the clock.

I think all this boils down to sloppy construction. I have only ever had ONE NiMH fail in this manner and it did so while on the charger. Every other NiMH has been fine. Same with CR123. Guess it pays to stick with the good stuff.

So two questions....

- How would you avoid using alkalines as much as possible? Lots of devices need them. I'm trying to turf them ALL out and replace with anything that doesn't leak.

- How would you store the little *******s so that if they DO vent in storage, they don't dirty everything else? I realized I would need tons of tiny throwaway plastic boxes to do this.... I don't think I have enough.....

 

[tandem]

Doing without them seems easy enough --- every device in our house except for the 9V fire detectors has AA or AAA rechargeable cells. I do have one older C cell multi-LED flashlight that has alkalines in it -- if/when they die or leak, I'm chucking it.

I do have 30 or so alkaline cells kicking about - did a big scavenger hunt a while back looking for cells and turned up quite a stash we'd accumulated over the years. Anything long since expired went to the recycler, the rest sit in a plastic storage case, the type you can find at a hardware store. Along the length axis it has molded-in dividers, and then drop in dividers along the width axis -- should cells leak they wouldn't contaminate others stored in the case except in the row they are in -- those are all alkaline cells so I really don't care that much. My rechargeables and lithium cells are each in their own row, safe from alky gunk.

I guess it is time for the semi-annual alky inspection!

 

[Mr Happy]

I've been lucky with alkaline cells and have never had a cylindrical cell leak on me.

I think the leaking is probably caused by manufacturing defects. The construction has a paper-thin zinc case surrounded by a thin steel enclosure with rubber seals. If the electrolyte eats through the zinc and the steel enclosure is defective, the corrosive gunk is free to roam. [Edit: oops. This is the construction of a zinc-carbon (heavy duty) cell.]

The answer seems to be to watch them like a hawk. Check batteries every three to six months and never forget about them.

Or, of course, use rechargeables everywhere. I'm tending to do that now since I have accumulated a surplus cache of Eneloops.

 

[45/70]

What I did was completely eliminate alkaline use. Starting in the early 80's I pretty much switched over to NiCd's. At that time, NiCd's didn't have the capacity of alkaline's, but their performance was superior, as they kept their voltage under load much better. Some voltage sensitive devices still required alkaline cells though. About 10 years ago, I replaced them with L91's and L92's. Recently I've been using NiZn in those same devices, a bit cheaper in the long run although, you do have to monitor their charge state and recharge when needed.

The only cylindrical alkaline cells I have, are probably close to 10 years old. I use them in some of my wall clocks etc. and when they're gone, I will be 100% alkaline free, with the exception of a few sizes of button cells.

Alkaline cells were pretty much obsolete years ago. The only reason they hang on at all, is the marketing folks do a pretty good job. And of course, there is a huge potential for job losses and shutdowns etc. when (not if), everybody figures out that the alkaline cell age has come and gone.

Dave

 

[MorePower]

I think the leaking is probably caused by manufacturing defects. The construction has a paper-thin zinc case surrounded by a thin steel enclosure with rubber seals. If the electrolyte eats through the zinc and the steel enclosure is defective, the corrosive gunk is free to roam.

That's a fairly accurate description of zinc-carbon (heavy duty) cell leakage. Alkaline cells are much different construction.

Working from the outside in, alkaline cells have a steel case in direct contact with a manganese dioxide / graphite cathode, followed by a non-woven separator, and finally a zinc powder / potassium hydroxide anode with a brass current collector.

Most alkaline cell leakage is due to build of of gas within the cell, causing a pressure increase and bursting of the safety vent in the nylon gasket.

 

[Mr Happy]

That's a fairly accurate description of zinc-carbon (heavy duty) cell leakage. Alkaline cells are much different construction.

I stand corrected. I was mentally picturing a heavy duty cell when I wrote that and got my wires crossed.

Most alkaline cell leakage is due to build of of gas within the cell, causing a pressure increase and bursting of the safety vent in the nylon gasket.

What causes the gas build-up? Is there some scenario that causes too much gas to be produced, or is it a failure of a component that is supposed to consume and remove the gas from the system?

