Strong battery smells coming from G3

[candlelight001]

I just got a surefire G3. I noticed when I opened the package that it had a strong chemical smell. Took out the primaries, put in two AW 17500s that I had used lightly before. A couple days later, the top battery had leaked a fair amount. Took em out, wiped down the inside of tube, put other primaries in. Opened the back today after some use, no corrosion or leakage, but a very strong smell. Anything funny here?
Thanks!

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Wish you had been following some of the threads on CPF re leaking primary CR123's. Very caustic stuff you were dealing with. You might wash out any thing that you used to clean up the mess, and give yourself a thorough scrubbing where you might have touched the chemicals. Watch for any unusual symptoms you might have in the next few days. Don't let any family members touch your cleaning stuff. Contact Surefire asap and tell them problem and maybe send back the light. Just a few ideas. Other people will have more.

Bill

 

[VidPro]

if you had a leakage, and didnt do a clean-up nutralise, then an acid or base (base in this situation) could be slowly etching away at things in the light , like metals and all.

did you clean up the tube?

also some batteries have a smell permiating out of them, tiny bits of this is normal, and maby your just noticing more now that you got screwed.


if you have to cleanup ,its something like this, with water and detergant (to break oils), drain it, then use Alcohol to replace the water, then clear the alcohol out, mabey blow it out with a compreser, and it will dry up in a few days. then use a lite silicon spray or de-oit type stuff to keep any raw places from corrosion.

 

[candlelight001]

Wow, seems serious. I just wiped it out w/ kleenex... I don't really want to deal w/ this, maybe I'll just send it back? How do I know what the threshold is between something normal and something unusual? What would cause something like this? Is the theory that the original batteries were problematic? How would that have affected subsequent batteries?

I had surefire primaries in it, then AWs 17500s that leaked, now panasonic primaries from fenix-store...

 

[VidPro]

Wow, seems serious. I just wiped it out w/ kleenex... I don't really want to deal w/ this, maybe I'll just send it back? How do I know what the threshold is between something normal and something unusual? What would cause something like this? Is the theory that the original batteries were problematic? How would that have affected subsequent batteries?

I had surefire primaries in it, then AWs 17500s that leaked, now panasonic primaries from fenix-store...

not terribly serious, depends on how critical you want to get, or how much it bothers you. how much IF ANY electrolyte is causing it.

what would cause it, now THAT is the best question, if i ever had a battery leak in a light, that is the first thing i would want to know.

it is unlikly that the way one set of batteries acted, messed up the function of the device, if the device still SEEMS to operate the same way.

mabey it was a reverse charge issue? were they Protected cells? cause protected li-ion should not allow a reverse charge, nor should they be leaking EVER. you see the protection itself helps keep the things that cause venting from occuring.

i am not gonna be much help about the light itself, as i dont have it.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

I think that candlelight001 is talking about a new Surefire G3 with Surefire batteries installed?

Bill

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Candlelight,

Let me see if I have this correct.

You get a new G3. It has primary batteries in it. When you open up the light you notice a smell.

This is "normal" for primary batteries. No problems here.

Now, you take the primary batteries out and install rechargeable Li-Ion batteries. A couple of days later you notice that one of your rechargeable batteries has leaked.

If this is the case, your rechargeable battery has failed and should be removed from service and be recycled. Charging a leaking Li-Ion battery can create health and fire issues.

Tom

 

[Bullzeyebill]

I think that candlelight001 is talking about a new Surefire G3 with Surefire batteries installed?

Bill

I've got to read posts closer. I learned speed reading in college and sometimes I gloss over things.

Bill

 

[candlelight001]

Thanks guys,
I chucked the leaking battery, and the one that was in with it for good measure. Would hosing down the inside of the tube and contacts with DeOxit be sufficient to prevent any residue from the leakage from corroding the light?

VidPro, it was a AW protected battery...

John

 

[SilverFox]

Hello John,

The tube doesn't care. Nitrolon is chemically resistant. Any problems you may have in the future will be with the contacts.

Wipe the tube dry and it should be ready to go.

I would probably use some electronic contact cleaner to clean up the switch, then apply your DeOxit. Just a minute now, does the DeOxit kit come with a cleaner too? Just use that.

Of course you want to do this cleaning with lots of ventilation available, and wash your hands afterward.

Tom