Shelf life of HD carbon zinc lantern batteries?

[Black Rose]

Anyone know what the shelf life is for heavy duty carbon zinc 6V lantern batteries such as the Rayovac 944?

I'm on the hunt for a 4D adapter locally (Dorcy Direct won't ship to Canada).

 

[Mr Happy]

It depends on the quality of manufacture.

I have some GP brand AA cells purchased around 2001 that have seen a reasonable amount of use in a hand held fan. They are still going strong after all this time with no sign of leaking. They both read 1.381 V and have a date code of 01-04 on the side (I think that means Jan 2004 rather than Apr 2001). A second essentially unused pair purchased at the same time both read 1.518 V.

So I think you can expect them to last 5 years or more, though they will lose a certain amount of capacity for each year of storage. Expect them to be down to 80% of their maximum capacity after a few years.

(Like all batteries, store them in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator for longest life.)

 

[baterija]

Panasonic makes the following statement in this pdf about their carbon zinc cells which doesn't reference anything bigger than a D Cell:

Heavy Duty: Design improvements for a tighter seal and stronger outer metal jacket have resulted in a high performance heavy-duty battery offering increased leakage protection and extended discharge. They are packaged in blister packs, Value Packs and bulk, with an extended shelf life of up to three years.

Their "general purpose" carbon-zinc is stated at 18 months of shelf life.

 

[Mr Happy]

For another reference, the Eveready Carbon-Zinc application manual (page 9) suggests up to 80% remaining capacity after 4 years of refrigerated storage.

 

[Vinniec5]

Try Coleman.com I just bought my adapter there see part# 5354-500 $2.50 US. Use promo code 9PHN5 for 20% off till june 1st

 

[paulr]

If you're thinking of buying new ones and storing them, put them in the fridge and they'll keep a lot longer. Older ones stored under unknown conditions: who knows.

 

[nzbazza]

here in New Zealand you can buy Energiser alkaline 6V lantern batteries that have a shelf life of approx 7 years.

 

[Black Rose]

The Energizer and Duracell ones available here (alkaline) are $10 a piece.
Based on the expiry dates of the ones I saw today, they were produced 3 years ago.

Tried the coleman site for the 4D adapter...Coleman doesn't like Canada either for shipping...anti-social buggers

 

[Vinniec5]

Black Rose try www.colemancanada.ca

 

[Black Rose]

Black Rose try www.colemancanada.ca

I did, they don't carry the part.

It's OK though, Dorcy is sending me one.