PT-Surge, oozing battery acid from body

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fivebyfive

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
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247
Location
San Diego
I left my pt-surge with 8 brand new Duracell alkaline batteries(supplied with the light from Princeton Tec) in my car for about 3 hours during the afternoon. It was only about 70 degrees outside (I know the inside of a car can get much hotter) and when I got back there was a hair line crack(1/4 of an inch long) in the body of the flashlight and there was battery acid oozing out of the hair line crack. I removed the batteries and washed the battery holder and body out. I found one battery that had battery acid oozing out of it, the remaining 7 all looked okay. Will Princeton Tec repair or replace my surge under these circumstances? Thanks.
 
Was the Surge cracked already or did it crack as a result of the swollen cells? If the cells were responsible for the crack or any other damage such as corroded terminals, etc, then Duracell will take care of it.

Call or email them and they will give you instructions for return. You'll need to return the light with the cells. Include a letter with proof of your REPLACEMENT cost including cells and your shipping charges. Insure your shipment. I have found their customer service dept for these types of problems to be excellent.
 
I didn't notice whether or not the crack was there before or after the oozing of the battery acid. I'm assuming the crack was a result of the swollen battery cells. I didn't drop my surge or anything even remotely close to that to damage or crack the body. It could've been a defect from the factory.
 
Upon closer examination, there are three cells that are swollen. I compared them to unswollen cells and at the surrounding metal area of the positive nipples of the swollen cells (I think this is the right term) it's buldging upwards not flat like the unswollen cells.
 
I saw this in Panasonic C cells this summer in both cars in Streamlight 3C LED lights.

I am quickly giving up on alkaline batteries in favor of lithium 123s or L91s for most applications.

More costly, but not when you don't have it when you need it.

Right now, both cars have:
--Leland strobe (like a camera strobe, designed for life jackets) used to run off 1 D alkaline, I now have an L91 in it
--Noname red LED bike flasher with two L91s in it
My car has
--Streamlight TL-3
--Streamlight TL-3LED
My wife's car has
--Streamlight TT-2L
--Brinkmann Legend LX (older version)

We are finally ALL LITHIUM in both cars--well, except for my Vector Banana <smile>.

Cheers,

Richard
 
Hm, CR123A is good to leave in the car because they don't leak but what about lithium AA? I know that the Surge is not supposed to use lithium AA but if you only use 4 AA instead of 8, it should be ok, right?
 
I believe that the L91 Lithium AA is as good in heat as the CR123A Lithium--they are slightly different chemistries, as you know.

I know the lithium AAs are fine in cold as are the 123As.

I wouldn't comment on 4 vs. 8 Lithium vs. alkaline in the Surge.

I don't have a Surge and probably won't...but I do like the new PT Yukon HL.

Cheers,

Richard
 
BUT the surge should'nt be run with lithiums ...
even though thier rated at 1.5 volts its more like 1.7-1.8 volts... which would mean close to 7 volts not 6 volts... xenon bulbs do'nt like to be overdriven,,,
 
It not a voltage problem, it's a wattage problem. The lamp of the Surge is rated to be running at 7.5 watt but can be pushed to 8 watt with fresh alkaline batteries. Each fresh set of 4 alkaline gives out 4 watt. 4 lithium gives about 4.5 watt and if you double that, it'll be 9 watt which is way too much for the lamp to handle.

As for 2nd set of 4 alkaline, it's mostly for brightness and a little more run-time. AA alkaline can't drained out as quickly as lithium, but the Surge need a lot of amps in matter to drive the bulb bright, so what they came out was to use 2 set of 4 AA running parallel to each other and each will spit out 3.75 to 4 watt.

The Surge can probable run with only 1 set of 4 AA lithium which will gives out about 4.5 watt. However, I haven't tried it yet but some day, if I leave my Surge in the car, I'll put 4 AA lithium in it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
CalgaryGuy said:
It not a voltage problem, it's a wattage problem.

Each fresh set of 4 alkaline gives out 4 watt. 4 lithium gives about 4.5 watt and if you double that, it'll be 9 watt which is way too much for the lamp to handle.



[/ QUOTE ]

sorri, haf to disagree wif that...
even though it seems logical ...
physics ( or what i understand of it ) does not make everything so simple ...
can someone clarify?
 
Since the Duracell batteries were swollen after I left my surge in the car, would this void the warranties offered by Duracell or Princeton Tec? Thanks.
 
No, the batteries are expected to perform in everyday use under normal conditions. I just contacted PT today about returning a defective light and they didn't even give me a RA. Just said to return the light with a note saying what was wrong with and my name and return address included.

For your situation, I think the liability falls on Duracell.
 
Hey flashaholics, I called Duracell and explained to them what had happened to my surge and the Duracell batteries and without hesitation the customer representative (Brad) said he was going to send me a certificate for new batteries and a check for a new surge plus the shipping costs. The only questions he asked were where I bought it, how many batteries the flashlight took, how much I paid for it, if this experience would keep me from using Duracell batteries again, how many batteries were defective, and what razor I used. Gilette owns Duracell, I guess. Anyways, the whole conversation took less than 5 minutes and he was SUPER nice and friendly. This is the most impressive customer service I've ever received. Thanks for your all your suggestions to my post.
 
He's gonna send you a coupon for batteries that you can use anywhere. When you order your new Surge, it'll come with new batteries.
Sounds like you're gonna get a razor out of the deal, too! I'd say you made out like a bandit.
 
Wow, that was nice service, I'm thinking of leaving Duracell batteries in the flashlights that I leave in my car. This way, in case that the battery leaks, my flashlight is insured by the Duracell.
 
All the major battery vendors have similar guarantees. It's pretty rare (but not unknown) these days for batteries to leak like that. I wonder if that Surge had a short or something.
 
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