CR123 battery smell. Flashahol? Whats normal?

This has been bugging me for a while, and I cant really find the answers that i want.

Before I start I would like to say that this is not really a query about exploding, venting or otherwise damaged batteries. I think there are plenty of threads on those topics.

I am concerned only with batteries that one would consider to be in good/excellent/servicable order. That is; never known to have been dropped, no visible external damage and in general appear to operate the device they are used in quite normally.

So firstly I know cr123 batteries usually have a distinctive odour to them.
I have been able to find out that this odour is known as "flashahol" here on CPF. Correct???

My first query is;
What exactly is this odour?
What are the chemicals present in this odour?
Can longterm exposure to this odour lead to undesireable side effects?


I have noticed that it is present whenever I open a flashlight up to change out a cell, or open a battery container. Either way its there....that really distinctive smell.

For example, I keep some Titanium cells in Keep2Go tubes and whenever I open the tube to use or restock a cell there is that very distinctive and not pleasant smell. Now I would like to say that i notice this smell also from Duracell brand cells.
The odour is not a nice one and although i have never deliberately sniffed, whiffed or inhaled(brought up to nose directly) I do think that If the sniff is a decent enough one it temporarliy makes me feel a little sick/ different.
That is I can feel that i have inhaled it and it doesnt feel normal........
Keep in mind that this is not from a deliberate inhale, but from almost an arms length and just in the course of a batterychange etc.

well....duh!!!.......I hear you say?


If anyone else has any experience of different brands giving off more or less of this smell compared to other brands, or anything else they have noticed in the course of using or storing batteries Please share!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
E.g about the smell and any reactions to it?

Regards
rat6p

Hi Rat6P,

this issue has been raised quite a few times before and whilst several possibilities for the chemical have been raised, I think it is diethyl-ether, I seem to remember it being the majority view as well.

In the low concentrations present I don't think there are any implications at all, in sufficiently high concentrations it is an anaesthetic and can cause dizzyness, nausea and unconsciousness. The odour of ether is sweet, at least in my opinion and it is what I can smell on primary cells.

I have a suspicion that ether is used as a solvent during manufacture and leaks out during subsequent storage and use.

Personally I am not in the slightest bit concerned about the odour and find it quite pleasing myself but if it bothers you then make sure you change the cells in a well ventilated area.

All cells I have used exhibited the same odour and I haven't found any to be particularly good or bad in that department.

Andrew

Sorry to hijack the thread but lol, makes it sound like a class A drug

Okay, I tried deliberately taking a big wiff from a Keep2Go with CR123As in it ... no side effects. The smell is quite pleasing. I also notice it in the plastic tub that holds all my spare CR coin cells.

No side effects?

Rubbish. Check your credit card statement.

You could have told me that earlier before I did that! Might explain the sudden desire for Ti lights.

OK this forum just got me to go snort batteries. Thanks Andrew for passing on the best guess from previous threads.

I love the smell of 123's in the evening....smells like ....light!

Thanks, cdosrun for the reply.

I cant agree that the smell is pleasing or nice though.
I used to wok in an environment where there was an abundance of varied chemical smells present during the work day.
This smell while not in the same quantities is up there with the worst in my opinion.

baterija said:

OK this forum just got me to go snort batteries. Thanks Andrew for passing on the best guess from previous threads.

I love the smell of 123's in the evening....smells like ....light!

Click to expand...

Too funny. I noticed the same thing, especially when I open my pelican case with about 20 primary CR123's...

Thanks cdosrun for the details; it's good to know that it's not harmful but I hope that saying so won't make people start to sniff this on a regular basis as I can't see it being any good for you even if it's not harmful.

A wiff of flashahol a day keeps the doctor at bay.

I suppose it speaks to the high-minded quality of the posters on this forum that they are unaware that lithium batteries are one of the "common household" items used in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine.

You know, those "kitchen drug labs" that tend to go Kaboom.

At least, that's what it says in the funny papers.

RGB_LED said:

Too funny. I noticed the same thing, especially when I open my pelican case with about 20 primary CR123's...

Click to expand...

I use a Peli case too and noticed the smell when I first started using 123s, and also wondered if there might be an issue with storing cells in a gas tight container?

Normal smell, not harmful in small amounts.

It's flashlight cologne

Don't know what exactly the smell is, but it is not diethyl-ether, at least in its pure form. I used to work with diethyl-ether in my previous life as a chemist. Its odor is very distinctive. I would know it immediately. Also, its vapors are extremely flammable/explosive. I just can't imagine that this is what we are smelling.

Geoff

I always thought the smell was reminiscent of vinegar. Perhaps it's an acetate.