 

[Lynx_Arc]

most people are going towards LSD nimh and lithium primaries. I recently bought an alarm clock that uses a 2032 as a backup battery instead of a 9v alkaline. I have been retiring D cell incans as soon as the batteries give out and not keeping alkaline batteries in anything I don't have to checking stuff that have them in it every few months or if I don't use it at least monthly I remove the batteries altogether. I used to have batteries in every remote but bought a universal remote and did away with batteries in 5 remotes. If I do use alkalines I use those brands that will repair/replace stuff damaged by them in case something happens I at least (hopefully) won't take a complete loss.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Personally I think there is several things contributing to alkaline leakage:
1)temp extremes in shipping/storage before and/or after sale
2)rough handling jarring and banging to weaken the seals
3)thinner and cheaper construction to "increase" capacity
4)very few people demand reimbursement when leaks ruin products which allows battery companies to continue production as usual instead of improving leakage problems.
5)high profit margins absorb replacement costs easily when leakage occurs which discourages battery companies from caring about an occasional leak.

In other words until it starts costing them enough profit I doubt leakage issues will get better, but worse.

 

[Mr Happy]

What causes the gas build-up? Is there some scenario that causes too much gas to be produced, or is it a failure of a component that is supposed to consume and remove the gas from the system?

alkaline cells have a ... zinc powder / potassium hydroxide anode

For instance, zinc has a tendency to react with potassium hydroxide and produce hydrogen all by itself. Therefore a mixture of zinc powder and potassium hydroxide is a system that is just itching to self-destruct and reduce itself to oblivion in a big bubble of gas. Would impurities in the zinc used contribute to this happening?

 

[MorePower]

For instance, zinc has a tendency to react with potassium hydroxide and produce hydrogen all by itself. Therefore a mixture of zinc powder and potassium hydroxide is a system that is just itching to self-destruct and reduce itself to oblivion in a big bubble of gas. Would impurities in the zinc used contribute to this happening?

Sorry for the delay in my response. Work beckoned. Zinc in KOH will produce hydrogen, but in an alkaline cell, passivation of the zinc surface will occur after initial contact between the two materials. After the surface has passivated, gassing more or less shuts down.

Impurities in the zinc or KOH can cause increased gassing, sometimes in a catalytic manner. This, of course can make cells leak. After discharge impurities are more likely to migrate from the cathode to anode which can increase gassing as well. Discharge also changes the surface structure of the zinc which can increase gassing rates

 

[KevinL]

The last tale of the chapter.... I clean up the mess, grab a shower to wash off any bits and pieces of battery that may have gotten onto me, and carry on.

A couple of hours later, my toe starts to itch. I look down in time to see one of the corrosive bits stuck to my toe - how it escaped being scrubbed off while I was trying to 'decontaminate' first the box then myself I will have no idea. The thing actually left a tiny chemical burn. It's been more than 12 hours and I'm still alive so I doubt I'll die of anything, but really....

So the battery even managed to score the last laugh by burning me (literally). :scowl::scowl:

I'll be going all-out to eradicate the little buggers even if it means buying LSD NiMH for everything. Just like how I went above and beyond the call of duty to eliminate every floppy disk in my setup after they got to me....

Ok, the problem is overdischarge. What if I forget and the NiMH cell gets killed? Or are the casualties acceptable?

Also, I notice a lower-capacity Eneloop also made by Sanyo with a slightly different labelling, about 1000mAH, but supposedly able to withstand deep discharge for use in low-power devices like clocks and such - the alkaline killer. Has anybody got more info on these?

 

[Mr Happy]

Ok, the problem is overdischarge. What if I forget and the NiMH cell gets killed? Or are the casualties acceptable?

Also, I notice a lower-capacity Eneloop also made by Sanyo with a slightly different labelling, about 1000mAH, but supposedly able to withstand deep discharge for use in low-power devices like clocks and such - the alkaline killer. Has anybody got more info on these?

