My D10 exploded

I've read stories about this but I never thought it would happen with an alkaline battery. A friend and fellow flashaholic came over last night (small world; just found out he's a regular lurker here) and we were comparing collections. He has an EX10 SP and I was showing him the differences between those and the original variable-output models when he noticed that the lens on my D10 was broken. I looked and sure enough it was shattered. I tried to push the piston but it was jammed. I opened up the head and pulled out the battery-a regular alkaline Energizer AA-and it had leaked everywhere, corroded the inside of the piston, and there must have been a pressure buildup which blew out the lens. So now I am out a D10, and I'm peeved that you can't get them anymore but on the secondary market. (I don't want the SP version.)

So the lesson as always-it's not just lithium or li-ion batteries that can turn on you. I'll have to remember to not store my AA or AAA lights with batteries in them.

Anyone know where I can get this thing cleaned up? I'm not much of a DIYer in that respect! :duh2:

yikes.

try vinegar for removing the battery acid.

"The Energizer®/Eveready® guarantee typically states: "We will repair or replace, at our option, any device damaged by these Energizer® batteries. Guarantee void if batteries are charged by user or device." Contact 1-800-383-7323. This guarantee may vary globally, so please check with your local Energizer office for details."

Don't ever use Alkalines in your lights!

Ouch! I feel your pain... I lost my D10 R2 about a month ago, and up until then it had served as my faithful EDC and was my favourite light of the bunch.

I don't know if you'd consider the older Q5 version, but I believe 4Sevens.ca still has some in stock. :thumbsup: Good luck!

Please let us know what customer service has to say.......

Some battery manufacturers have a product warranty if their battery damages your device, if that might help.

just wondering, how long have you stored the alkaline battery in it for?
What's the useage pattern, environment (e.g temperature), and all other factors that you think can lead to the leakage is like?

just want to know so the chances of it happening minimised in the future.

thank you

Posts like these pop up ~once/month since I have been active here. Yet people still continue to use alkaline AAs in high end ($$) lights. Many openly recommend and prefer them, which completely perplexes me. I have had countless duracell and Kirkland rebrands leak, BRAND-new in the packaging. Alkalines should never be used in any light you intend to keep.

Using a TK40 (for example) with alkalines is sacrilege.

Personally I have never been able to repair anything that suffered an alkaline leak.

OP I think your best bet is to try Evereadys $$$ back warranty service.

alkalines leak,

litiums explode

nimh ftmfw.

Misleading thread title, it implies a malfunction with the D10 instead of predictable results from using an alkaline battery.

A perfectly good D10 was ruined by cheap leaky alkalines -- an expensive lesson learned the hard way. Hope the battery company will replace your D10.

Sabre7, sorry you find it misleading-the fact is that my D10 did blow out. How it happened is a different matter. Now had I said "my cheap D10 POS blew up" or something like that, well now that would be misleading. I'm still learning about battery chemistries and how all of these things work, and even though I've used alkalines my whole life otherwise, I hav enever seen them leak out like that. Maybe I've just been lucky. I am guessing there are other fools like me out on this forum who are just as inexperienced, and hopefully I can save someone else's light.

Thinking back I had not used this light in a while and I should have removed the battery, but it was in the bottom of my case and I haven't opened it up lately. I am not sure of how old the battery was, though I can say that it was not approaching the end of its useful life due to overuse because I hadn't used it all that often, so I think the battery was new when I put it in and that's how it stayed.

I have since replaced all alkaline batteries in any of my lights that use them, which aren't many. I don't love the AA configuration.

BTW like a fool-and after a few beers last night-I threw the offending cell away and I don't think I will be able to find it. :thumbsdow

Thanks for the input everyone.

sabre7 said:

Misleading thread title, it implies a malfunction with the D10 instead of predictable results from using an alkaline battery.

A perfectly good D10 was ruined by cheap leaky alkalines -- an expensive lesson learned the hard way. Hope the battery company will replace your D10.

Click to expand...

+1

It is not misleading. Title states what happened, and the thread describes what caused the D10 to explode. Anyway sorry to hear about the loss.

sabre7 said:

Misleading thread title, it implies a malfunction with the D10 instead of predictable results from using an alkaline battery.

A perfectly good D10 was ruined by cheap leaky alkalines -- an expensive lesson learned the hard way. Hope the battery company will replace your D10.

Click to expand...

sabre7 said:

Misleading thread title, it implies a malfunction with the D10 instead of predictable results from using an alkaline battery.

A perfectly good D10 was ruined by cheap leaky alkalines -- an expensive lesson learned the hard way. Hope the battery company will replace your D10.

Click to expand...

Agreed. The title should have read something like, "I had a AA Alkaline Energizer leak, ruining my flashlight"... and probably should have been posted in the Battery Forum. It had nothing to do with the D10.

I'll also reemphasize that you should not use Alkaline batteries in these nice LED flashlights like we discuss here. I'll add tho, only in an emergency. It's not if, it's when, an alkaline is going to leak. My guess is, that the D10 got accidentally turned on. Once an Alkaline battery is depleted, the chances of leakage is greatly increased.

kramer5150 said:

Alkalines should never be used in any light you intend to keep.

Click to expand...

If alkaline batteries are not preferred... what would you recommend in C and D cell lights ?

you've made a good point. My maglite has 4 alkaline Ds in them for a couple of years still without incident as of now.

Could it be because the maglites don't draw as much current so the batteries are more "stable"?

CELICA XX said:

If alkaline batteries are not preferred... what would you recommend in C and D cell lights ?

Click to expand...

Never really understood the fuss about alkaline leaking until one leaked in a 2XTi. Body was fine but the internals were a complete loss.:mecry:
After that I stocked up on li-ions. Despite all those exploding cell stories, I haven't had any problems with them.

CELICA XX said:

If alkaline batteries are not preferred... what would you recommend in C and D cell lights ?

Click to expand...

Totally off topic, so I am only going to reply ONCE.

-NiMH C or D
-Eneloop with D/C cell adapters

For more experienced members/modders, or those conscientious enough to follow ALL the safety precautions, a 2-3 cell Lithium based solution.

kramer5150 said:

Totally off topic, so I am only going to reply ONCE.

Click to expand...

Totally off topic ???

I think it's nice to see a problem and solution in one thread.

Thanks for your help.

CELICA XX said:

Totally off topic ???

I think it's nice to see a problem and solution in one thread.

Click to expand...

Well, my Nitecore D10 doesn't take C or D cells as far as I can see