WTF! I just went to use my EDC Quark AA, and the clicky was puffed out, and had a lot of resistance when I went to push it. I slowly loosened the head, and it made "pfffttt" noise as it released the pressure. I expected a leaky battery, but the Duracell advanced ultra I put in last week was clean as a whistle. I used it last night, and it was fine. Again, WTF!!!!
Quark AA pressure buildup?
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Blackbeard
Enlightened
Had this happen to my Quark 2AA X, but it was from my eneloops which can emit gas under some circustances, Im using Lithium primaries now. Not sure if alkalines can emit gas, but it would seem so if it happened to you, so I would go with the Lithium or single NIMH which should be fine in your single A
I do have some Rayovac LSD Hybrids, but they only last about 1/2 as long as the Duras, and I keep my Energizer liths in my bail out bag, because of the great shelf life,.. but also because they are pricey, and don't last any longer in day to day use than good alkalines do.
Overclocker
Flashlight Enthusiast
happened to me once. jetbeam ba20 was tailstanding, then it tipped over by itself
Outdoorsman5
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sounds like it's the battery. Just swap out the battery for a new one; hopefully won't happen to you again.
If you don't yet have any, this may be a good time to invest in a good Li-ion 14500 (AW brand) rechargeable battery and charger. Your quark AA will finally perform the way it was designed to perform. The output will equal or exceed the output of a quark AA2, but on a single AA sized 14500 battery. I've been edc'ing a Quark AA for close to two years this way, and currently have a neutral XML head on it for the extra output (300+ lumens) & floodier beam profile (which I prefer.) Runtimes are great using the Li-ion battery too.
With the R5 LED & using a single AW 14500 I got the following runtimes:
Max = 48 min, High = 150 min, Med = 11 hrs, Low = 50 hrs, didn't test moonlight mode.
With the XML Neutral Tint LED & using a single AW 14500 I got the following runtimes:
Max = 58 min, High = 2 hrs, I didn't test med, low, or moonlight....I need to though.
Anyway, the performance of the single 14500 is excellent, and the output is also excellent for a single-cell light. For those of us that have gone to the edc lights that use a single 14500, most of us will never go back. You get full power, great runtimes, and can still use a standard AA battery in a pinch.
Go to batteryuniversity.com to read up on how to handle Li-ion batteries (what to do & what not to do.) Pretty easy stuff, plus you are most likely already using Li-ion batteries in your cell phone, laptop, ipad, camera, etc.
enjoy.
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Had the same issue with a Preon 2AA and older Eneloops that were freshly charged. The pressure was enough to 'stick' the rear click out so that you could not operate it. When you opened it up the sound was similar to opening up a soda bottle or a train releasing pressure. Happened a few times with the same generation of Eneloops and then no issues at all with newer ones.
zenbeam
Enlightened
I've been known to emit gas and make a "pfffttt" noise.
Umm.. wait... different issue.
Nevermind.
Umm.. wait... different issue.
Nevermind.
Are you AA or CR123 powered?I've been known to emit gas and make a "pfffttt" noise.
Umm.. wait... different issue.
Nevermind.
I'm thinking of going the 14500 route. IIRC, Battery Junction also has 14505 non-rechargables. Same size, voltage, and power without all that pesky recharging!
You prefer buying batteries, using, then throwing away over and over?
If the Alkalines outgassed I would never trust them again, and would toss them immediately. One leak and your light is ruined. Its not worth the chance.
Nimh will sometimes outgas, but I've never heard of one ruining a light.
zenbeam
Enlightened
I'll ask my Gastroenterologist when I go back in two more years.
(okay... it's the call of the corn... sometimes just cannot resist! I will calm down now.)
Great question btw!
bodhran
Enlightened
A friend with a Quark AA2 I had given him actually blew out the boot twice using old Enloops. I kept telling him it was his batteries. Luckily with a new boot it worked fine, and after buying new batteries, hasn't had a problem since.
Outdoorsman5
Flashlight Enthusiast
I resisted rechargeable batteries for a long time. I didn't like the idea of babysitting batteries. But, when I did finally, I began enjoying my lights more. I used to be concerned with running a battery down, or leaving the house with only half capacity, and not using my lights as much as I wanted because I didn't want to run the battery down. The fun began when I got some AW Li-ion batteries & then some eneloops. It no longer bothered me when I or my wife or my kids ran around with their lights on all the time.
Taking care of rechargeables is easy. There's really not much to it at all, and worth what little time you spend on it. All I personally do is check the voltage before charging, then I charge the battery, then I test the voltage at the end to make sure it is where it needs to be. That's it. I use an inexpensive voltage meter that I bought from Walmart.
Below is what I'm looking for when I test my Li-ion batteries along with some tips on how to handle Li-ion batteries. I learned most of this stuff at batteryuniversity.com.
- Try not to let the Li-ion get below 2.5v. It's ok if this happens once in a while, but try to avoid it because this can damage the cell. Some folks prefer not to let their battery get below 3.0v which should extend the life of the battery.
- Don't let the battery charge over 4.2v. A good charger should stop charging when the battery gets close to 4.2v.
- If your Li-ion voltage drops below 2.0v for more than a week then throw it away.
- Don't store your Li-ion batteries long term with a voltage over 4.1v, and it is ideal to store them with a voltage close to 40% capacity (around 3.75v - 3.8v.)
- Don't use Li-ion batteries in anything other than electronics that are designed for them. The light or electronic must be able to handle 4.2v for a single cell, or 8.4v for 2 cells, etc.
- A Li-ion should last a min of 3 years. I have several AW brand batteries that are over 4 years old that are still running well.
- If a battery gets too warm during charging then it may be a sign that it is going bad. If it is losing more than 0.1v within 24 hours of charging then it is probably going bad.
- Buy quality brands with a protected circuit such as AW, Redilast, EagleTac, & Orbtronics. These are all good quality Panasonic batteries which have been rebranded. There are too many cheepies floating around which are really rejects or very old batteries, and may not perform well at all.
- Treat your cell phone, laptop, ipad, camera, & other devices that use Li-ion batteries the same way as above to get the most out of them too.
Good luck.
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Thanks Outdoorsman! I have some AA rechargables (Rayovac), and they are ok for cheapos I guess. I'm going to get a MAHA charger and some Eneloops ( When I went to buy them at Costco, they didn't carry them at that time, so I ended up with a Duracell branded Rayovac AA+AAA set with a charger. ) I know what you mean about worrying about primary batteries. I have a Quark Mini CR2, and a Nitecore EZ CR2, and about 8 spare cells left. With my luck, they will discontinue CR2 batteries as soon as I use up all my spares! I don't use them as much as I otherwise would.
