Battery Corrosion Cleanup?

[bshanahan14rulz]

I had an old maglite 2xaa that I had to take a screwdriver and hammer to. Bashed the guts of the battery out, and the shell of the battery could then deform and be pushed out too.

Maybe wear some gloves and do it outside.

To louie's point as well, vinegar can end up having the same ions as hydrochloric acid if table salt is mixed in, and I think aluminum dissolves pretty vigorously in HCL.

 

[alpg88]

hydrogen peroxide

 

[LED User]

What about "hydrogen peroxide"?

 

[alpg88]

it dissolves leaked electrolyte,

 

[ABTOMAT]

Can confirm vinegar dissolves this kind of corrosion. It's it's fresh it'll happen almost instantly and bubble like crazy, if it's older it can take days. But Sol Man's right, if you know the battery maker you can contact their customer service and they'll almost certainly cut you a check for the replacement cost of the light. I'd had to do this several times for some very expensive equipment and they've always come through.

Keep in mind vinegar is corrosive so I'd keep it away from the electronics and any steel parts.

 

[LED User]

it dissolves leaked electrolyte,

And without the corrosive aspects of vinegar, right?

 

[alpg88]

I never tried vinegar, i never had any corrosion due to hp

 

[The-git]

I would clean it up with a brass brush, and then finish off with a couple of applications of baking soda solution.
The latter is commonly used to clean up the acid spills of overdischarged automotive batteries.
There are also "Battery acid neutralizers" for sale at local automotive outlets.
I have a Mongo mini that was attacked by a Duracell. Its cell bay seems to have stopped corroding after several treatments of Sodium bicarbonate.