They don't say "May explode or leak" they say "May explode or leak IF recharged, put in fire, etc" That leak guard advertising only applies to cells left lying around in unused equipment.
I also had Duracell problems, noticing increasingly variable performance and leakage. They were always my default choice, but I stopped buying them a couple of years ago, they are banned in my house now :)
ForestCat_Peter .Duracell used to be much better. They were made here in CT USA for years. I live in CT, it was a bummer when they left. They are now made in China and they went way down hill. They used to be the best, now they are the same as one hung low brand.
The prevent all leaking...I already commented on that. Of course all the haters will deny it. I'm sure Dave will debunk that as well, but hey...It was on the internet, it MUST be true! LOL
I had to look up what those are. My first reaction was, oh wow those are neat holsters. Then I read the claim and realized I misinterpreted what they are.
I remember donkeys years ago, when Duracell's TV ads in the UK, used to say they were guaranteed not to leak. In my own experience over the years, I would say that Duracell are the worst offenders.
@w5cdt I mean, I'm pretty sure that's kind of a _good_ thing. Besides, all alkalines are mercury-free nowadays so it's not indictive on why Duracells leak like a colander.
Completely agree. Brand new package, three batteries installed in an LED headlamp. Headlamp starts acting wonky, figured batteries were weak. Open it up and all three are leaking. Couldn't have been in there for more than three months. Clean it up, go to the package and discover another five leaking batteries. Send a complaint to Duracell, they ask for lot numbers ect. Eventually they ask me if I would send the batteries to them. So I did. For my trouble I got some coupons for deodorant and toothpaste. Last time I purchased Duracells, and probably the 5th time I"ve told this story on the internet.
oh gawd those things explode so easy its unreal. only good cell they make in my own opinion or at least the rechargeable type those are not bad at all. i have 2 giant containers of dead cells all mostly blown now half the generic ones are fine some of energizer are ok intact ive recharged the energizers some times and never had them explode. rare cases ive had but that's why i store them in a container where i don't care (mostly for fun though) but i just cant believe how duracell is not.. duracell anymore older ones were more durable ffs.. i once found d cell batteries in a old 1990's device.. these were from 1998.. they never exploded entire time sitting and still had a charge.
My personal experience between "bunny" and "copper" batteries (in the U.S.) is that I prefer to not buy "copper" batteries. EVERY time I have used NEW "copper" ones (AA or AAA) I end up with damaged and/or contaminated equipment...shockingly often within one or two months. This includes use mostly in TV remotes and LED flashlights (even leaking in flashlights where load power is ZERO when switched off...not the microchip-controlled ones that still drain some power even when turned "off"(note1)). Just 2 months ago I installed virtually brand new "copper" cells in an LED flashlight (of the ZERO-power-drain-when-off type) only to have them leak within 2 months, and I'd only used the flashlight once for a few seconds right after installing the batteries to verify it was working properly. Before installing in the flashlight, the cells all read about 1.59V...which is normal for brand new alkaline AAA and AA cells. Those particular batteries were purchased in dec2017, so they did spend a year in the package before I used them in the flashlight. I think I've had something like 6 "bunny" cells leak TOTAL in the past 10 years when used in the same equipment under the same conditions...and they were years old...not weeks or months. (((note1: many cheap LED flashlights still drain the batteries even when they are turned "off". These are the type that are controlled by a microchip that is controlled by the manual switch instead of a direct on/off manual electrical switch. The microchip is what usually provides multiple modes like "hi-power", "low-power", "strobe", "SOS", and "off". The amount of power drained while turned "off" depends on the flashlight design. Some are very low drain (micro-amps) whereas others may be milli-amps. I've seen LED flashlights that drain 3xAAA cells from brand new to less than 1V each within 3 months. To store them with batteries in place, I put a slip of thin plastic between the contact point of one of the cells to prevent discharge while stored. This is similar to "remove this tab before using" you may see on remotes that do the same thing when shipped with battery/ies installed. To use the flashlight, I just remove the plastic strip rather than have to load batteries stored separately.)))
Batteries these days don't even need to be discharged to start leaking. I've seen it with new in the pack batteries well before expiry. I just had one go in a labelmaker and it and all the other batteries with it were 1.25v. I use NiMH wherevever I can because I have lost all faith in modern alkalines. I can't wait to see how this turns out.
In a large pack of new Duracells, I always end up with a few leaking in the pack after a couple of months. I won't be buying them anymore. Happened multiple times.
@Lassi Kinnunen you should buy up those rolls of hdmi connectors, you can then resell them in pairs on ebay repairers would buy them no problem you could make real money(serious).
I've started converting 2S 1.5V battery applications to 1S 3.7-4.2V Li-Ion in the 14500 size in devices I am reasonably certain can handle a bit of overvolt. It's worked out pretty well for me so far!
