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What happened to alkaline batteries ?
#1
I've pretty much had to completely quit using alkaline batteries. At first it was just the cheaper, though better varieties (Like Kirkland), but now even the copper tops seem to start leaking a few months after I start using them. I've had to replace a few remote controls because the batteries leaked and destroyed the remotes before the batteries even ran out of power. Now I only use rechargeable batteries because they never leak. Is this a Hawaii thing? I'm at the point where if I buy something that is "batteries included" my first instinct is to throw them away and replace them with something that won't destroy the product because the batteries go bad.

Before I made the switch to 100% rechargeable, unfortunately I bought a big pack of AA Duracells from Costco. What prompted this post/rant is that even though their date is good I found one leaking inside my toy drone controller today just a few months after installing them. Fortunately I found the leak in time to save the device but now I'm stuck with a big pack of batteries... any idea on how to use them up? I'm not willing to use them in low drain devices where they might sit awhile, and I don't regularly use things that drain them fast.

ETA: Additional question- I've NEVER had a 9v alkaline battery leak regardless of how it's used. WTF?

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#2
Is this a Hawaii thing?

Yes. I now remove the batteries from anything that's not actually in use.

NEVER had a 9v alkaline battery leak

They do, it just takes much longer.
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#3
Here is a good explanation :

https://www.consumerreports.org/batterie...eriesleak/


Optimum temperature for alkaline is 70 degrees.We have too many days hotter than 70.
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#4
I can't remember if one has actually leaked, but almost every 9V battery I've used here swells up. Haven't had a problem with alkalines.
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#5
Yeah, I thought it was just my "Black Friday Special" Rayovacs...

The temperature explanation makes sense, as this is the first place I've lived without some form of air conditioning. I'm sure part of that is also today's trend of making things as cheap as possible and then some.
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#6
Going down this rabbit hole led me the following web page. Energizer has a "no leak guarantee" on most products that they will replace any device damaged if their batteries leak. Reading through the anecdotal stories on the internet Duracell are much more prone to leaking than Energizer. I have purchased several products that specifically recommend using ONLY Energizer lithium batteries in their devices for best performance. But this is the first I've read that they are more or less incapable of leaking.

Considering that I've spent a lot more money on replacing leaked-on devices than I have spent on batteries, I wish I knew this sooner.

https://www.energizer.com/about-batterie...ry-leakage
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#7
Electronics don't like all that humidity, not to mention our crappy grip power. Always get the warranty on those more expensive items.
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#8
Bottom line
DO NOT USE ANY COPPER TOP BATTERY ,DURACELL DA WORST, why? First there is 0 copper in the battery except the paint on the decal. The absotue worst for a under water lite. Just exposure to sea air will rust the tinned bat connections.

Also garrunteed to leak first if in.any equiptment, fm a flashlite to a fancy 2 k uw dive computer. The only cr23 dime batt , i ever saw leak and destroy the dive comp.Was duracell

Never ready das bess production bat. Best to get a good nicad, and charge fm solar?
Free - the inital purchase.?
Aloha


HPP

HPP
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#9
Haha "never ready". Smile
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#10
Well I did it again. Last time I used my gutter cleaning robot I stored it away and accidentally left alkaline batteries in the remote.

Sure enough when I took it out yesterday they had leaked all over the inside of the remote and destroyed it. I contacted iRobot and not only do they not make gutter cleaning robots anymore, of the few spare parts they still have available for purchase the remote isn't one of them. I tried looking on eBay but people were only selling whole units, and for way more than the $70 I spent on the robot.

I'm not an electronics guy but it was clear the only way this robot was going to be anything other than a paper weight was if I fixed the remote control for it. I tried cleaning the terminals with vinegar but that didn't work so I took it apart and all the damage was confined to an area away from the brains (I'm guessing that is the technical term, I'm not an electronics guy) so I cleaned it all up with vinegar, put it back together and to my surprise, it worked!

If it got into the brains my plan was to soak it in vinegar until the corrosion softened, remove with soft brush, and then soak/clean/dry with a 99% alcohol and resolder anything necessary but fortunately I didn't have to go that deep.

The moral of the story is that if you have something that alkaline batteries destroyed you might be able to fix it with vinegar, and that I shouldn't go so long in between gutter cleanings.
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