Duracel Procell D cell.

[8steve88]

Hi there.
Has anyone had a bad experience with Duracel Procell D cells?

I was recently using a 6 D cell sized Maglite equipped with 3 Watt CREE LED 180 Lumen upgrade for 10 minutes or so when the rubber switch cover popped off. I replaced it and it popped off again after about 5 minutes.
I noticed a fizzing sound and when I took the end cap off to investigate the 2 cells closest to the LED were leaking a bubbling mess.

The cells were new and replaced as a set, the LED conversion is a couple of months old and the torch had only been used for very short periods, a couple of minutes at a time.

I use a lot of Duracell Procell AAAs, AAs and D sizes and have never had a problem with them before.
Does anybody have a clue as to what caused this to happen?
I thought about too much current draw but the conversion is made for 6 and 4 D cell Maglites and only 2 out of the 6 cells were affected.

I consigned the Maglite to the parts bin for now and bought a Nitecore MT2A. Also there's a large parcel of Solarforce bits and pieces in the mail. :)

 

[RCM]

Sounds like you got some duds...reverse charged alkalines will leak potassium hydroxide and vent hydrogen. That's why your switch cover popped off. I had 2 AA procells in my tv remote one leaked, the other was fine, but they were expired. By any chance were those 2 cells dropped?

 

[SilverFox]

Hello 8steve88,

Welcome to CPF.

You have increased the current demand on the batteries when you upgraded your light. It sounds like you exceeded their capacity to deliver. Alkaline batteries have higher internal resistance and under high loads this causes the battery to heat up. When things heat up pressure builds inside the battery and at some point it is vented along with some of the electrolyte.

Tom

 

[inetdog]

Hello 8steve88,

Welcome to CPF.

You have increased the current demand on the batteries when you upgraded your light. It sounds like you exceeded their capacity to deliver. Alkaline batteries have higher internal resistance and under high loads this causes the battery to heat up. When things heat up pressure builds inside the battery and at some point it is vented along with some of the electrolyte.

Tom

And as for only two of the six failing, I would guess that thermal effects were involved in that. The cells closest to the LED and driver will be getting hottest, and if the internal resistance or pressure go up with temperature, they could easily be the ones to fail first.

 

[8steve88]

Thank you for all the replies.
@ RCM - The batteries were new out of the box that they were delivered in, but they could have been mis-handled in transit.
@ SilverFox and inetdog - Understood, the original bulb will be going back in before I use it again, and 6 new D cells installed, or I might keep the bits for a future monster of some sort, TerraLUX do a 1000 lumen upgrade for Dcell Maglites, no I've learned my lesson on this one.

I'm sure my Solarforce bits will keep me out of mischief for a while.

 

[Vortus]

They are pricey in the short run, but a huge cost savings in the long run if you switch over to nimh D cells. They are better in every way, even price if you consider the long run.

 

[RCM]

They are pricey in the short run, but a huge cost savings in the long run if you switch over to nimh D cells. They are better in every way, even price if you consider the long run.

Duraloop AA in adapters for me!

 

[8steve88]

Duraloop AA in adapters for me!

Now why didn't I think of that. :o On the way now.:)

 

[MorePower]

Hello 8steve88,

Welcome to CPF.

You have increased the current demand on the batteries when you upgraded your light. It sounds like you exceeded their capacity to deliver. Alkaline batteries have higher internal resistance and under high loads this causes the battery to heat up. When things heat up pressure builds inside the battery and at some point it is vented along with some of the electrolyte.

Tom

An alkaline D cell should have had no problems with the current drawn in this case. 3W dropin for a 6D maglite would have only been drawing 350-400ma at most from the cells. An ANSI standard test for alkaline D cells is 600mA continuous for 2 hours per day. Cells don't vent during this test, nor do they appreciably heat up, so I doubt the cell leakage noted by 8steve88 was caused by too high of a current draw for the cells to handle.

To get an alkaline D cell to vent, it needs to be much hotter than you'd care to hold in a bare hand. A typical leakage tests calls for cells to be stored at 160F for 12 weeks, and they won't vent under those conditions unless there is a construction defect or serious internal contamination issue, which is rare.

It's more likely that the cells suffered some sort of abuse (dropped, vibrational shorting, etc) during produciton, packaging or shipping, and had discharged due to internal shorting. With 6 cells in a light, those shorted cells would have been driven into over discharge, or were "reverse charged" as many on this board would call it, and that's why they leaked.

 

[Norm]

Forum search for Duracel Procell D cell.

Norm

 

[SilverFox]

Hello MorePower,

I got to thinking about this after I posted. I didn't know the change in load after the modification.

If the load is only 600 mA, then your explanation is correct. I believe the data sheet suggests performance dropping off at around 2000 mA.

I have "smoked" some AA Alkaline cells by exposing them to very high current draws, but have never tried D cells. They were too hot to hold and were venting and bubbling.

Thanks for the additional information.

Tom

 

[StorminMatt]

:welcome:

Now why didn't I think of that. :o On the way now.:)

Unless you actually already have lots of AA NiMH batteries laying around, full capacity NiMH D batteries are better in every way, shape, and form than AA batteries in adaptors. And this includes price.

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

...full capacity NiMH D batteries are better in every way, shape, and form than AA batteries in adaptors... [exceprted]

Does anyone other than Eneloop make good LSD NiMH D cells?

 

[Norm]

Does anyone other than Eneloop make good LSD NiMH D cells?

Eneloop isn't a good D cell.

Eneloop C & D Cells Exposed


Norm

 

[N8N]

I haven't tried them but Tenergy Centura on paper look like a good value. Maha Imedion if you are going for best capacity, but you'll pay more.

 

[StorminMatt]

At a little less than $20 for two, Tenergy Centuras are an unbeatable deal when it comes to NiMH D cells. As far as Imedion, they are overpriced. They may have somewhat more capacity. But compared to the Centuras, they have higher internal resistance. So they probably aren't as good for higher current applications as the Centuras.