Over-discharge does not seem to be a big problem with single cells or with very low drain devices. If you take a single Eneloop down to 0.8 V or so (at which point most devices stop working) it will recharge quite happily and have no loss of performance. You can probably take it down to 0 V but it's best not to push the boundaries.

Over-discharge is a problem with high drain devices like lights when two or more cells are in series. In that case reverse polarization of a cell might occur at the end of discharge and reverse polarization will quickly damage a cell. The cure is to recharge early and not wait until the light dims.

 

[jama12uk]

Eneloops

 

[Mike V]

Lithium Primaries.

I use them in everything.

 

[PerttiK]

I've noticed that alkalines tend to leak after using them in high drain devices and then letting them deplete on their own.
I still use alkalines sometimes but remove them after use.

 

[KevinL]

Over-discharge does not seem to be a big problem with single cells or with very low drain devices. If you take a single Eneloop down to 0.8 V or so (at which point most devices stop working) it will recharge quite happily and have no loss of performance. You can probably take it down to 0 V but it's best not to push the boundaries.

Over-discharge is a problem with high drain devices like lights when two or more cells are in series. In that case reverse polarization of a cell might occur at the end of discharge and reverse polarization will quickly damage a cell. The cure is to recharge early and not wait until the light dims.

Great to hear that! Will consider Eneloops... they seem to be THE solution I've been waiting for.

Lithium Primaries.

I use them in everything.

Sounds good, will see if my clocks can tolerate the higher voltage.....or better still, enjoy the lithiums in lights first then feed the clocks and whatnot whatever is left :devil:

 

[WDG]

Leaky alkies caused me to switch eveything to lithiums before I discovered Eneloops. Now I run Eneloops in everything and life is good! FWIW, I never had anything that caused a fuss about the slightly higher voltage of lithiums, clocks included.

 

[KiwiMark]

So two questions....

- How would you avoid using alkalines as much as possible? Lots of devices need them. I'm trying to turf them ALL out and replace with anything that doesn't leak.

- How would you store the little *******s so that if they DO vent in storage, they don't dirty everything else? I realized I would need tons of tiny throwaway plastic boxes to do this.... I don't think I have enough.....

Solution:

- Throw away all alkalines so that you have no more leaks.
- Buy rechargeables for everything.

AAA & AA devices should all work fine on Eneloops
C & D devices should all work fine on Accupower Evolution LSD NiMH cells

Primary Lithiums are a non-rechargeable option, but here they cost as much as Eneloops and can't be recharged - not good value IMO. (but an option for emergency backup due to a ~15 year shelf life).

If you have any device that wont work on NiMH cells then it is rubbish and you should get rid of it. If you try to use alkaline batteries in such a device they will have to be thrown away when they are still half charged because anything that needs more than 1.2V wont work on half flat alkaline batteries! Any device that only works on alkaline batteries and then only for the first half of their charge is absolutely horrendous in term of cost to power it, sell that junk on Ebay and buy something better! (and no, I'm not joking here, everything I own that uses batteries works fine with rechargeables (except maybe some button cells))

 

[LuxLuthor]

Use condoms.

 

[illumiGeek]

I've noticed that alkalines tend to leak after using them in high drain devices and then letting them deplete on their own.
I still use alkalines sometimes but remove them after use.

I recently had a set a fresh Rayovac C-cells leak in an expensive dive light. The light was an LED model, so not high drain. The cells had more than a year left on the date and no runtime (other than turning it on briefly to test it after loading the batteries). The light had the power switch locked in the off position as well, so no accidental turn on, it was definitely off (locking power switches are common on dive lights).

...If I do use alkalines I use those brands that will repair/replace stuff damaged by them in case something happens I at least (hopefully) won't take a complete loss.

Here's a post about my recent experience with Alkaline "warranty" replacement. [Rayovac Alkaline Warranty :shakehead]

I've been using Eneloops in most of my devices. And I've started using the AA-C/AA-D converters to eliminate all Alkalines now. In the past I've actually had good luck with Alkalines, nothing really destroyed until that dive light. I had previously taken comfort in the "warranty" on Alkaline batteries, assuming I would get the device replaced. Now I know better... :scowl: