Now I'm thinking that the best test might be some small $2 farting novelty gadget that takes two AA's that has a small standby current. I could get dozens of these on AliExpress and run various combinations. Product recommendations? And perhaps, rather than run different brands, take the most notorious brand (Duracell) and just test those to discover the best mechanism for leakage FIRST, before testing all the brands?
I was thinking one of those solar lights with a joule thief circuit. That way you have all the worst conditions. Most die in months due to the battery rotting away any exposed metals.
@@Mr.Unacceptable These are based on YX8018, they do not have that low of a working voltage. Three batteries in series might be a bit wasteful... You probably want something that can go diode low...
Would you stick a lithium battery in mix I have never had one leak and they are the only battery type I use in my test gear. Something like the energiser ultimate lithium battery’s
I had them leak in a volt meter, scale, remote control, flashlight, a light that you place on your head with straps, pretty much anything that takes AA or AAA batteries. They lead even if they haven't been installed yet.
I put lithium primary batteries in my multi meters and anything else that does a lot of sitting and has a stupid screw in the battery cover. Because they will never leak.
I dunnno... I had some of these Chinesium Duracells leak on me IN STORAGE. Maybe Murphy has two parts here, the second of which is "The battery will have leaked if you're down to your last 4 cells and it's 1:00am"
Anecdotally, I've had a significantly higher percentage of Duracells leak than other brands. Interestingly I've had the original Eastman Kodak alkaline AA cell in my alarm clock (Timex Indiglo) for the past ~25 years and it still works just fine. I just checked and it's down to 1.32 volts. The clock obviously has an extremely low current draw!
@@EEVblog [edited to add more detail:] It's something like half a percent per year. And that's not even just self-discharge: that cell has been powering the clock continuously that whole time, including the transflective LCD and most of that time the alarm 5 days a week. I use the "Indiglo" EL backlight semi-frequently. I'm blown away by both the clock and the AA cell.
Hah... I used to work for Kodak and recently found a box of about 30 AA Kodak batteries from at least 1993, that was the date on the order ticket still in the box. They are all good (above 1.48v) and put 12 of them in my game camera and its been humming away for 3 weeks.
This. I use Duracell Procell for work. Around 100 a year. They are terrible for leaking. I use them because the performance/price is good but jeez you need to keep an eye on them.
There is a battery in the CPU section of my HP8566B spectrum analyser that has a date code on 1990 I believe. When I measured it in circuit last year it was still at its full marked voltage. It is soldered in circuit but I decided not to change it because it has no sign of corrosion and I'm not totally sure that a newer one would be any better. You can still buy the exact same battery on DigiKey even today.
At first sight this is the only recommendation to be taken serious. But unluckily you won't find out what they did and how long it took until they leaked. In most cases it takes years until they leak. All those esoteric claims like 'the device was not expensive or important enough' are dull. Modern cells leak due to age or to manufacturing faults. The cells are kind of 'made to corrode'. If they leak, the outer shell was not sturdy enough to hold back the liquids. That's all. Probably all the 'esoterics' opened their ‚valuable devices' after years, just then they recognised they should have been taking out the batteries back then. The only way to protect your device is to take those damn batteries out, as most of the manuals keep recommending.
@@pasixty6510 I got you one. I put Sunbeam brand batteries in remotes in the past and found them leaking less than 6 months time. You can pay a dollar for 4 AAA or AA at the dollar tree but the Duracell brand shown on the video got me worried.
@@pasixty6510 That is, of course, the only solution. However, I can argue that if one has to continually remove batteries, the batteries (and/or the devices) are poorly engineered. Imagine having to drain the gas out of the tank of the car nightly just to be sure it does not corrode the tank or clog the lines. No, they use better engineering with cars ... they design them to be sent to the crusher in 10 years so you don't have to worry about bad fuel. With batteries, the problem may solve itself as the devices are becoming obsolete so quickly that bad batteries are becoming irrelevant.
@@thaddeusmcgrath Unfortunately, evidence seems to show that Duracells are generally most likely to leak. I think that's because they strive to offer the highest capacity possible (and succeded in that), but they have to sacrifice longevity for that. Unfortunately Duracells are just what you get at many electronic stores when you buy battery-powered equipment and get batteries to go along with it... or at least that was when there were still Super-8 cameras and microcassette recorders for dictating which have now been replaced by your smartphone or other devices powered by built-in rechargeable batteries.
To be fair... to be fair... they say may leak when charged so technically... Edit: Why not use a joule thief circuit with a led? You´ll also know when it´s ready ;-)
I was also thinking about the joule thief. (Something I just learned of). I have never measured a AA (or any battery, for that matter) and discovered it went negative. I would not have even thought that possible. (I am NOT an expert; sorry Dave!). This is very interesting. I will be sure to follow this. There are viewers that know.
@@jlucasound it only happens when cells are in series (which is the most usual configuration) and is a good way to destroy rechargeable batteries. It's worse when you have more than 2 cells in a battery pack and one of the reasons why you should never let rechargeable packs discharge too low
I have noticed over the years (decades, actually) that single cells tend not to leak but when 2 or more are in series that the most-negative terminal will start to leak first. Vinegar works really well at cleaning up the crusty Potassium Carbonate crystals (followed by a weak Sodium Bicarbonate solution to neutralize the acid of the vinegar). A tiny smear of petroleum jelly on the negative end will help stop the corrosive welding (but don't get the jelly all over the place--it is slightly conductive). Silicone grease also works but is more expensive (and non-conductive, so that's good). Find it in the plumbing section. I've had the best luck (lack of leaks) with Panasonic batteries.
it says on the label; may leak if charged, that's why a single cells don't leak because it can't recharge itself. If there's another cell or if the electronics can hold charges then it will recharge the weaker battery, hence causing it to leak.
That is, may be, partially true but not sure I have lost couple of my Logitech wireless mouse due to rusted battery in it and this mouse uses only one battery. but believe it or not, all of them were Duracell which leaked badly and I have been using Energizer since then. It's a typical issue one just can't predict. May be if the product stays idle and not moving for long time then it leaks perhaps ? yes of course battery chemistry could be the main reason. It's always disturbing when you find your costly gadget is destroyed due to battery leakage.
In addition to lower current draw, I'd try wrapping them in plastic wrap to seal in any corrosive vapors. I don't know that there are any vapors, but just in case, that would better replicate the conditions of a battery compartment. Maybe try raising the humidity in a test chamber. I'm not a battery expert, but I suspect showing them videos of sexy batteries might help.
I remember as a kid cleaning out the springs on a toy when the batteries had leaked. My face was far away, but of coarse a little piece flung off when the spring “twanged” and went straight into my eye. That hurt! I was smart enough to flush it out...
I'm far from a battery authority... but have noted through the years that elevated temperatures; for example batteries in flashlights stored in cars tend to leak at a much higher rate than others... even in devices with zero standby current draw.
I haven't seen these recently, but do you remind the kind of batteries that they gave with 1$ flashlights in the 90s? You could easily squeeze them and bend them; they were almost made in aluminium paper and they leaked pretty fast!
Have English speakers across the globe forgotten about the word "no?" You write: "devices with zero standby current." Andrew Yang says Amazon pays "zero" taxes. Trump says there was "zero" collusion. Is this spoken txt-speek?
Duracell has been complete shit for the last 5+ years.... Everybody on the internet has noticed, all my kids toys had ALL of their duracells leak. Switched to Kirkland (Costco brand), and have had zero problems since.
I have never had a kirkland leak and i have had so many duracells leak that i quit using them. May be made in the same factory, but they use a different species of frog legs and bat wings in their secret brews.
@@eugenes9751 I've seen the Kirkland cells leak as well-in fact, they started to get lousy at about the same time as the Duracells starting going downhill(which makes sense, as they are both made by the same company).
I guess Rayovac doesn't sell their batteries in Australia? They used to be leakers too. Here in the USA my favorite cheap batteries are the Sunbeam Alkaline AA and AAA's from Dollar Tree. I've had them go dead in wall clocks and remote controls and none of them have leaked yet. BTW dont buy any Sunbeam "Super Heavy Duty" batteries or any battery labeled that. They are cheap crap zinc chloride batteries that dont last long, and they leak easily when they go dead.
They are sold under a different name. Notice the Varta package mentions Spectrum Brands on the back. Same company owns Rayovac batteries and you'll see Spectrum brands on the back of your Rayovac battery package in the us.
I seen a lot of sunbeam batteries in dollar tree and target, the white colored ones, next to sunbeam light bulbs. I remember the rayovac batteries, they used to sell them in the UK when I was a kid back in the 1980s and early 1990s then they disappeared here, I think I might have seen them a few years ago in a gas station in Rhode Island in the US. The brand here was "Rayovac Viador" they used to sell flashlights with that brand as well, I remember the now very old fashioned black (smelly) rubber flashlights that you could put underwater and they were watertight, until the rubber case around the metal innards would split at the power switch and leak..
From personal experience batteries usually leak, when they have no load attached to them, so for instance half drained and thrown into a box for remote control usage and in the device, which is switched off for a loner time ( half a year,... ) or in a remote control which isn't used too much. (Disclaimer: this is all from personal experience, because I digitize video tapes in a small extent and thus remotes don't get used quite often)
Every occasion where a battery has leaked on me has been a Duracell that I can remember. I don't know why I still use them. Anecdotal I know, but my sample size is a good ten or fifteen occasions, 100% Duracell. Edit: Can you measure the current draw in your probe, or a remote control?
He has already reported anecdotal evidence of batteries leaking unconnected in their separate packaging. Though slow that may be the appropriate load for alkaline leakage.
@@2lefThumbs You slowly learn your lesson over the years as you stumle across TV remote's and such that have had their insides destroyed. Duracell never used to be this bad. I'd say this is simply the ols' bait and switch - live on your past name but sell a much, much shitier product.
Been dealing with them since they were known as Mallory (1969). The would actually leak in the store battery display back then. I constantly find them leaking and destroying gear to this day. Just got in a Marantz recorder where they not only leaked but the fumes ate away half the PCB and a couple of microphones where they leaked and destroyed the electret elements. Avoid like the plague!
@@RuneTheFirst Honestly, where I live (Eastern Europe) they only went down the schmitter a few years ago. The latest "Belgian" ones are weak, nasty feeling, light like feathers and oh yeah they leak more often than any other half decent model. Actually I'm feelin they all went to moot this decade. What I could be judging them by is Wii accesories. A matter of a whole season vs 1 month vs 2 weeks tops, it's that crazy. And yeah I used to play very regularly until recently so the margin of error isn't outta this planet. Almost 10 yrs ago, we had Energizer Ultimates which held up real good, adequate standard Energizers, Philipses that never lasted long no matter the "tier" ("Ultra", Standard, whatevs), Duracells before the "Turbo Max" crap that were okay and others of various quality. And I think Varta was of a legendary level back then - yeah not too long ago. Fast forward to 2016 - got a promo bucket of Varta High Energies or whatever, "Made in Germany" all that stuff from Sweden. They a) lasted like schmit b) had metal SO SOFT it's hilarious 😂 a 30cm drop would create a pretty substantial dent Energizer went to crap as well... so did Duracell. Not too much trust in Panasonics either (earlier Evoltas were fine afaik)... the "Standards" feel like Duracell rebrands after all, same Belgian production... and the "Evoltas" come from Poland now 😹 no U.S.A. no Japan no nuthin'. Aerocells from Lidl are decent - for the price! - and have been claimed to be Varta rebrands. So yeah, the "premium" products leveled down to the "meh" ones, and those either stood at their "meh" ground or dropped even further... Stocking up on GPs now to be honest, they're AT LEAST affordable.
I’ve had customers of my tool business have Duracell’s leak and ruin test units. They have contacted Duracell and in all cases Duracell sent them a check to buy the equipment, Full list.
In my own experience, I have noticed alkaline batteries leak the moment they COMPLETELY lose power. I take "dead" AA batteries out of gadgets and place them in one of those cheap, two-cell holder connected to a double alternately blinking red LED circuits that can be found in many cardboard store displays. The thing will flash at full brightness and speed for weeks until eventually slowing down and stopping. Then the batteries will leak all over the place. It happens every time.
I used to manage 150 electronic door locks. Due to leakage the company switched from a generic battery to Duracell. These were in a high humidity (beach air) environment. There was an issue with the door locks that would suck hot air through the lock and cause condensation. (The AC is the cause of this.) The leaks were often. Less than 6 months. Maybe try to "damage" the seal with heat. Lots of motor stalls due to misaligned deadbolts.
Similar. Keypad entry deadbolts. 4x AA. They were on beach houses. The batteries were on the inside, but the locks could still get hot from sun and 100F weather. When the AC turned on and cooled the air inside the house; hot, humid air would be sucked through the keyhole (this has been addressed now.)
@@MrAwyork Glad it's addressed. It's counterintuitive but to keep the electrical passthroughs and keyholes and wallpaper dry you have to let outside air into the air conditioner. In this house I cut a hole in the floor under the central air.
Something that seems to 100% cause leakage regardless of brand for batteries for me is when a button gets stuck on an IR remote for a long period of time, like when getting shoved between couch cushions.
Interesting, so what doe this mean? What is the typical current draw in such situation? And in case of an IR remote, it is also a pulsing current draw. Is that perhaps a factor that contributes to leaking?
The current draw is quite a bit actually, and this is extremely interesting. I have measured power draw of remote controls using a shunt on my oscilloscope. Some Drew as much as 150 mA but in really short pulses of the 38 kHz carrier frequency which is then used to form the ones and zeros. Most hovered around the 80 mA mark while the LED is monetarily on (33% to 50% duty cycle). What this could tell is, is that maybe batteries leak when subjected to sudden small changes in the load, as opposed to a steady resistance
I had bought Duracell Alkaline batteries, without taking them out of the package and using them, even though there were a few years left to the expiration date, it leaked acid inside the package! I am glad that I did not use these batteries! Because it damages my things!
I still remember the era when Duracell was the one and the only battery make if you want to get the best. Other makes started marking of the best before date but Duracell didn’t because they were so good. I took care of TV companys waste batteries over 20 yrs ago and really don’t remember any leaks even when we had a huge metal barrel of used Duracells (Procells). But during last 10 or so years all the Duracells have been pure s**t. Some cheapos can be of much better quality.
mattikaki Your experience was likely before Procter&Gamble bought Gillette, thus Duracell. They switched production to China. Energizer has been top since! At least they paid for the replacement of my destroyed MagLite 2xAA from the 1990s...
dexter1981 Well, not everything. Chinese people can build extremely high quality products if the proper quality controls are in place. But usually, stuff made in China is due to a cost-cutting measure by the company, and QC is expensive. Result : QC is reduced, or left to the chinese subcontractor. Seeing the possibility of better profits, he changes the recipe in his favor, cutting corners. Stuff becomes Chinesium. If the QC was kept by Duracell with USA employees, the product would be as great as USA-made. Unless, of course, the company cuts in QC.
@@ve2mrxB I believe P & G dumped Duracell on Berkshire Hathaway a couple of years ago. Now it is Warren Buffets problem My remotes that come with my cable boxes have the no-name Chinese batteries none of them have ever leaked. I had a wall clock at home that had a dead battery for about five years I finally decided to check the battery after all of my Duracell problems. The battery looked brand new but dead. It was an Energizer.
Norm475 Yes, it's no longer P&G's problem now. Hopefully they will improve. Too late for me, now it's Eneloop only. Low self discharge sealed the deal. Good for remotes and flashlights.
I have seen many Duracells leak, more than any other brands. Most of the time, I buy Panasonic Alkaline Plus batteries, because they are way less expensive than the two expensive brands. You should add to your tests some basic carbon cells, like Panasonic ones at the dollar store. I'm sure that I have seen more non-Alkaline cells leak. I am pretty sure that the 2 main reasons for battery leakage are age and bad manufacturing. I do not think that any load is required at all to get this problem, as I have seen many batteries leak in devices where the main power switch is directly connected to the positive, so the is not current flowing at all. I don't know if you have kept these cells, but would be interesting to keep them and look at the in 2-3 years.
I just took some Panasonic carbon cells out of a shortwave radio. Both had leaked. It has a standby clock display though, so parasitic load. I was able to save the radio though at least!
Durasmell and Energizer are the only ones I've had leak. In the early 2000's I had some Energizer rechargeable AA and 9v's leak and explode both in the charging port and RC controllers. Cheap "house" brand ones I've never had leakage issues with. I did just have 3 out of 6 Duracell AA batteries, all from the same batch, leak, while connected to a guitar pedal with 5mA current draw. Must not have noticed the pedal was on when I packed to move, and it was unpacked about 2 months after it was quite literally tossed into a box. The three that leaked were all on one side of the power bank.
Start by characterizing a device (and the ambient conditions that device lived under) in which you know the failures occur. Then, set up tests for each of the operating/idle states of that device. Vary temperature and humidity also. And, yes, focus on a known bad brand until you can formulate a replicable failure procedure.
get an Nintendo Wii controller - and check the load when turned off - they bring any alkaline batteries to to leak within 2 Month (I mostly use Duracell, Enermax, Panasonic, Varta) - this is probably the best "bring-them-crystals-to-grow"-Recipe ;)
Yes Duracell for me, changed 1x AA Duracell on my wall clock yesterday which ran out of battery 2 weeks ago and to my surprise it leaked. Btw this is the Duracell pack bought from Bunnings Exp Yr: 2024.
@@EEVblog I also belive that a much slower discharge rate might be the key. I remember the TV remote control of my grandparents. They used counterfeit Duracells that were sitting in that control for two years and had grown some spectacular crystal structures. You have to imagine, they only used the remote control to switch the TV on/off and make it louder once a day. If you integrate that current, you have a very low discharge rate. But I think that short bursts of about 20mA should do the trick. I imagine a non uniform electrolyte in the battery at that burst, that has to uniform by molecular changes (cycling of the stuff inside). (I'm absolutely no battery expert but it sounds logical to me). Also: keep up the good work :)
Duracell procell that's supposed Industrial battery for Duracell leaks all the time. I'm talking about if you leave your flashlight on within two days you'll have liquid coming out of it. I'm not kidding. I'd be more than happy to send you a brand new box of them for a test. USA Michigan.
Ouch! When I saw Dave open his differential probe I had to open mine...batteries still at ~1.58-9VDC BUT there was some white "frost" around some of the terminals...better safe than sorry...yellow sticky says "batteries removed"!
@@EEVblog2 Thanks for taking the time to reply, I know you get a gazillion notes. I fabricated two adapters that fit on my DL3021A and also got a couple of custom cables from Amazon that do the same thing. Keep up the great channels, been a fan since the garage days!
Good thing that you didn't use Lucas batteries, those things leak even with no load at all, when they're nearly brand new. The last shipment of them I got had all of the 9v's and most of the triple a batteries already leaking, just had to toss them entirely.
I won't use Duracell batteries. They leak worse than almost any other battery. I use Energizer Max exclusively for standby emergency gear. I remove them for a visual inspection about every 2-3 months, and replace them after a year with new ones.
Dave, I've been in the electronic repair business since 1972. I've pulled batteries out of things from the Simpson 260 to toys. Some leaked due to no apparent reason whatsoever! I've seen things with the old model of the brands still inside and working with no leaks. I got astronomical equipment from the red LED flashlight to the drive and focusing controllers that batteries would leak in them as well. I can usually clean or replace the spring terminals. These controllers are out into the cold as low as -18C (0 F) and inside when not in use. What I notice that if there are 2 or more batteries in the holder, when there is leakage, they all leak! Rarely do I see a battery not leaking where the adjacent ones leaked.
I'm seeing that others have reported similar experiences. I too have seen many, many Duracell batteries leak in the recent years, many more than with any other brand I've tried. (Not even the super cheap off-brand batteries leaked that often!) I'd never ever ever recommend Duracell batteries to anyone.
Energizer Max batteries have a higher level of leak resistance. They have a No Leak Guarantee that is actually honored by the company. Duracells, on the other hand, are called Duraleaks for a reason.
I have 4 young grandchildren, so we use a lot of batteries. They have some toys that can drain 4 AA or AAA batteries in less than 2 months. I have noticed that the Duracell batteries leak if they are not removed within 3 months of dying. These are new batteries that have years left on their expiration date. They are just drained during regular use. I have not had the same issue with other batteries, regardless of branding . Cheaper no-name batteries may have a shorter life, but they don't leak as quickly.
@@NeuronalAxon Some Eneloop and a good charger will make the difference. I have a bunch of them that are well over ten years old and still have 80-90% of their original capacity and work fine.
18:06 - Exactly, they won't normally leak if they're just sitting there unconnected (assuming there isn't a defect), they leak when they're in-circuit and there is a residual trickle current over long period of time. Unconnected batteries have sat in the container on store shelves for many years without leaking whereas batteries in unused devices quite often end up leaking in months.
did you say that the cells were left in a window for the whole time?and long enough that the UV cracked the boxes?If so I speculate that the heat from the sun evaporated any moist type gasses that would normally collect on the colder metal during temperature swings that allows the electrolyte crystals to form.most items that have leaky batteries can be found stashed away in a dark drawer or tossed on the basement floor shelf, stashed in the sofa.if you could take your setup and put it back together again, put it in a corner of the shop and forget about it for another 10 months.just my reverse engineers observation.
@@EEVblog ... what about exposure to UV itself? Heat would be IR? Consider that your probes (or our other devices) conceal the batteries in a dark environment. A joule thief in a box with an external LED. Check them as the LEDs go out and then again later. And, of course, turn the box upside down - because of, well, 'down under'? ;-)
EEVblog trick is heat with humidity I would think. Just from the chemical perspective. Dark, sealed and warm. Air conditioned office probably not the ideal environment for this.
Dave, I picked up a pack of AAA, AA and 9V energizer batteries in 2015 or 2016. Much more in number than I needed. I never ran out of battery supplies till couple of days ago when I opened up the storage box to find out that all of them had leaked except the 9V ones. I trashed them all. Lesson learnt, batteries will leak whether on load or in storage. Save your expensive equipment by keeping them without batteries when not needed for a long time.
for me it is always the batteries inside remote controls that leak. or these cheap battery powered christmas lights, especially when the device is stored in our attic for about a year. it is a very bad insulated attic, hot in the summer, cold in the winter, maybe a bit humid. in my experiance the enviromental conditions play a huge role too. i had a bunch of super cheap batteries loosly sitting in my drawer for couple of years without any problems. i think daves containers actually might have shielded the batteries from (the humidity) of the air.
Happened to my folks this year, Mom go the Christmas decorations boxes down and a few things with last years batteries left inside had all leaked even though there was a hard power switch to prevent parasitic drain.
Reading through the comments, you'd think Duracell would explode into crystals if you looked at 'em wrong. Could it be that decades of marketing have made them enormous top-selling brand? Maybe we're just seeing more because there's quantitatively more, not per-capita percentages more? Also, add my vote for a joule thief circuit. Maybe you made the UA-cam gods angry by not including LEDs in an electronics project!
Ted McFadden Not all Duracell are manufactured in the USA. Those from China are less reliable from my readings. But it is a probable bias in anecdotal evidence.
@@ve2mrxB Good tip. Bearing that in mind, and the fact that Duracell seems to license their brand to anyone with cash, it would be interesting (but impossible, probably) to determine if these leakier cells are made by entirely different battery companies.
Ted McFadden That's one reason why it will be difficult to trust again. Multiple manufacturing plants often mean different quality. Comes to mind (I read) that there is Dr Pepper from the original plant, tasting much better than the other plant serving most of the country. Or the multiple Pepsi plants each having a variant of the US flavor. But the biggest joke was seeing a car lead-acid battery with the Duracell or Energizer brand (don't remember which)! They don't make lead-acid batteries! Brand licensing are a pain as you never know when the contractor changes...
The old alkaline cells that are still working are very likely from when mercury was added to the formulation. Starting in the mid-1990s regulations resulted in the switch to low and no mercury cells.
Yep, as other have said...Duracells have frequently leaked when Ive used them. I used to use them almost exclusively, then I bought a large quantity of AA cells from Radio Shack (when they closed up shop) and had no leakage. With the Duracell batteries, I never mixed used and new or different brands; and I still had leakage problems.
lol thanks Dave!...i was sitting here for first 10mins with deja vu! you need to try another test...mixing brands...(like originally found in your equipment)
Hy, I'm here because the Chanel WRKits, he talks about eletronics, he is a good brasilian engeneer. Will be an honor for he to be visited by you. Tanks for the time.
Good one, Dave! This needs to be done! Batteries seemed to be leakproof for a spell in... when was it? 80s? 90s? Now, the much-trumpeted 'leakproof' boast has disappeared from all brands. Also, I've had batteries jam solidly in two separate D-cell Maglites, with no leakage that I could see. I wonder whether any of these batteries changed their dimensions significantly.
I had some Duracell Procell D cells leak inside a long pink Maglite, well enough to corrode it together absolutely solid. There was no way of unscrewing the end. I sawed the end off and found the cells had corroded into the tube (which was anodized, but the chemicals seemed to strip that off rather well) and wouldn’t budge. Tossed the whole lump into the battery recycling! I’m absolutely sure it was switched off when I left it a few months earlier. I’ve also seen cells leaking inside their blister packs in the shops with 4 or 5 years still left on their best before dates. Wonder if there are a lot of convincingly-looking fakes around which won’t be as well engineered as the real thing?
Yeah, I lost my big 3 or 4D MagLite to bad batteries. I tried really hard to get the batteries out. I don't remember if I ever got them out, but I did end up giving up and tossing it.
TechnoTinker In my case, a piece of cell label stuck to the side. Of course, it was the cell the deepest in the flashlight, inaccessible! I managed to knock that cell out by violently knocking the flashlight on the desk (not the greatest idea, the desk has marks now). But without removing the label piece, I cannot put a new cell in. Oh well, I got the LED upgraded one!
I recently came across a National-branded horseshoe camera flash module from the (late?) 1980s that belonged to my grandfather. He had left it in its original box with the batteries still in it. Both of them were Duracell batteries, and both had not only not leaked, but still had a very tiny amount of charge left in them (they were able to charge the capacitor in the flash module about half way). When I looked closely at them, I noticed they had “Made in Australia” printed on the label. I had no idea Duracell ever even made batteries here! Suffice to say that little incident fascinated me in many ways.
Remember that alkaline batteries do have an expiration date. For interesting anectodes of batteries leaking: - I had im my home a very old slide viewer which i recently took out to check some stuff. The batteries inside (i think 4 D type Duracell batteries, most likely expired) had leaked pretty bad. The salts formed were probably some kind of copper compound because the battery terminals were made of what looked like just sheet copper and were of two colors: some spots were of a very intense blue kind and most of the salt was the color of copper solfate. The circuit they were in was just a breaker and a small incandescent light bulb. - Less than a year ago was about an exam at my university (electronics fundamentals) and realized right before it that my chinesium calculator wasnt working. Yes, the batteries inside (a pair of IKEA branded AA batteries) were leaking a bit. In a panic, i tried cleaning the corrosion. Nothing. I got the batteries out, went to the nearest cast iron radiator and like a caveman i scraped the battery terminals against a sharp corner. I popped them back in and they worked! I could attend to the exam. A couple of days later i checked the batteries again and sure enough they had expired in 2012. They were produced in 2007. I still have them, the negative terminal is basically destroyed and falling off, with white colored salts. When i took them off they were leaking but could still power the calculator and make it work. I should probably check the voltage now, it might be interesting.
I never expected Dave would misrepresent the packag labeling, it said: they might leak if installed improperly or or recharged, not: they might leak. Ron W4BIN
I stopped using Duracell batteries of any kind awhile back. I found that despite the dates on the batteries, the Duracell batteries leak. I switched to Energizer, and to this day I've yet to have a leaking battery of theirs.
This! I support several media-based classrooms and the HDTV remotes that had Duracell batteries *all* had leakage. Those I put Energizer (Lithium, not the Alkaline versions) never leaked. And still going (insert bunny beating drum).
I can't even read the negative sign on that cheap meter he's using. Wasn't that the same brand that had extremely slow autoranging during continuity tests that naturally alternate between 0 ohm and ∞ ohm ?
I stopped using alkalines few years ago. Nowdays the rechargeable (Eneloops) are so good and quite cheap that there is no reason using alkalines. In really low discharge applications I have Energizer lithiums but mostly eneloops everywhere
In some applications Eneloops cannot be used because they are slightly larger/wider than alkaline AA batteries and will not fit into the battery compartment.
Many (most) devices will get terrible short life when you use rechargeable. For example camera might only gets a few shots before showing "low battery". A XboxOne controller will stop working at about 1.15V which would have taken almost all of a Alkaline (initial 1.55V), yet perhaps only 1/2 of a NiMH that started at 1.3V. I've tried over the years, but really it's just SO much easier to use Alkalines in devices designed for Alkalines.
@@CuriousFocker I had one metal detector where the NiMH batteries would fit in the compartment, but the terminals wouldn't quite touch the contacts, but regular alkalines would. I think I got around it by bending the battery box terminals slightly.
@@johncoops6897 I had this problem with only one device (thermometer) that gets low contrast on LCD below 1,5V. That is stupidly designed device. I would say the opposite - 95% of devices work fine on Ni-Mh. 5% have problems. Btw at 1.15V at no load those eneloops have only like 5% charge left so they are dead anyway. Their discharge cure looks very different compared to alkalines. Have you tried with eneloops or other low self discharge cells? They have slightly higher voltage compared to regular ni-mhs.
Compared to other batteries they seem to leak more. I have some enercell batteries that RadioShack used to sell here in the US, and they haven't leaked yet. And yet I have Duracell's exploding outside devices...
treborrrrr No. Back in the day Energizers were leakers and Duracell’s didn’t. In any case, I use 1.5V lithium primary cells in my equipment now. In US, Energizer has exclusivity for that technology.
I've had this happen a few more times than i would like to admit to. My witches brew of choice was baking soda - sodium bicarbonate. The trouble is with the wash down, keeping the wet uck away from the circuit boards and components and such. If you can isolate it is a smooth process. Done before you know it. Ya know you're effed when it has leaked from a few cold hot cycles over time. It gets everywhere !! The nickel plate holds up well for a while, till it gets to the copper. Then it eats all the copper from within the plating - and if given long enough all the metal. Time to fab some new contacts.......This is the huge let down with really nice rare " stuff " from years ago. It looks great - till you open the battery box.....Wahhh wahhh wahhh. But if there is enough desire a way will be found to resurrect. Creativity is the key here. If you want it bad enough you WILL make it work.
Nick Bolhuis - if you don’t believe me how about you try it for yourself, it works, I keep a small bottle of white vinegar on the shelf above my bench just for this purpose. The vinegar eats the corrosion off, I then use IPA to clean off the vinegar.
I've given up alkaline batteries altogether. I switched to NiMH rechargeables for AA & AAA batteries and non-rechargeable lithium 9V batteries in expensive equipment like multimeters.
@@arthurgarthur No. Ikea Ladda NiMH (also sold as Panasonic Eneloop Pro) AA batteries have a capacity of 2450mAh. That's close enough to an alkaline AA as to be indistinguishable.
@@RabidBadger_ It's the voltage that is 1.2v www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/ladda-rechargeable-battery-70303876/ while alkaline is 1.5. So in series (as in most electronics like remote controls ) you'll only get 2.4v vs. 3v. The amp hours can be the same but the fully charged voltages are substantially different.
In my case, i had 2 AAA batteries leaking in a few month without a load, they was into a microphone. I repeat: no load at all, the batteries was disconnected by a switch, and they was almost new, but they was in very small enclosure. I think this can make the difference!
The Duracells that was in your probe were non-retail versions. "Original Equipment Accessory" The type that comes as "free" in products. I'm sure duracell and other brands make these B2B batteries that are typically included with remotes, etc... at a lesser quality to lower the cost.
Unfortunately, I have no clue about chemistry, but in my personal experience the battery mostly start leaking during standby conditions. Last time observed inside a wireless mouse with energizer batteries. Over the period of two or three weeks vacation they started leaking and totally destroyed the product. By the way, for some reason, I would hesitate to put "eclipse" branded batteries inside a flashlight ;-)
I used to take care of our very expensive test equipment at a previous job, I quit using Duracell years ago because of the leak problems that occur soon after they die. Had much less problems with the Energizer but occasionally would find something with a small amount of corrosion, more to do with longer term neglect to check them than anything else. I also used to test brands against each other for capacity, heating, and fire hazard but unfortunately I don't have that information any more. Look forward to seeing your results!
When Duracell and Energizer were in their heyday in the 80s I never ever saw them leak. Only old school Rayovac 9 (with the cat) and other carbon batteries would leak.Then around the 2000s all batteries started sucking and leaking. I have had Energizer and Duracell batteries leak and damage equipment. They both used to offer guarantees where they would "repair or replace, at their option" any device damaged by the batteries. I have heard this had to do with the 1996 law in the US that banned the use of mercury in batteries, which supposedly prevented the leakage. So the Leak Renaissance may be due to environmental regulations. Makes you wonder if all the equipment destroyed by leaking batteries might have a larger environmental impact to replace than the removal of mercury from batteries. I don't know, but government meddling often has unintended consequences.
Humidity and extreme conditions seem to be a factor in Duracell failure. Two cells in a row have leaked in a bathroom clock and a cell in a flashlight leaked in just a few months of working in a fast food place a few hours a week. The clock cells kept working even after leaking, likely from the fact that there was still a lot of electrolyte left inside them and the water in the air kept the hydrated.
Ive had them leak only when they have been installed in something, like a flashlight turned off for a long time, like over a year. Ive never had them leak when not installed but only if installed even if product is switched off. I think your test should last for many months.
Hey Dave, great Video! My experience is this: If you ever had a bad battery leakage in a battery compartment, the (springy) contacts are less electically conductive. You can't see that, but measure. So, if I ever have a heavy battery leakage, I replace the whole corroded contact. I have a small bag full of (used) new battery contacts, for good reasons!
I always get my batteries from Aldi (in Germany). In my experience they last the longest and I have never had one leak. Duracell and Energizer leaked equally often, or in other words every time either came with a product. Can't say anything about Varta cause I'm too chronically broke to buy them. Edit: spelling
Thanks for the test!!! I have damaged my Fluke 64 MAX IR Thermometer with Panasonic AA batteries. Fortunately I was able to revive it. But it is a design problem because these IR Thermometers have no "hard" on/off switch.....so now I am looking for non leaking batteries - hence I am here :-).
I remember when I was about 5 or 6 my batteries were leaking for my toy car. So smart me at the time decided to lick the liquid to determine if it was water or leakage, I don't remember it tasting too bad or getting sick. It was just very dumb of me lol
What was the rate of “parasitic drain” of the instrument that wrecked the batteries you showed in the beginning? Seems like it might provide insight for the resistance to use in round 2.
Hey, I happen to be a grandson of a 20th century chemist specialized in metals, especially in corrosion and surface processing including plating. The paper he wrote at the age of 36 later turned out to be the 19th most-quoted during the 20th century in the field of electrochemistry/analytical-chemistry. Additionally, what I can tell by looking at his bookshelf is that there are books on batteries - not just one or two, but like ten of them - which suggests he was not only a electrolytic capacitor expert but also a battery expert. Unfortunately his research-related documents (except the ones published) are all forever lost as he intentionally got rid of all of them upon his retirement in March, 1986 (8 months before I was born) and he passed away in July 2008 so I cannot have him answer your questions directly. At this point, however, I can think of two ways in which I may be a bit of help on the matter. One is I could read through those books to find clues (if my ADHD didn't interfere, but okay I'm also an engineering school dropout so it's not as boring as learning a foreign language). Another is I could ask people he looked after in his lab back in late 70s'. Many of them later worked for discrete component manufacturers you sure would know the names of. Either option is no trouble to me and I am more than willing to help, but since the latter option means I may be asking people now in their 80s', I sense the intentions do have to be serious enough. So, here's a question I would like to ask you and the viewers of this clip - would you tell me "Go ahead, we seriously want to know!" - because I need a little push so I could get motivated.
And to those engineers/hobbyists who have exclusive preference for Nippon-Chemicon caps, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. In my eyes, it is no coincident that their products today are regarded as the most dependable/durable because I know he has worked extensively with the company during late 80s' (after retirement as a professor). I truly believe there is a tiny piece of my grandfather's soul in every single product shipped by the company, chosen by circuit engineers and circuits that have Chemicon-caps being used in mission-critical situations (to later complete their missions). This means a lot to me and I thank you so much.
Batteries usually leaked after more like 5 years for me. Also, I avoid batteries and run everything on rechargeable and only use batteries the first time a device came with them.
I've fixed over a thousand units from battery leakage. Take the unit apart. Clean with a wire brush, relay contact burnisher, q-tip with isopropyl alcohol on ALL of the plastic and metal parts. Add flux paste, tinn the spring and plate with a good amount of solder. Then I use Chemwic. Clean again with the alcohol and the contacts are Good As New. Added: If they are soldered to a circuit board, desolder from the board first and then you can easily repair with a Helping Hands holder or mini vice. This method will prevent the traces from overheating from soldering and wicking process.
Was that mention of "library.tv" at the end just a joke? That site only comes up as a domain squatter page for me. *EDIT:* I discovered it's spelled LBRY.tv, not Library. Obviously they haven't done the SEO to ensure that it comes up when people search for Library.tv.
I've never been able to see any pattern to my alkaline batt leakage experiences - except for the two times 'RS components' branded AAs leaked _neat_ KOH out, in one case leaving a wooden table with a dark 'burn' mark forever and me running to stick my fingers under a tap - nasty stuff. Other brands it seems completely random. I've read somewhere that leakage can especially occur when cell voltage < 1.0v as hydrogen can start to be produced, which pushes the internal pressure up, and etc.... dunno if this is always the case....
RS batteries were very overpriced the last time I looked and that was about 17 years ago, just for open chequebook business accounts back then, not for anyone else as the shops were cheaper for energizer etc
Duracells used to be really good years ago, Duracells seem to leak nowadays and I think they maybe changed the formulation or internal makeup of the batteries, I've had full packets of new unused Duracells batteries with 5 and 6 years to go on their use by dates where the whole packet has leaked before opening, ive also been sitting in a quiet room and heard the seeking sounds and had a new packet with 2 or 3 batteries squeeking/venting at the same time.... straight into the recycling collection bin/recycling trash can.. The spread of brands we used to have, have disappeared over the last 10 years and we are left with Duracells and energizer mostly on the shelves of the stores.. A bit of looking a rounded gets varta batteries, they apparently got taken over by energizer recently? There's LidL and aldi branded grocery store ones in the UK (made in Germany) Not so many generics outside of supplied in New TV remotes/toys with most flashlights/torches now coming with Chinese or USA made Duracells inside/packaged beside them. Interestingly depending where you shop in the UK the Duracells are made in- the USA, China, Malaysia, Indonesia or Belgium, the energizers are made in Switzerland, the USA, Japan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia... Supermarket brand ones are made mostly in china.. I think I will go to Costco and pick up some of the Kirkland ones, I think they are made in the USA and might be quite good.. There's alkaline batteries and lithium batteries, hardly ever see zinc chloride ones apart from when I was in the usa where they were common, they were really for clocks and television remotes.. There don't seem to be many rechargeable ones for sale nowadays in retail stores which makes me think its partly due to the retailers wanting return customers and also the chemicals being phased out/reduced/semi banned.. I watched the previous video 👍 Thanks for the great update David Does anybody remember when energizer used to be called everready energizer and before that they were black and gold coloured batteries that were called Everready Gold seal? You could buy packs with 1 or 2 as opposed to today's packs of 4,6 (4+2 free and 10) many led torches/flashlights take 3 AAA cells 🙄 I also remember when varta used to sell 4 packs in waterproof sealed heatshrink with the paper label tucked inside, as did Panasonic, and Panasonic used to sell in completely plastic heat sealed/heat welded retail clip strip/blister pack "carded" shelf hook hanger packets, which were quite handy as they were waterproof packets and good for long term camping/damp area storage...
Forgot to add, I was wondering, does anybody think that some manufacturers pulled out of battery making due to the changing policies in environmental rules/factory site standards/pollution release regulations? Also I wonder how many single use battery makers pulled out of the market to change over to making rechargeable "inbuilt" batteries for tablet computers, mobile phones and portable technology? perhaps some far east manufacturers changed to concentrating on this market/outlet with all the gadgets made out there in recent years.. Could the absorbtion of dampness/moisture in the air together with possibly paper processing chemical residues or the ink used in the box/packet artwork hasten/speed up the demise of new and unused /unopened packets of batteries? (through the conductivity of damp cardboard retail packaging or the slimline cardboard boxes that the "industrial" variations are sold /stored in) I am thinking this because since the fully plastic battery packaging mostly disappeared and the plastic film top blister packs (with cardboard back but with the battery terminals top and bottom covered by the plastic film) also disappearing, leaking unused batteries straight from the packet are a much more common occurance even in "good" as per the recommendations storage conditions... Damp cardboard packaging from just dday to day humidity/air moisture, acidic paper used in the cardboard, salts and bleaching agents used in the processing/manufacture of the paper/cardboard and the chemicals involved in the box printing process may all come together to form a kind of acidic or alkaline (depending on the paper processing) semi wet mat/cloth or even paste that may act as an electrolyte conductor and could start the discharge and corossion/crystal growing process leading to degredation/failure/leakage.. Just a thought, it could partly be attributable to/due to the packaging used these days?
A change to the paper/cardboard used in the biodegradable packaging could help, coating with a fine wax on the inside and/or gluing the box together in two distinct halves, the hot glue (which could be vegetable or natural wax based) could act as a dielectric/insulator and reduce instances of terminal to terminal electron flow by being sufficiently insulating on its own and by also acting to hold a small/thin air gap between the two halves of the cardboard box if they should become wet/damp and hopefully stop the cardboard from becoming a wet conductive mat/electrolyte wick between the battery terminals..
When batteries have exploded inside of one of my costly pieces of test kit, I've found that twelve year old scotch works much better than isopropyl alcohol. It doesn't clean the contacts any better, but I find that I don't care nearly as much.
Every MagLite flashlight I have bought has come with Duracell batteries. Every single one of them leaked, and would usually ruin the light. I started to throw away any Duracell battery.
Maglite Flashlights/torches used to come supplied with only energizer batteries years ago, then they seem to have changed. Some batteries would leak inside the torch/flashlight and react with /attack the aluminum metal of the torch body, fusing the end cap on with a kind of chemical weld that ruined the whole flashlight/product, the crystals would jam the screw endcap thread solid and also the aluminium would be attacked and then the resulting byproducts would eventually dry out/neutralize the leaky electrolyte from the corroded battery and that would be the end of that, using a vice and plumbers pipe pliers, spraying with WD 40, immersing in isopropyl alcohol or even gasolene, none of it would work.. The problem for maglites was the aluminium/aluminum metal being susceptible to strong alkaline salts in solution i.e battery electrolyte and also the fact that mmaglites were always popular as gifts and with the outdoor market, they were good flashlights and were big sellers at Christmas as gifts and also during summer ass gifts and as self purchases for people going camping and fishing, in between those times they could lie on shop/store shelves for months and sometimes even years and would sell in the end, the quality and reliability of maglites made them fast and popular sellers at Christmas and during summer and slower to sell at other times as they kept on working and you would have one or two each and not need more, you would put in the battery/batteries that came with it unless you were very clued up/savvy as they were included/"free" with it and those batteries could have been sitting for years with the terminals open to possibly damp/humid air and beside a damp paper instruction leaflet or cardboard insert..
Forgot to add, Maglite (mag instrument) torches were sold almost everywhere and that large supply availability coupled with the reliability was the reason surprisingly that they could still sit on store/shop shelves for quite long periods of time. Maglite are the only torch manufacturers that I have ever seen that sell spare /replacement parts for their torches/flashlights such is/was their customer focus and ethics of supporting customers. I remember buying a complete Maglite AA and AAA service kit with special tools, glass and plastic lenses, end caps with and without spare bulbs/lamps inside, O-rings, tailcap springs, lens holders, reflectors, multipacks of spare bulbs and the red bulb holders all inside one repair kit box from the USA, I was also able to buy wrist straps/lanyards, metal pen style pocket clips, belt pouches, complete new flashlight bodies/tubes and tailcaps with clicky on/off rubber switch buttons on the end to convert twist action flashlights to tailcap switches. For a time Maglite also sold converter kits to change AA and AAA flashlights from incandescent bulb to LED and sold wire-in separated switches for mounting the torches as well.. (multiple edits due to mobile phone "autocorrect" changing words/causing typos)
Baking at car temperatures before use should be part of the test. I have bought rayovac alkalines exclusively, a couple hundred at a time when on sale once a year, for the last four years or so because they have been the best of the major brands based on the advice of another engineer friend who has bought in much larger quantity. They last in storage and are less likely to leak. Batteries stored over a year measured fresh. When batteries went mercury free, rayovac was the first to get the formula right. Other brands would typically die in the package before you could use them. Much to my surprise, my housemate had a couple of rayovacs I had given her leak in a $150 RF remote control for a hospital bed where the batteries are in direct contact with the circuit board. Cleaned the potassium carbonate off the board; no damage other than the solder mask over one trace. It is possible, that she only replaced 2 out of 4, the way it is designed. And it is possible she laid on the remote. But I suspect the real answer was heat in storage. Because I think this battery came from a tub that had gotten lost in the car for almost two years (fell out of the shopping bag); two winters and two summers; thought they were last years batch but they aren't. I may toss that tub and rebattery the devices where that tub was used. So, that may have been the perfect trifecta: expensive device, overheated in storage, possibly imbalanced set, and possibly laid on the buttons. Being in the sun could build pressure and/or damage the adhesives that help seal it. I had also had reasonable experiences with sunbeams (were $1/4, now $1/3 at dollar tree), though they weren't as good as rayovacs. I did have one set of sunbeams leak in the package but that could be because they had previously been left in the car a long time, possibly even with some time on the dashboard. Everready bought out rayovac about a year ago. This could mean that Energizers get better, that rayovacs get worse, or both. So far, rayovac alkalines are still made in the same factory they were in but they did close their "specialty" battery factory and merge it with Energizers. Also, many years back when the capacity wars started, at least one brand cheated by removing the metal can and just using heat shrink so they would have room for just a little more battery; those could actually rupture if you put them in an old fashioned battery holder made of metal rather than plastic. Space was taken away from the end seals. After baking and discharge, I suggest connecting a resistor to a negative voltage; slowly ramp the voltage till failure. Easy to wire up a bank of single cell battery holders with resistors. Use the common bus on the other side of the resistors to discharge, then negatively charge. Do a time lapse. As an aside, if you look closely at the reviews for Amazon Basics batteries, you will see lots of recent reviews that say they aren't good anymore.
I tell my customers to only use alkaline batteries. I've seen so many zinc carbon (the heavy duty batteries) leak badly before they are even flat or expired that I won't buy them ever again. At least most alkaline batteries don't leak until very flat or over the expiry date. If they do leak, it's usually the crystals like Dave was showing which can often be cleaned from the terminals to save the equipment. Heavy duty batteries leak fluid right into the device and destroy circuit boards. Never again for me
Also, the "heavy duty" batteries (Zinc carbon) have half or even less power in them, as well as almost double the self discharge rate as alkaline batteries. They are also more than six times as expensive when compared through Wh/$. Absolute obsolete tech. Edit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_commercial_battery_types
Yeah I’ve actually never had an alkaline leak. Keep them dry and cool and don’t mix charge levels and I would imagine your chances of having a leak is pretty low.
Alkaline are definitely better in just about every way than carbon-zinc. Interestingly enough, however, I recently came across some carbon-zinc AA cells from a brand called "Wincell" that had a printed expiration date of 2012, but had not leaked, still read in at 1.4V, and could still drive a handheld radio.
I bought a big pack of Duracells, left them unused, fully charged in a plastic battery storage container. Every single one of them leaked after a few years (years before the 'good before' dates on the batteries) without seeing any use at all. Leaky batteries probably are just mainly manufacturing errors, impurities etc
The reason these batteries did not leak in your test is because you did not put them in any very expensive electronics equipment. Put them all in a $10,000 camera and try again :)
I recently dug up a pair of LED bicycle lights which I haven't been using for around 20 years. The batteries, which I left in of course, were still okay. The lights even turned on! Amazing.
Because NI-Cad and Ni-Mh rechargeables have a horrible shelf life. You can put alkaline batteries in a flashlight, leave it for a year, and (provided the batteries don't leak) it will work as if the batteries are new. You do the same with fully charged rechargeables and the flashlight won't even turn on.
@madmatt2024 BS! Low self discharge NiMH batteries have been common for over a decade! They are also much better in high drain devices like flashlights than alkaline.
@madmatt2024 Only a small amount, Eneloops are rated to still be at 70% charge after 10 years! The fact you think flashlights are not high drain shows you not only have no idea about batteries, but also flashlights!
Those fires look like they closing in on Sydney. Keep yourself and your family safe bro. Love the content. Many people make videos Like yours, but only you make watching them fun, funny and easy to understand. Great stuff. Keep it up.
“May explode or leak or cause injury IF” ... cmon Dave, stop dishing out crap. You do your previous work on this channel a HUGE disservice by not making comments in context. Short of real content? Ask us - I’m sure we have loads of topics you could really being YOUR EXPERTISE to bear on.
EEVblog2 look up audience nationality in the logs. Not every viewer speaks your language well enough to be able to interpret English humor, though I’m sure the lack of crap called for it seven ways from Sunday, and how.
I have seen every make of battery leak. Duracell used to say they would replace your equipment of its batteries leaked and caused damage. They dropped this when they found they leaked like others.
I had batteries leak on something that drew somewhere around .025 mA at standby, I had left it for 4 months, and all the cells where new at the time I used them, I should have removed but they still leaked.
I know of two ways to do it. First is to leave batteries in series in something that's turned off all the way, like with a mechanical switch. Leaving something turned on just drains them; leaving them in series but turned off causes them to rupture. Even had it happen on a battery holder like the ones in the video that wasn't connected to anything. Of course this takes time, a lot of time. Second is to have 4 batteries in a series-parallel configuration. Bonus points if the drain is from one series set and the wires going to the second series set are junk or just poorly clamped (or if you are mixing battery brands). Doing that with a high load basically guarantees a pop. I think because the load batteries discharge faster and then sort of recharge after the load is removed. First time I ran into that the set connected directly to the load burst about half an hour after the load was turned off. Can't say exactly what the load was now, but I know it drained a pair of AA batteries in about 90 minutes (that's why I tried adding two more). Note: there was no fire but there was some smoke, so use care.
Now I'm thinking that the best test might be some small $2 farting novelty gadget that takes two AA's that has a small standby current. I could get dozens of these on AliExpress and run various combinations.
Product recommendations?
And perhaps, rather than run different brands, take the most notorious brand (Duracell) and just test those to discover the best mechanism for leakage FIRST, before testing all the brands?
I was thinking one of those solar lights with a joule thief circuit. That way you have all the worst conditions. Most die in months due to the battery rotting away any exposed metals.
Maybe some cheap wireless doorbell that will have a really small standby current ?
@@Mr.Unacceptable These are based on YX8018, they do not have that low of a working voltage. Three batteries in series might be a bit wasteful... You probably want something that can go diode low...
Would you stick a lithium battery in mix I have never had one leak and they are the only battery type I use in my test gear. Something like the energiser ultimate lithium battery’s
Non contact voltage probe?
The problem is that the cells are not in something valuable. Put them in a $100 meter and they will leak in no time.
This, and old pinball machines.
Something forgotten, high value, stored on concrete floor, in the bottom box in a stack of boxes.
Duracells took out my 121GW :(
Needs to be in something that is no longer manufactured and is therefore irreplaceable.
@@erlendse calm down satan
Murphy's Law dictates batteries will only leak in expensive equipment
Steve Taylor Only leak, not power it?
You mean "...leak only in expensive equipment."
I had them leak in a volt meter, scale, remote control, flashlight, a light that you place on your head with straps, pretty much anything that takes AA or AAA batteries. They lead even if they haven't been installed yet.
I put lithium primary batteries in my multi meters and anything else that does a lot of sitting and has a stupid screw in the battery cover. Because they will never leak.
@elnubnub really ?! You aren't a service engineer, are you ?....otherwise you would know better
I dunnno... I had some of these Chinesium Duracells leak on me IN STORAGE.
Maybe Murphy has two parts here, the second of which is "The battery will have leaked if you're down to your last 4 cells and it's 1:00am"
Anecdotally, I've had a significantly higher percentage of Duracells leak than other brands. Interestingly I've had the original Eastman Kodak alkaline AA cell in my alarm clock (Timex Indiglo) for the past ~25 years and it still works just fine. I just checked and it's down to 1.32 volts. The clock obviously has an extremely low current draw!
Wow, calculate the effective self discharge % rate on that for comparison...
@@EEVblog [edited to add more detail:] It's something like half a percent per year. And that's not even just self-discharge: that cell has been powering the clock continuously that whole time, including the transflective LCD and most of that time the alarm 5 days a week. I use the "Indiglo" EL backlight semi-frequently. I'm blown away by both the clock and the AA cell.
Hah... I used to work for Kodak and recently found a box of about 30 AA Kodak batteries from at least 1993, that was the date on the order ticket still in the box. They are all good (above 1.48v) and put 12 of them in my game camera and its been humming away for 3 weeks.
This. I use Duracell Procell for work. Around 100 a year. They are terrible for leaking. I use them because the performance/price is good but jeez you need to keep an eye on them.
There is a battery in the CPU section of my HP8566B spectrum analyser that has a date code on 1990 I believe. When I measured it in circuit last year it was still at its full marked voltage. It is soldered in circuit but I decided not to change it because it has no sign of corrosion and I'm not totally sure that a newer one would be any better. You can still buy the exact same battery on DigiKey even today.
Visit a recycling centre and look in the bins of used batteries. You'll be able to find the 'leakiest' brands since there'll be thousands to check.
At first sight this is the only recommendation to be taken serious. But unluckily you won't find out what they did and how long it took until they leaked. In most cases it takes years until they leak. All those esoteric claims like 'the device was not expensive or important enough' are dull. Modern cells leak due to age or to manufacturing faults. The cells are kind of 'made to corrode'. If they leak, the outer shell was not sturdy enough to hold back the liquids. That's all. Probably all the 'esoterics' opened their ‚valuable devices' after years, just then they recognised they should have been taking out the batteries back then. The only way to protect your device is to take those damn batteries out, as most of the manuals keep recommending.
@@pasixty6510 I got you one. I put Sunbeam brand batteries in remotes in the past and found them leaking less than 6 months time. You can pay a dollar for 4 AAA or AA at the dollar tree but the Duracell brand shown on the video got me worried.
You could sort them by the "good until" date that's been printed on most batteries for about ten years now (maybe longer).
@@pasixty6510 That is, of course, the only solution. However, I can argue that if one has to continually remove batteries, the batteries (and/or the devices) are poorly engineered. Imagine having to drain the gas out of the tank of the car nightly just to be sure it does not corrode the tank or clog the lines. No, they use better engineering with cars ... they design them to be sent to the crusher in 10 years so you don't have to worry about bad fuel. With batteries, the problem may solve itself as the devices are becoming obsolete so quickly that bad batteries are becoming irrelevant.
@@thaddeusmcgrath Unfortunately, evidence seems to show that Duracells are generally most likely to leak. I think that's because they strive to offer the highest capacity possible (and succeded in that), but they have to sacrifice longevity for that. Unfortunately Duracells are just what you get at many electronic stores when you buy battery-powered equipment and get batteries to go along with it... or at least that was when there were still Super-8 cameras and microcassette recorders for dictating which have now been replaced by your smartphone or other devices powered by built-in rechargeable batteries.
To be fair... to be fair... they say may leak when charged so technically...
Edit: Why not use a joule thief circuit with a led? You´ll also know when it´s ready ;-)
Not a bad idea.
or a Butterizer?
I was also thinking about the joule thief. (Something I just learned of). I have never measured a AA (or any battery, for that matter) and discovered it went negative. I would not have even thought that possible. (I am NOT an expert; sorry Dave!). This is very interesting. I will be sure to follow this. There are viewers that know.
@@jlucasound it only happens when cells are in series (which is the most usual configuration) and is a good way to destroy rechargeable batteries. It's worse when you have more than 2 cells in a battery pack and one of the reasons why you should never let rechargeable packs discharge too low
@@jlucasound Actually I had a CR2032 that was wired directly to a motherboard go REVERSE voltage for some odd reason. Couldn't be the motherboard...
I have noticed over the years (decades, actually) that single cells tend not to leak but when 2 or more are in series that the most-negative terminal will start to leak first. Vinegar works really well at cleaning up the crusty Potassium Carbonate crystals (followed by a weak Sodium Bicarbonate solution to neutralize the acid of the vinegar). A tiny smear of petroleum jelly on the negative end will help stop the corrosive welding (but don't get the jelly all over the place--it is slightly conductive). Silicone grease also works but is more expensive (and non-conductive, so that's good). Find it in the plumbing section. I've had the best luck (lack of leaks) with Panasonic batteries.
it says on the label; may leak if charged, that's why a single cells don't leak because it can't recharge itself. If there's another cell or if the electronics can hold charges then it will recharge the weaker battery, hence causing it to leak.
That is, may be, partially true but not sure I have lost couple of my Logitech wireless mouse due to rusted battery in it and this mouse uses only one battery. but believe it or not, all of them were Duracell which leaked badly and I have been using Energizer since then. It's a typical issue one just can't predict. May be if the product stays idle and not moving for long time then it leaks perhaps ? yes of course battery chemistry could be the main reason. It's always disturbing when you find your costly gadget is destroyed due to battery leakage.
i built a 2-transistor joule thief once that made single cells leak without fail. ...it might be theyre just more resilient to it.
Which doesn't explain leaking battery still wrapped in the retail package.
In addition to lower current draw, I'd try wrapping them in plastic wrap to seal in any corrosive vapors. I don't know that there are any vapors, but just in case, that would better replicate the conditions of a battery compartment. Maybe try raising the humidity in a test chamber. I'm not a battery expert, but I suspect showing them videos of sexy batteries might help.
I remember as a kid cleaning out the springs on a toy when the batteries had leaked. My face was far away, but of coarse a little piece flung off when the spring “twanged” and went straight into my eye. That hurt! I was smart enough to flush it out...
I'm far from a battery authority... but have noted through the years that elevated temperatures; for example batteries in flashlights stored in cars tend to leak at a much higher rate than others... even in devices with zero standby current draw.
Yes, the manufacturers say that elevated temps encourage leakage
Not only elevated temperatures, but daily cyclic temperature variation as well.
I haven't seen these recently, but do you remind the kind of batteries that they gave with 1$ flashlights in the 90s? You could easily squeeze them and bend them; they were almost made in aluminium paper and they leaked pretty fast!
Have English speakers across the globe forgotten about the word "no?" You write: "devices with zero standby current." Andrew Yang says Amazon pays "zero" taxes. Trump says there was "zero" collusion. Is this spoken txt-speek?
tactileslut you need to put the punctuation outside the quotes ✴️.
‘no’ isn’t a question.
Duracell has been complete shit for the last 5+ years.... Everybody on the internet has noticed, all my kids toys had ALL of their duracells leak. Switched to Kirkland (Costco brand), and have had zero problems since.
Surprise, Kirkland *ARE* Duracell batteries in a different wrapper...
@@Flying0Dismount I know they're made by Duracell, at their factory, but my understanding is that they're not the same chemistry.
Kirkland are duracells
I have never had a kirkland leak and i have had so many duracells leak that i quit using them. May be made in the same factory, but they use a different species of frog legs and bat wings in their secret brews.
@@eugenes9751 I've seen the Kirkland cells leak as well-in fact, they started to get lousy at about the same time as the Duracells starting going downhill(which makes sense, as they are both made by the same company).
I guess Rayovac doesn't sell their batteries in Australia? They used to be leakers too. Here in the USA my favorite cheap batteries are the Sunbeam Alkaline AA and AAA's from Dollar Tree. I've had them go dead in wall clocks and remote controls and none of them have leaked yet. BTW dont buy any Sunbeam "Super Heavy Duty" batteries or any battery labeled that. They are cheap crap zinc chloride batteries that dont last long, and they leak easily when they go dead.
Those sunbeams dont last any time but they're definitely dry cells with their weight, never had one leak either.
@@Korium84 The Sunbeams don't last as long as the major brands, but for the cheap price you can buy a lot more of them.
They are sold under a different name. Notice the Varta package mentions Spectrum Brands on the back. Same company owns Rayovac batteries and you'll see Spectrum brands on the back of your Rayovac battery package in the us.
Rayovac was bought out by Spectrum Brands then sold to Energizer!
I seen a lot of sunbeam batteries in dollar tree and target, the white colored ones, next to sunbeam light bulbs.
I remember the rayovac batteries, they used to sell them in the UK when I was a kid back in the 1980s and early 1990s then they disappeared here, I think I might have seen them a few years ago in a gas station in Rhode Island in the US.
The brand here was "Rayovac Viador" they used to sell flashlights with that brand as well, I remember the now very old fashioned black (smelly) rubber flashlights that you could put underwater and they were watertight, until the rubber case around the metal innards would split at the power switch and leak..
From personal experience batteries usually leak, when they have no load attached to them, so for instance half drained and thrown into a box for remote control usage and in the device, which is switched off for a loner time ( half a year,... ) or in a remote control which isn't used too much. (Disclaimer: this is all from personal experience, because I digitize video tapes in a small extent and thus remotes don't get used quite often)
Every occasion where a battery has leaked on me has been a Duracell that I can remember. I don't know why I still use them. Anecdotal I know, but my sample size is a good ten or fifteen occasions, 100% Duracell.
Edit: Can you measure the current draw in your probe, or a remote control?
Duracell has a giant ad dollar dump too and tries to 1-up their competition. Oops! 🤭
Duracell's 100% guaranteed to destroy anything you put them in in my extensive experience.
He has already reported anecdotal evidence of batteries leaking unconnected in their separate packaging. Though slow that may be the appropriate load for alkaline leakage.
Until you start buying another brand, you're only ever going to get duracells leaking 😉
@@2lefThumbs You slowly learn your lesson over the years as you stumle across TV remote's and such that have had their insides destroyed. Duracell never used to be this bad. I'd say this is simply the ols' bait and switch - live on your past name but sell a much, much shitier product.
Of course the Duracells were guaranteed to fuckup the expensive device.
Vince I ‘to fuck up*’. “Fuckup” is a noun.
Duracells are horrible indeed. I always dispose of these turds right off the bat.
Been dealing with them since they were known as Mallory (1969). The would actually leak in the store battery display back then. I constantly find them leaking and destroying gear to this day. Just got in a Marantz recorder where they not only leaked but the fumes ate away half the PCB and a couple of microphones where they leaked and destroyed the electret elements. Avoid like the plague!
@@RuneTheFirst I think there's a direct correlation between the amount of advertising and how garbage a product is. ESPECIALLY Duracell.
@@RuneTheFirst Honestly, where I live (Eastern Europe) they only went down the schmitter a few years ago. The latest "Belgian" ones are weak, nasty feeling, light like feathers and oh yeah they leak more often than any other half decent model.
Actually I'm feelin they all went to moot this decade. What I could be judging them by is Wii accesories. A matter of a whole season vs 1 month vs 2 weeks tops, it's that crazy. And yeah I used to play very regularly until recently so the margin of error isn't outta this planet. Almost 10 yrs ago, we had Energizer Ultimates which held up real good, adequate standard Energizers, Philipses that never lasted long no matter the "tier" ("Ultra", Standard, whatevs), Duracells before the "Turbo Max" crap that were okay and others of various quality. And I think Varta was of a legendary level back then - yeah not too long ago.
Fast forward to 2016 - got a promo bucket of Varta High Energies or whatever, "Made in Germany" all that stuff from Sweden. They a) lasted like schmit b) had metal SO SOFT it's hilarious 😂 a 30cm drop would create a pretty substantial dent
Energizer went to crap as well... so did Duracell. Not too much trust in Panasonics either (earlier Evoltas were fine afaik)... the "Standards" feel like Duracell rebrands after all, same Belgian production... and the "Evoltas" come from Poland now 😹 no U.S.A. no Japan no nuthin'. Aerocells from Lidl are decent - for the price! - and have been claimed to be Varta rebrands. So yeah, the "premium" products leveled down to the "meh" ones, and those either stood at their "meh" ground or dropped even further... Stocking up on GPs now to be honest, they're AT LEAST affordable.
I’ve had customers of my tool business have Duracell’s leak and ruin test units. They have contacted Duracell and in all cases Duracell sent them a check to buy the equipment, Full list.
In my own experience, I have noticed alkaline batteries leak the moment they COMPLETELY lose power. I take "dead" AA batteries out of gadgets and place them in one of those cheap, two-cell holder connected to a double alternately blinking red LED circuits that can be found in many cardboard store displays. The thing will flash at full brightness and speed for weeks until eventually slowing down and stopping. Then the batteries will leak all over the place. It happens every time.
Why do you have multiple blinking LED shop displays draining batteries to their graves lying around?
@@NeuronalAxon The real question is why don't YOU have multiple blinking LED shop displays draining batteries to their graves lying around?? :D
I used to manage 150 electronic door locks. Due to leakage the company switched from a generic battery to Duracell. These were in a high humidity (beach air) environment. There was an issue with the door locks that would suck hot air through the lock and cause condensation. (The AC is the cause of this.) The leaks were often. Less than 6 months. Maybe try to "damage" the seal with heat. Lots of motor stalls due to misaligned deadbolts.
Was that Hotel key card locks/contactless locks with the standard 4x AA batteries under the lid for power?
Similar. Keypad entry deadbolts. 4x AA. They were on beach houses. The batteries were on the inside, but the locks could still get hot from sun and 100F weather.
When the AC turned on and cooled the air inside the house; hot, humid air would be sucked through the keyhole (this has been addressed now.)
@@MrAwyork Glad it's addressed. It's counterintuitive but to keep the electrical passthroughs and keyholes and wallpaper dry you have to let outside air into the air conditioner. In this house I cut a hole in the floor under the central air.
Totally agree. Seems all that have leaked of mine have been in high temp/humidity situations.
@@MrAwyork - How was the issue fixed, as a matter of interest?
Something that seems to 100% cause leakage regardless of brand for batteries for me is when a button gets stuck on an IR remote for a long period of time, like when getting shoved between couch cushions.
Interesting, so what doe this mean? What is the typical current draw in such situation? And in case of an IR remote, it is also a pulsing current draw. Is that perhaps a factor that contributes to leaking?
The current draw is quite a bit actually, and this is extremely interesting.
I have measured power draw of remote controls using a shunt on my oscilloscope. Some Drew as much as 150 mA but in really short pulses of the 38 kHz carrier frequency which is then used to form the ones and zeros. Most hovered around the 80 mA mark while the LED is monetarily on (33% to 50% duty cycle).
What this could tell is, is that maybe batteries leak when subjected to sudden small changes in the load, as opposed to a steady resistance
@@AndreDeLimburger yeah i was thinking it might be the non-constant pulsing that would happen.
I had bought Duracell Alkaline batteries, without taking them out of the package and using them, even though there were a few years left to the expiration date, it leaked acid inside the package! I am glad that I did not use these batteries! Because it damages my things!
I still remember the era when Duracell was the one and the only battery make if you want to get the best. Other makes started marking of the best before date but Duracell didn’t because they were so good. I took care of TV companys waste batteries over 20 yrs ago and really don’t remember any leaks even when we had a huge metal barrel of used Duracells (Procells). But during last 10 or so years all the Duracells have been pure s**t. Some cheapos can be of much better quality.
mattikaki Your experience was likely before Procter&Gamble bought Gillette, thus Duracell.
They switched production to China. Energizer has been top since!
At least they paid for the replacement of my destroyed MagLite 2xAA from the 1990s...
"made in China" thats explain everything
dexter1981 Well, not everything. Chinese people can build extremely high quality products if the proper quality controls are in place.
But usually, stuff made in China is due to a cost-cutting measure by the company, and QC is expensive. Result : QC is reduced, or left to the chinese subcontractor. Seeing the possibility of better profits, he changes the recipe in his favor, cutting corners. Stuff becomes Chinesium.
If the QC was kept by Duracell with USA employees, the product would be as great as USA-made. Unless, of course, the company cuts in QC.
@@ve2mrxB I believe P & G dumped Duracell on Berkshire Hathaway a couple of years ago. Now it is Warren Buffets problem My remotes that come with my cable boxes have the no-name Chinese batteries none of them have ever leaked. I had a wall clock at home that had a dead battery for about five years I finally decided to check the battery after all of my Duracell problems. The battery looked brand new but dead. It was an Energizer.
Norm475 Yes, it's no longer P&G's problem now. Hopefully they will improve. Too late for me, now it's Eneloop only. Low self discharge sealed the deal. Good for remotes and flashlights.
I appreciate the 10 months you waited to follow-up on this. That's commitment!
I have seen many Duracells leak, more than any other brands. Most of the time, I buy Panasonic Alkaline Plus batteries, because they are way less expensive than the two expensive brands. You should add to your tests some basic carbon cells, like Panasonic ones at the dollar store. I'm sure that I have seen more non-Alkaline cells leak. I am pretty sure that the 2 main reasons for battery leakage are age and bad manufacturing. I do not think that any load is required at all to get this problem, as I have seen many batteries leak in devices where the main power switch is directly connected to the positive, so the is not current flowing at all. I don't know if you have kept these cells, but would be interesting to keep them and look at the in 2-3 years.
I just took some Panasonic carbon cells out of a shortwave radio. Both had leaked.
It has a standby clock display though, so parasitic load.
I was able to save the radio though at least!
Durasmell and Energizer are the only ones I've had leak. In the early 2000's I had some Energizer rechargeable AA and 9v's leak and explode both in the charging port and RC controllers. Cheap "house" brand ones I've never had leakage issues with. I did just have 3 out of 6 Duracell AA batteries, all from the same batch, leak, while connected to a guitar pedal with 5mA current draw. Must not have noticed the pedal was on when I packed to move, and it was unpacked about 2 months after it was quite literally tossed into a box. The three that leaked were all on one side of the power bank.
Start by characterizing a device (and the ambient conditions that device lived under) in which you know the failures occur. Then, set up tests for each of the operating/idle states of that device. Vary temperature and humidity also. And, yes, focus on a known bad brand until you can formulate a replicable failure procedure.
Yep, that's the plan now.
get an Nintendo Wii controller - and check the load when turned off - they bring any alkaline batteries to to leak within 2 Month (I mostly use Duracell, Enermax, Panasonic, Varta) - this is probably the best "bring-them-crystals-to-grow"-Recipe ;)
Yes Duracell for me, changed 1x AA Duracell on my wall clock yesterday which ran out of battery 2 weeks ago and to my surprise it leaked. Btw this is the Duracell pack bought from Bunnings Exp Yr: 2024.
Perhaps drained too quickly? No charge = no leak? All of my leaks have occurred during standby, which should much less than 50mA.
Yes, I mentioned that. I was too impatient with this test and was hoping for a quicker result.
@@EEVblog I also belive that a much slower discharge rate might be the key. I remember the TV remote control of my grandparents. They used counterfeit Duracells that were sitting in that control for two years and had grown some spectacular crystal structures. You have to imagine, they only used the remote control to switch the TV on/off and make it louder once a day. If you integrate that current, you have a very low discharge rate.
But I think that short bursts of about 20mA should do the trick. I imagine a non uniform electrolyte in the battery at that burst, that has to uniform by molecular changes (cycling of the stuff inside). (I'm absolutely no battery expert but it sounds logical to me).
Also: keep up the good work :)
@@EEVblog And I was too impatient to wait for the end of the video before I commented. :) Sorry about that.
Duracell procell that's supposed Industrial battery for Duracell leaks all the time. I'm talking about if you leave your flashlight on within two days you'll have liquid coming out of it. I'm not kidding. I'd be more than happy to send you a brand new box of them for a test. USA Michigan.
@@jim9930 Want to try that again in English? 🤔
Ouch! When I saw Dave open his differential probe I had to open mine...batteries still at ~1.58-9VDC BUT there was some white "frost" around some of the terminals...better safe than sorry...yellow sticky says "batteries removed"!
Close call! What brand?
@@EEVblog Energizer...thank goodness I saved my EEVBlog Probe! ;-)
BTW, hopefully you see this Dave...where did you get the DC load banana plug adapters? I made my own but like the look of the ALX adapters. Thanks!
@@PapasDino Someone sent them to me in the mailbag, custom job.
@@EEVblog2 Thanks for taking the time to reply, I know you get a gazillion notes. I fabricated two adapters that fit on my DL3021A and also got a couple of custom cables from Amazon that do the same thing. Keep up the great channels, been a fan since the garage days!
Wait a second... This Project Farm video has an accent...
LOVE IT
Good thing that you didn't use Lucas batteries, those things leak even with no load at all, when they're nearly brand new. The last shipment of them I got had all of the 9v's and most of the triple a batteries already leaking, just had to toss them entirely.
Lucas Prince of Darkness
I won't use Duracell batteries. They leak worse than almost any other battery. I use Energizer Max exclusively for standby emergency gear. I remove them for a visual inspection about every 2-3 months, and replace them after a year with new ones.
Well timed with the Project Farm video.
Dave, I've been in the electronic repair business since 1972. I've pulled batteries out of things from the Simpson 260 to toys. Some leaked due to no apparent reason whatsoever! I've seen things with the old model of the brands still inside and working with no leaks. I got astronomical equipment from the red LED flashlight to the drive and focusing controllers that batteries would leak in them as well. I can usually clean or replace the spring terminals. These controllers are out into the cold as low as -18C (0 F) and inside when not in use. What I notice that if there are 2 or more batteries in the holder, when there is leakage, they all leak! Rarely do I see a battery not leaking where the adjacent ones leaked.
I'm seeing that others have reported similar experiences. I too have seen many, many Duracell batteries leak in the recent years, many more than with any other brand I've tried. (Not even the super cheap off-brand batteries leaked that often!) I'd never ever ever recommend Duracell batteries to anyone.
Burretploof junkacell
Energizer Max batteries have a higher level of leak resistance. They have a No Leak Guarantee that is actually honored by the company.
Duracells, on the other hand, are called Duraleaks for a reason.
Duracell also has one in America i think, not so much in europe or id be rich of their money
I have 4 young grandchildren, so we use a lot of batteries. They have some toys that can drain 4 AA or AAA batteries in less than 2 months. I have noticed that the Duracell batteries leak if they are not removed within 3 months of dying. These are new batteries that have years left on their expiration date. They are just drained during regular use. I have not had the same issue with other batteries, regardless of branding . Cheaper no-name batteries may have a shorter life, but they don't leak as quickly.
Use NiMh for rechargeable AA/AAA cells - works out much cheaper IME.
@@NeuronalAxon Some Eneloop and a good charger will make the difference. I have a bunch of them that are well over ten years old and still have 80-90% of their original capacity and work fine.
18:06 - Exactly, they won't normally leak if they're just sitting there unconnected (assuming there isn't a defect), they leak when they're in-circuit and there is a residual trickle current over long period of time. Unconnected batteries have sat in the container on store shelves for many years without leaking whereas batteries in unused devices quite often end up leaking in months.
did you say that the cells were left in a window for the whole time?and long enough that the UV cracked the boxes?If so I speculate that the heat from the sun evaporated any moist type gasses that would normally collect on the colder metal during temperature swings that allows the electrolyte crystals to form.most items that have leaky batteries can be found stashed away in a dark drawer or tossed on the basement floor shelf, stashed in the sofa.if you could take your setup and put it back together again, put it in a corner of the shop and forget about it for another 10 months.just my reverse engineers observation.
The manufactures say that elevated temperatures help encourage leakage.
@@EEVblog ... what about exposure to UV itself? Heat would be IR? Consider that your probes (or our other devices) conceal the batteries in a dark environment. A joule thief in a box with an external LED. Check them as the LEDs go out and then again later. And, of course, turn the box upside down - because of, well, 'down under'? ;-)
EEVblog trick is heat with humidity I would think. Just from the chemical perspective. Dark, sealed and warm. Air conditioned office probably not the ideal environment for this.
@@jayherde0 Impossible, transparent plastics block UV rays.
@@madmatt2024 Well that's a bit general.... its not an inherent characteristic of "plastic" in general but something you achieve by design.
Dave, I picked up a pack of AAA, AA and 9V energizer batteries in 2015 or 2016. Much more in number than I needed. I never ran out of battery supplies till couple of days ago when I opened up the storage box to find out that all of them had leaked except the 9V ones. I trashed them all. Lesson learnt, batteries will leak whether on load or in storage. Save your expensive equipment by keeping them without batteries when not needed for a long time.
for me it is always the batteries inside remote controls that leak. or these cheap battery powered christmas lights, especially when the device is stored in our attic for about a year. it is a very bad insulated attic, hot in the summer, cold in the winter, maybe a bit humid. in my experiance the enviromental conditions play a huge role too. i had a bunch of super cheap batteries loosly sitting in my drawer for couple of years without any problems. i think daves containers actually might have shielded the batteries from (the humidity) of the air.
Happened to my folks this year, Mom go the Christmas decorations boxes down and a few things with last years batteries left inside had all leaked even though there was a hard power switch to prevent parasitic drain.
Reading through the comments, you'd think Duracell would explode into crystals if you looked at 'em wrong. Could it be that decades of marketing have made them enormous top-selling brand? Maybe we're just seeing more because there's quantitatively more, not per-capita percentages more? Also, add my vote for a joule thief circuit. Maybe you made the UA-cam gods angry by not including LEDs in an electronics project!
Ted McFadden Not all Duracell are manufactured in the USA. Those from China are less reliable from my readings.
But it is a probable bias in anecdotal evidence.
@@ve2mrxB Good tip. Bearing that in mind, and the fact that Duracell seems to license their brand to anyone with cash, it would be interesting (but impossible, probably) to determine if these leakier cells are made by entirely different battery companies.
Ted McFadden That's one reason why it will be difficult to trust again. Multiple manufacturing plants often mean different quality.
Comes to mind (I read) that there is Dr Pepper from the original plant, tasting much better than the other plant serving most of the country. Or the multiple Pepsi plants each having a variant of the US flavor.
But the biggest joke was seeing a car lead-acid battery with the Duracell or Energizer brand (don't remember which)! They don't make lead-acid batteries!
Brand licensing are a pain as you never know when the contractor changes...
The old alkaline cells that are still working are very likely from when mercury was added to the formulation. Starting in the mid-1990s regulations resulted in the switch to low and no mercury cells.
Which resulted in untold property damage due to inferior batteries. Lovely.
Yep, as other have said...Duracells have frequently leaked when Ive used them. I used to use them almost exclusively, then I bought a large quantity of AA cells from Radio Shack (when they closed up shop) and had no leakage. With the Duracell batteries, I never mixed used and new or different brands; and I still had leakage problems.
lol thanks Dave!...i was sitting here for first 10mins with deja vu!
you need to try another test...mixing brands...(like originally found in your equipment)
Hy, I'm here because the Chanel WRKits, he talks about eletronics, he is a good brasilian engeneer. Will be an honor for he to be visited by you. Tanks for the time.
I had some DURACELLS leaking even still in their package, never used.
Had some in a remote leaking after 3 weeks. Duracell not like 10 -15 years ago.
I saw Duracell's leak in the package 25 years ago.
Good one, Dave! This needs to be done! Batteries seemed to be leakproof for a spell in... when was it? 80s? 90s? Now, the much-trumpeted 'leakproof' boast has disappeared from all brands. Also, I've had batteries jam solidly in two separate D-cell Maglites, with no leakage that I could see. I wonder whether any of these batteries changed their dimensions significantly.
I had some Duracell Procell D cells leak inside a long pink Maglite, well enough to corrode it together absolutely solid. There was no way of unscrewing the end. I sawed the end off and found the cells had corroded into the tube (which was anodized, but the chemicals seemed to strip that off rather well) and wouldn’t budge. Tossed the whole lump into the battery recycling! I’m absolutely sure it was switched off when I left it a few months earlier.
I’ve also seen cells leaking inside their blister packs in the shops with 4 or 5 years still left on their best before dates. Wonder if there are a lot of convincingly-looking fakes around which won’t be as well engineered as the real thing?
Well, maybe the counterfeiters are the ones tasked at producing the batteries for Duracell?
They are made in China...
bigjd2k You could have asked Duracell to pay for the replacement, they have a leakage warranty.
Yeah, I lost my big 3 or 4D MagLite to bad batteries. I tried really hard to get the batteries out. I don't remember if I ever got them out, but I did end up giving up and tossing it.
TechnoTinker In my case, a piece of cell label stuck to the side. Of course, it was the cell the deepest in the flashlight, inaccessible!
I managed to knock that cell out by violently knocking the flashlight on the desk (not the greatest idea, the desk has marks now).
But without removing the label piece, I cannot put a new cell in.
Oh well, I got the LED upgraded one!
I recently came across a National-branded horseshoe camera flash module from the (late?) 1980s that belonged to my grandfather. He had left it in its original box with the batteries still in it. Both of them were Duracell batteries, and both had not only not leaked, but still had a very tiny amount of charge left in them (they were able to charge the capacitor in the flash module about half way). When I looked closely at them, I noticed they had “Made in Australia” printed on the label. I had no idea Duracell ever even made batteries here! Suffice to say that little incident fascinated me in many ways.
Your videos are sooooo thoroughly informative, I don’t think there ANYBODY on the net that can hold a candle to you!
Cheers sir!
Remember that alkaline batteries do have an expiration date.
For interesting anectodes of batteries leaking:
- I had im my home a very old slide viewer which i recently took out to check some stuff. The batteries inside (i think 4 D type Duracell batteries, most likely expired) had leaked pretty bad. The salts formed were probably some kind of copper compound because the battery terminals were made of what looked like just sheet copper and were of two colors: some spots were of a very intense blue kind and most of the salt was the color of copper solfate. The circuit they were in was just a breaker and a small incandescent light bulb.
- Less than a year ago was about an exam at my university (electronics fundamentals) and realized right before it that my chinesium calculator wasnt working. Yes, the batteries inside (a pair of IKEA branded AA batteries) were leaking a bit. In a panic, i tried cleaning the corrosion. Nothing. I got the batteries out, went to the nearest cast iron radiator and like a caveman i scraped the battery terminals against a sharp corner. I popped them back in and they worked! I could attend to the exam. A couple of days later i checked the batteries again and sure enough they had expired in 2012. They were produced in 2007. I still have them, the negative terminal is basically destroyed and falling off, with white colored salts. When i took them off they were leaking but could still power the calculator and make it work. I should probably check the voltage now, it might be interesting.
Hey Dave , i hope you and your family are safe from all the fire there is in australia right now. Stay safe and have a happy new year
I never expected Dave would misrepresent the packag labeling, it said: they might leak if installed improperly or or recharged, not: they might leak. Ron W4BIN
I stopped using Duracell batteries of any kind awhile back. I found that despite the dates on the batteries, the Duracell batteries leak. I switched to Energizer, and to this day I've yet to have a leaking battery of theirs.
This! I support several media-based classrooms and the HDTV remotes that had Duracell batteries *all* had leakage. Those I put Energizer (Lithium, not the Alkaline versions) never leaked. And still going (insert bunny beating drum).
Dave keeps saying, "Nope, that's fine." But I think I'm seeing a negative on all the half discharged cells!
I can't even read the negative sign on that cheap meter he's using. Wasn't that the same brand that had extremely slow autoranging during continuity tests that naturally alternate between 0 ohm and ∞ ohm ?
It’s an eye disease called floaters.
@@HighestRank No, it's a tiny indication in a standard definition (not HD) player.
You did, but only millivolts.
@@johncrowerdoe5527 Cheeky.
I stopped using alkalines few years ago. Nowdays the rechargeable (Eneloops) are so good and quite cheap that there is no reason using alkalines. In really low discharge applications I have Energizer lithiums but mostly eneloops everywhere
And IKEA LADDA which are very similar to Eneloop but a lot less expensive
In some applications Eneloops cannot be used because they are slightly larger/wider than alkaline AA batteries and will not fit into the battery compartment.
Many (most) devices will get terrible short life when you use rechargeable. For example camera might only gets a few shots before showing "low battery". A XboxOne controller will stop working at about 1.15V which would have taken almost all of a Alkaline (initial 1.55V), yet perhaps only 1/2 of a NiMH that started at 1.3V.
I've tried over the years, but really it's just SO much easier to use Alkalines in devices designed for Alkalines.
@@CuriousFocker I had one metal detector where the NiMH batteries would fit in the compartment, but the terminals wouldn't quite touch the contacts, but regular alkalines would. I think I got around it by bending the battery box terminals slightly.
@@johncoops6897 I had this problem with only one device (thermometer) that gets low contrast on LCD below 1,5V. That is stupidly designed device. I would say the opposite - 95% of devices work fine on Ni-Mh. 5% have problems. Btw at 1.15V at no load those eneloops have only like 5% charge left so they are dead anyway. Their discharge cure looks very different compared to alkalines. Have you tried with eneloops or other low self discharge cells? They have slightly higher voltage compared to regular ni-mhs.
Is the "Duracell are the ones that leak"-feeling maybe a bit biased because they tend to be one of the most popular brands that people buy?
Possible.
Exactly what I'm thinking. Especially when I see comments like "I use duracell and only duracell has leaked in my experience".
Compared to other batteries they seem to leak more. I have some enercell batteries that RadioShack used to sell here in the US, and they haven't leaked yet. And yet I have Duracell's exploding outside devices...
I have seen more Duracell leak VS any other brands in my devices and I tried many brands.
treborrrrr No. Back in the day Energizers were leakers and Duracell’s didn’t. In any case, I use 1.5V lithium primary cells in my equipment now. In US, Energizer has exclusivity for that technology.
I've had this happen a few more times than i would like to admit to. My witches brew of choice was baking soda - sodium bicarbonate.
The trouble is with the wash down, keeping the wet uck away from the circuit boards and components and such. If you can isolate it is a smooth
process. Done before you know it. Ya know you're effed when it has leaked from a few cold hot cycles over time. It gets everywhere !!
The nickel plate holds up well for a while, till it gets to the copper. Then it eats all the copper from within the plating - and if given long enough
all the metal. Time to fab some new contacts.......This is the huge let down with really nice rare " stuff " from years ago.
It looks great - till you open the battery box.....Wahhh wahhh wahhh. But if there is enough desire a way will be found to resurrect.
Creativity is the key here. If you want it bad enough you WILL make it work.
I use white vinegar to clean up battery corrosion, works a treat.
Add some baking soda to neutralize the acids (vinegar and battery)
Where did you get your Acid AA batteries? All mine are Alkaline
Nick Bolhuis - if you don’t believe me how about you try it for yourself, it works, I keep a small bottle of white vinegar on the shelf above my bench just for this purpose. The vinegar eats the corrosion off, I then use IPA to clean off the vinegar.
I've given up alkaline batteries altogether. I switched to NiMH rechargeables for AA & AAA batteries and non-rechargeable lithium 9V batteries in expensive equipment like multimeters.
Lithium batteries are the way to go for AA and AAA! Never had a problem with them!
@@hestheMaster the unrechargeables?
Alkaline AA batteries are 1.5v and NiMH are 1.2v, so they don't last as long.
@@arthurgarthur No. Ikea Ladda NiMH (also sold as Panasonic Eneloop Pro) AA batteries have a capacity of 2450mAh. That's close enough to an alkaline AA as to be indistinguishable.
@@RabidBadger_ It's the voltage that is 1.2v www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/ladda-rechargeable-battery-70303876/ while alkaline is 1.5. So in series (as in most electronics like remote controls ) you'll only get 2.4v vs. 3v. The amp hours can be the same but the fully charged voltages are substantially different.
In my case, i had 2 AAA batteries leaking in a few month without a load, they was into a microphone. I repeat: no load at all, the batteries was disconnected by a switch, and they was almost new, but they was in very small enclosure. I think this can make the difference!
Ahh you used Leakycell (R) batteries, so no surprise then there.
The Duracells that was in your probe were non-retail versions. "Original Equipment Accessory" The type that comes as "free" in products. I'm sure duracell and other brands make these B2B batteries that are typically included with remotes, etc... at a lesser quality to lower the cost.
Unfortunately, I have no clue about chemistry, but in my personal experience the battery mostly start leaking during standby conditions. Last time observed inside a wireless mouse with energizer batteries. Over the period of two or three weeks vacation they started leaking and totally destroyed the product.
By the way, for some reason, I would hesitate to put "eclipse" branded batteries inside a flashlight ;-)
With that sort of time frame it's got to be manufacture fault
I used to take care of our very expensive test equipment at a previous job, I quit using Duracell years ago because of the leak problems that occur soon after they die. Had much less problems with the Energizer but occasionally would find something with a small amount of corrosion, more to do with longer term neglect to check them than anything else. I also used to test brands against each other for capacity, heating, and fire hazard but unfortunately I don't have that information any more. Look forward to seeing your results!
when eevblog and project farm post a battery test video at the exact same time...
When Duracell and Energizer were in their heyday in the 80s I never ever saw them leak. Only old school Rayovac 9 (with the cat) and other carbon batteries would leak.Then around the 2000s all batteries started sucking and leaking. I have had Energizer and Duracell batteries leak and damage equipment. They both used to offer guarantees where they would "repair or replace, at their option" any device damaged by the batteries.
I have heard this had to do with the 1996 law in the US that banned the use of mercury in batteries, which supposedly prevented the leakage. So the Leak Renaissance may be due to environmental regulations.
Makes you wonder if all the equipment destroyed by leaking batteries might have a larger environmental impact to replace than the removal of mercury from batteries. I don't know, but government meddling often has unintended consequences.
Cat jumping through 9 logo was Eveready, not Ray-O-Vac.
@@edwatts9890 Good point!
Indeed. Government meddling is always a negative-sum process. Every law passed takes a bit of freedom away from somebody.
Both you and ProjectFarm upload videos about AA batteries within the same hour.
Strange coincidence?
Humidity and extreme conditions seem to be a factor in Duracell failure. Two cells in a row have leaked in a bathroom clock and a cell in a flashlight leaked in just a few months of working in a fast food place a few hours a week. The clock cells kept working even after leaking, likely from the fact that there was still a lot of electrolyte left inside them and the water in the air kept the hydrated.
Ive had them leak only when they have been installed in something, like a flashlight turned off for a long time, like over a year. Ive never had them leak when not installed but only if installed even if product is switched off. I think your test should last for many months.
Hey Dave, great Video!
My experience is this:
If you ever had a bad battery leakage in a battery compartment, the (springy) contacts are less electically conductive. You can't see that, but measure. So, if I ever have a heavy battery leakage, I replace the whole corroded contact. I have a small bag full of (used) new battery contacts, for good reasons!
I always get my batteries from Aldi (in Germany). In my experience they last the longest and I have never had one leak. Duracell and Energizer leaked equally often, or in other words every time either came with a product. Can't say anything about Varta cause I'm too chronically broke to buy them.
Edit: spelling
Varta make the aldi and lidl batteries (shh 🤫)
Varta AAs are less expensive than Aldi here in Australia.
I think that Varta use thier name on cells of different ends of the quality scale.
Thanks for the test!!!
I have damaged my Fluke 64 MAX IR Thermometer with Panasonic AA batteries. Fortunately I was able to revive it. But it is a design problem because these IR Thermometers have no "hard" on/off switch.....so now I am looking for non leaking batteries - hence I am here :-).
I remember when I was about 5 or 6 my batteries were leaking for my toy car.
So smart me at the time decided to lick the liquid to determine if it was water or leakage, I don't remember it tasting too bad or getting sick.
It was just very dumb of me lol
Leaking alkaline batteries always smell like Cheetos to me so I'm not surprised some kid tried to taste them.
Smart me didn’t get smart by not doing dumb things.
So this is why today all battery compartments of toys intended for younger kids have to be screwed in...
Sincere sympathy to all those in Australia. The fires look horrible. We hope all of the Jones’s stay safe. Best wishes to you all.
What was the rate of “parasitic drain” of the instrument that wrecked the batteries you showed in the beginning? Seems like it might provide insight for the resistance to use in round 2.
Rick Olson or perhaps the Coles batteries were fully charged and the leaky ones were not?
MeppyMan the leaky ones were a year past the printed date, which superseded any other conditionings.
quiescent ?
Hey, I happen to be a grandson of a 20th century chemist specialized in metals, especially in corrosion and surface processing including plating. The paper he wrote at the age of 36 later turned out to be the 19th most-quoted during the 20th century in the field of electrochemistry/analytical-chemistry. Additionally, what I can tell by looking at his bookshelf is that there are books on batteries - not just one or two, but like ten of them - which suggests he was not only a electrolytic capacitor expert but also a battery expert. Unfortunately his research-related documents (except the ones published) are all forever lost as he intentionally got rid of all of them upon his retirement in March, 1986 (8 months before I was born) and he passed away in July 2008 so I cannot have him answer your questions directly.
At this point, however, I can think of two ways in which I may be a bit of help on the matter. One is I could read through those books to find clues (if my ADHD didn't interfere, but okay I'm also an engineering school dropout so it's not as boring as learning a foreign language). Another is I could ask people he looked after in his lab back in late 70s'. Many of them later worked for discrete component manufacturers you sure would know the names of.
Either option is no trouble to me and I am more than willing to help, but since the latter option means I may be asking people now in their 80s', I sense the intentions do have to be serious enough.
So, here's a question I would like to ask you and the viewers of this clip - would you tell me "Go ahead, we seriously want to know!" - because I need a little push so I could get motivated.
And to those engineers/hobbyists who have exclusive preference for Nippon-Chemicon caps, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
In my eyes, it is no coincident that their products today are regarded as the most dependable/durable because I know he has worked extensively with the company during late 80s' (after retirement as a professor).
I truly believe there is a tiny piece of my grandfather's soul in every single product shipped by the company, chosen by circuit engineers and circuits that have Chemicon-caps being used in mission-critical situations (to later complete their missions). This means a lot to me and I thank you so much.
Batteries usually leaked after more like 5 years for me. Also, I avoid batteries and run everything on rechargeable and only use batteries the first time a device came with them.
I've fixed over a thousand units from battery leakage.
Take the unit apart. Clean with a wire brush, relay contact burnisher, q-tip with isopropyl alcohol on ALL of the plastic and metal parts.
Add flux paste, tinn the spring and plate with a good amount of solder. Then I use Chemwic. Clean again with the alcohol and the contacts are Good As New.
Added: If they are soldered to a circuit board, desolder from the board first and then you can easily repair with a Helping Hands holder or mini vice. This method will prevent the traces from overheating from soldering and wicking process.
Wait I expected this to be a project farm video!
Surprisingly Project Farm just did a rechargeable battery video.
@@diesistkeinname795 Yeah, its almost as if they coordinated the releases!
From my own experience, these batteries tends to leak more when they're past their "best before date"
Was that mention of "library.tv" at the end just a joke? That site only comes up as a domain squatter page for me. *EDIT:* I discovered it's spelled LBRY.tv, not Library. Obviously they haven't done the SEO to ensure that it comes up when people search for Library.tv.
I've never been able to see any pattern to my alkaline batt leakage experiences - except for the two times 'RS components' branded AAs leaked _neat_ KOH out, in one case leaving a wooden table with a dark 'burn' mark forever and me running to stick my fingers under a tap - nasty stuff. Other brands it seems completely random. I've read somewhere that leakage can especially occur when cell voltage < 1.0v as hydrogen can start to be produced, which pushes the internal pressure up, and etc.... dunno if this is always the case....
RS batteries were very overpriced the last time I looked and that was about 17 years ago, just for open chequebook business accounts back then, not for anyone else as the shops were cheaper for energizer etc
Duracells used to be really good years ago, Duracells seem to leak nowadays and I think they maybe changed the formulation or internal makeup of the batteries, I've had full packets of new unused Duracells batteries with 5 and 6 years to go on their use by dates where the whole packet has leaked before opening, ive also been sitting in a quiet room and heard the seeking sounds and had a new packet with 2 or 3 batteries squeeking/venting at the same time.... straight into the recycling collection bin/recycling trash can..
The spread of brands we used to have, have disappeared over the last 10 years and we are left with Duracells and energizer mostly on the shelves of the stores..
A bit of looking a rounded gets varta batteries, they apparently got taken over by energizer recently?
There's LidL and aldi branded grocery store ones in the UK (made in Germany)
Not so many generics outside of supplied in New TV remotes/toys with most flashlights/torches now coming with Chinese or USA made Duracells inside/packaged beside them.
Interestingly depending where you shop in the UK the Duracells are made in- the USA, China, Malaysia, Indonesia or Belgium, the energizers are made in Switzerland, the USA, Japan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia...
Supermarket brand ones are made mostly in china..
I think I will go to Costco and pick up some of the Kirkland ones, I think they are made in the USA and might be quite good..
There's alkaline batteries and lithium batteries, hardly ever see zinc chloride ones apart from when I was in the usa where they were common, they were really for clocks and television remotes..
There don't seem to be many rechargeable ones for sale nowadays in retail stores which makes me think its partly due to the retailers wanting return customers and also the chemicals being phased out/reduced/semi banned..
I watched the previous video 👍
Thanks for the great update David
Does anybody remember when energizer used to be called everready energizer and before that they were black and gold coloured batteries that were called Everready Gold seal?
You could buy packs with 1 or 2 as opposed to today's packs of 4,6 (4+2 free and 10) many led torches/flashlights take 3 AAA cells 🙄
I also remember when varta used to sell 4 packs in waterproof sealed heatshrink with the paper label tucked inside, as did Panasonic, and Panasonic used to sell in completely plastic heat sealed/heat welded retail clip strip/blister pack "carded" shelf hook hanger packets, which were quite handy as they were waterproof packets and good for long term camping/damp area storage...
Forgot to add, I was wondering, does anybody think that some manufacturers pulled out of battery making due to the changing policies in environmental rules/factory site standards/pollution release regulations? Also I wonder how many single use battery makers pulled out of the market to change over to making rechargeable "inbuilt" batteries for tablet computers, mobile phones and portable technology? perhaps some far east manufacturers changed to concentrating on this market/outlet with all the gadgets made out there in recent years..
Could the absorbtion of dampness/moisture in the air together with possibly paper processing chemical residues or the ink used in the box/packet artwork hasten/speed up the demise of new and unused /unopened packets of batteries? (through the conductivity of damp cardboard retail packaging or the slimline cardboard boxes that the "industrial" variations are sold /stored in)
I am thinking this because since the fully plastic battery packaging mostly disappeared and the plastic film top blister packs (with cardboard back but with the battery terminals top and bottom covered by the plastic film) also disappearing, leaking unused batteries straight from the packet are a much more common occurance even in "good" as per the recommendations storage conditions...
Damp cardboard packaging from just dday to day humidity/air moisture, acidic paper used in the cardboard, salts and bleaching agents used in the processing/manufacture of the paper/cardboard and the chemicals involved in the box printing process may all come together to form a kind of acidic or alkaline (depending on the paper processing) semi wet mat/cloth or even paste that may act as an electrolyte conductor and could start the discharge and corossion/crystal growing process leading to degredation/failure/leakage..
Just a thought, it could partly be attributable to/due to the packaging used these days?
A change to the paper/cardboard used in the biodegradable packaging could help, coating with a fine wax on the inside and/or gluing the box together in two distinct halves, the hot glue (which could be vegetable or natural wax based) could act as a dielectric/insulator and reduce instances of terminal to terminal electron flow by being sufficiently insulating on its own and by also acting to hold a small/thin air gap between the two halves of the cardboard box if they should become wet/damp and hopefully stop the cardboard from becoming a wet conductive mat/electrolyte wick between the battery terminals..
IKEA's own brand rechargeable LiMh AAA/AA/9V cells are pretty good for the price IMO.
When batteries have exploded inside of one of my costly pieces of test kit, I've found that twelve year old scotch works much better than isopropyl alcohol. It doesn't clean the contacts any better, but I find that I don't care nearly as much.
Just a shot in the dark. Could this be related to different metals used for the terminals on the batteries and the terminals in the case?
I wish more science and tech guys would include the failures alongside the successes. Lots of great questions raised by this video!
Every MagLite flashlight I have bought has come with Duracell batteries. Every single one of them leaked, and would usually ruin the light. I started to throw away any Duracell battery.
Maglite Flashlights/torches used to come supplied with only energizer batteries years ago, then they seem to have changed.
Some batteries would leak inside the torch/flashlight and react with /attack the aluminum metal of the torch body, fusing the end cap on with a kind of chemical weld that ruined the whole flashlight/product, the crystals would jam the screw endcap thread solid and also the aluminium would be attacked and then the resulting byproducts would eventually dry out/neutralize the leaky electrolyte from the corroded battery and that would be the end of that, using a vice and plumbers pipe pliers, spraying with WD 40, immersing in isopropyl alcohol or even gasolene, none of it would work..
The problem for maglites was the aluminium/aluminum metal being susceptible to strong alkaline salts in solution i.e battery electrolyte and also the fact that mmaglites were always popular as gifts and with the outdoor market, they were good flashlights and were big sellers at Christmas as gifts and also during summer ass gifts and as self purchases for people going camping and fishing, in between those times they could lie on shop/store shelves for months and sometimes even years and would sell in the end, the quality and reliability of maglites made them fast and popular sellers at Christmas and during summer and slower to sell at other times as they kept on working and you would have one or two each and not need more, you would put in the battery/batteries that came with it unless you were very clued up/savvy as they were included/"free" with it and those batteries could have been sitting for years with the terminals open to possibly damp/humid air and beside a damp paper instruction leaflet or cardboard insert..
Forgot to add, Maglite (mag instrument) torches were sold almost everywhere and that large supply availability coupled with the reliability was the reason surprisingly that they could still sit on store/shop shelves for quite long periods of time.
Maglite are the only torch manufacturers that I have ever seen that sell spare /replacement parts for their torches/flashlights such is/was their customer focus and ethics of supporting customers.
I remember buying a complete Maglite AA and AAA service kit with special tools, glass and plastic lenses, end caps with and without spare bulbs/lamps inside, O-rings, tailcap springs, lens holders, reflectors, multipacks of spare bulbs and the red bulb holders all inside one repair kit box from the USA, I was also able to buy wrist straps/lanyards, metal pen style pocket clips, belt pouches, complete new flashlight bodies/tubes and tailcaps with clicky on/off rubber switch buttons on the end to convert twist action flashlights to tailcap switches.
For a time Maglite also sold converter kits to change AA and AAA flashlights from incandescent bulb to LED and sold wire-in separated switches for mounting the torches as well..
(multiple edits due to mobile phone "autocorrect" changing words/causing typos)
YUp, I had a Maglight ruined with Duracell batteries.
Baking at car temperatures before use should be part of the test. I have bought rayovac alkalines exclusively, a couple hundred at a time when on sale once a year, for the last four years or so because they have been the best of the major brands based on the advice of another engineer friend who has bought in much larger quantity. They last in storage and are less likely to leak. Batteries stored over a year measured fresh. When batteries went mercury free, rayovac was the first to get the formula right. Other brands would typically die in the package before you could use them. Much to my surprise, my housemate had a couple of rayovacs I had given her leak in a $150 RF remote control for a hospital bed where the batteries are in direct contact with the circuit board. Cleaned the potassium carbonate off the board; no damage other than the solder mask over one trace. It is possible, that she only replaced 2 out of 4, the way it is designed. And it is possible she laid on the remote. But I suspect the real answer was heat in storage. Because I think this battery came from a tub that had gotten lost in the car for almost two years (fell out of the shopping bag); two winters and two summers; thought they were last years batch but they aren't. I may toss that tub and rebattery the devices where that tub was used. So, that may have been the perfect trifecta: expensive device, overheated in storage, possibly imbalanced set, and possibly laid on the buttons. Being in the sun could build pressure and/or damage the adhesives that help seal it. I had also had reasonable experiences with sunbeams (were $1/4, now $1/3 at dollar tree), though they weren't as good as rayovacs. I did have one set of sunbeams leak in the package but that could be because they had previously been left in the car a long time, possibly even with some time on the dashboard. Everready bought out rayovac about a year ago. This could mean that Energizers get better, that rayovacs get worse, or both. So far, rayovac alkalines are still made in the same factory they were in but they did close their "specialty" battery factory and merge it with Energizers. Also, many years back when the capacity wars started, at least one brand cheated by removing the metal can and just using heat shrink so they would have room for just a little more battery; those could actually rupture if you put them in an old fashioned battery holder made of metal rather than plastic. Space was taken away from the end seals. After baking and discharge, I suggest connecting a resistor to a negative voltage; slowly ramp the voltage till failure. Easy to wire up a bank of single cell battery holders with resistors. Use the common bus on the other side of the resistors to discharge, then negatively charge. Do a time lapse. As an aside, if you look closely at the reviews for Amazon Basics batteries, you will see lots of recent reviews that say they aren't good anymore.
I tell my customers to only use alkaline batteries. I've seen so many zinc carbon (the heavy duty batteries) leak badly before they are even flat or expired that I won't buy them ever again. At least most alkaline batteries don't leak until very flat or over the expiry date. If they do leak, it's usually the crystals like Dave was showing which can often be cleaned from the terminals to save the equipment. Heavy duty batteries leak fluid right into the device and destroy circuit boards. Never again for me
Also, the "heavy duty" batteries (Zinc carbon) have half or even less power in them, as well as almost double the self discharge rate as alkaline batteries. They are also more than six times as expensive when compared through Wh/$. Absolute obsolete tech.
Edit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_commercial_battery_types
Yeah I’ve actually never had an alkaline leak. Keep them dry and cool and don’t mix charge levels and I would imagine your chances of having a leak is pretty low.
I've had Duracell alkaline batteries leak *before* the expiration date...
Alkaline are definitely better in just about every way than carbon-zinc. Interestingly enough, however, I recently came across some carbon-zinc AA cells from a brand called "Wincell" that had a printed expiration date of 2012, but had not leaked, still read in at 1.4V, and could still drive a handheld radio.
@@DielectricVideos Some carbon-zinc batteries are dry. Can't leak if nothing's in them.
I bought a big pack of Duracells, left them unused, fully charged in a plastic battery storage container. Every single one of them leaked after a few years (years before the 'good before' dates on the batteries) without seeing any use at all. Leaky batteries probably are just mainly manufacturing errors, impurities etc
The reason these batteries did not leak in your test is because you did not put them in any very expensive electronics equipment. Put them all in a $10,000 camera and try again :)
I recently dug up a pair of LED bicycle lights which I haven't been using for around 20 years. The batteries, which I left in of course, were still okay. The lights even turned on! Amazing.
what brand and model were they?
Why are you still using alkalines?!? The IKEA rechargeables are so affordable.
Divine Evil higher voltage and much longer discharge time perhaps?
Because NI-Cad and Ni-Mh rechargeables have a horrible shelf life. You can put alkaline batteries in a flashlight, leave it for a year, and (provided the batteries don't leak) it will work as if the batteries are new. You do the same with fully charged rechargeables and the flashlight won't even turn on.
@madmatt2024 BS! Low self discharge NiMH batteries have been common for over a decade! They are also much better in high drain devices like flashlights than alkaline.
@@thedausthed But they still loose power over time. Also, since when is a common flashlight a "high drain" device?
@madmatt2024 Only a small amount, Eneloops are rated to still be at 70% charge after 10 years!
The fact you think flashlights are not high drain shows you not only have no idea about batteries, but also flashlights!
Those fires look like they closing in on Sydney. Keep yourself and your family safe bro. Love the content. Many people make videos Like yours, but only you make watching them fun, funny and easy to understand. Great stuff. Keep it up.
“May explode or leak or cause injury IF” ... cmon Dave, stop dishing out crap. You do your previous work on this channel a HUGE disservice by not making comments in context. Short of real content? Ask us - I’m sure we have loads of topics you could really being YOUR EXPERTISE to bear on.
Look up sarcasm in the dictionary.
EEVblog2 look up audience nationality in the logs. Not every viewer speaks your language well enough to be able to interpret English humor, though I’m sure the lack of crap called for it seven ways from Sunday, and how.
I have seen every make of battery leak. Duracell used to say they would replace your equipment of its batteries leaked and caused damage. They dropped this when they found they leaked like others.
I had batteries leak on something that drew somewhere around .025 mA at standby, I had left it for 4 months, and all the cells where new at the time I used them, I should have removed but they still leaked.
Joshua Nicoll we should have killed him but he died anyway. Faulty logic much?
@@HighestRank huh? Killed what?
I know of two ways to do it.
First is to leave batteries in series in something that's turned off all the way, like with a mechanical switch. Leaving something turned on just drains them; leaving them in series but turned off causes them to rupture. Even had it happen on a battery holder like the ones in the video that wasn't connected to anything. Of course this takes time, a lot of time.
Second is to have 4 batteries in a series-parallel configuration. Bonus points if the drain is from one series set and the wires going to the second series set are junk or just poorly clamped (or if you are mixing battery brands). Doing that with a high load basically guarantees a pop. I think because the load batteries discharge faster and then sort of recharge after the load is removed. First time I ran into that the set connected directly to the load burst about half an hour after the load was turned off. Can't say exactly what the load was now, but I know it drained a pair of AA batteries in about 90 minutes (that's why I tried adding two more). Note: there was no fire but there was some smoke, so use care.