National Hi-Top from Japan, I have two of these in a CD player remote control, from 1986, they still power the remote just fine. Just measured the cells, one is at 1.293V the other is at an outstanding 1.509V ! not to shabby for 33 year old cells. Made in June of 1986 with an expiration date of July of 1988, absolutely incredible. No leakage whatsoever, guess these whip the crap out of any "bunny batteries" :o)
Japanese company Matsushita Industrial (National/Panasonic) used top grade pure chemicals, and materials in their batteries in the 1980s and even till late 2000s. After that their quality has been degrading. I have an ordinary zinc carbon Panasonic AA battery from 2007, that's slightly rusted at the cathode, but no leakage at all. The voltage reading is 1.1 V, it was in a Sharp calculator.
While on a volunteer fire department, we received a couple boxes of free batteries from Duracell. I noticed sever packages had corrosion. These were factory sealed blister packages. All well within the shelf life listed on them.
Since you put them in transparent containers, you should set up a camera to take a picture every day so we can see a cool time-lapse of the leakage at the end.
@@NickWolfe Not necessarily. Look at a leaking battery closely and you should find a spot in the casing, usually around the negative terminal where it seems to have pushed itself apart. A pic a day played back at 30-60FPS would very likely show a gradual bulge up until the point it pops then we would get to watch crystals grow on the outside of the battery.
Awesome, I look forward to the results! I've had a *lot* of Duracells leak, including some well before the expiration date. :( I've had a few generic cells leak too but not nearly to the extent as the Duracells. I don't remember ever having any other major brand leak. [edit:] I've had an Eastman Kodak AA cell in continuous use in my Timex Indiglo alarm clock for the past 25 or so years! I find that *extremely* impressive: the durability of the cell and the extremely low quiescent current of the clock. It keeps the LCD on and I often use the Indigo backlight and I used to use the alarm every day.
I think i can understand brand-mixing: they could have different charge-characteristics, meaning that while both may be fresh, one may be treated as half-charged compared to the other.
They don't seem to care anymore, they will just produce till their stock of faulty chemicals ends i guess. And then they may plan to sit down, with whatever profits they've made. The rogues. But the quality was good before 2009, I think.
I don't use batteries much, but the culprits DO seem to be the duracell devices. I feel the generic cheapies might do fairly well since they likely aren't using every single atom of space in them like the name brand ones do
It really is irritating when you go after something that's seldom-used with zero standby current only to find it dead with a crusty mess in the battery compartment. It basically defeats the purpose of using alkanline cells in that application. ...and then when you go to the nice bulk package of made-in-USA cells that you have only to get that characteristic aroma of electrolyte in the box without actually finding anything. I'm convinced we couldn't intentionally manufacture a literal turd in this country without completely screwing it up.
... not to mention: "Eveready Battery Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of electric battery brands Eveready and Energizer, owned by Energizer Holdings. It should not be confused with the almost identically named and defunct UK battery company, Ever Ready." (That from Wikipedia.)
Bob Sacamano And trademark confusion is real. The reported use of the same advertising theme made me think the same company used both names, as slapping 2 different names on packaging is usually cheaper than making two different advertising campaigns with high production values.
This is the reason I only use 1.5V Lithium batteries in my meters. For stuff that gets used a lot and requires hiher current, Eneloops are the way to go.
In devices I KNOW can take ths slightly higher "new batteries installed" voltage, I do something similar. In a device that uses 2xAA "1.5" volt cells in SERIES, I short-out one of the cell positions and use a lithium 14500 in the other position. The single "3.7" volt lithium cell provides about 4V vs. 3.6V for 2 fresh "1.5" volt alkaline cells in series. If you try this...you do so at your own risk. In other cases where 4V is definitely too high, I've lowered the lithium cell's output voltage closer to 3.0V by installing a salvaged Silicon diode (like an !N4001) and instead of shorting-out the 1 cell position, I install the diode oriented so that it conducts current but lowers the voltage about 0.7 volts...the typical voltage-drop across a "normal" silicon diode. Note: in some circuits the 0.7V voltage drop won't be reliable so that needs to be taken into consideration. If you try this...you do so at your own risk.
@@thunderb00m As the idea is to draw a decent amount of current then no, incandescent makes more sense. Although I do believe modern battery chargers with a discharge function just use a high value resistor with an LED to basically achieve the same.
I don't use alkaline batteries anymore, just use low self-discharge NiMH instead. They have better current capability as well. Interesting test though.
Some of them are way cheaper, even counting with only 5 recharges, than one alkaline. 1.5 USD for an (Ikea brand) Eneloop, they've become crazy cheap. (just pick a good charger)
I used the Professional grade Duracell for many years and they ALWAYS leak in WINTER... never in summer. Talking about a mild Australian winter, not really cold but temperature change really makes difference. I noticed that the premium cells leak more than cheap ones (just like in your example, Coles didn’t leak). The professional Duracell leaked more than the Retail Duracell. Maybe leave some in the fridge overnight and room temperature during the day.
No worries, I can provide you with plenty of leaking Energizer alkalines if you like. ;-) I use both Energizer and Duracell about equally, though I don’t mix them, and they both leak pretty much equally in our household...even in their package years before their expiration date. For more valuable devices I’ll use lithium manganese batteries rather than alkaline as I’ve not encountered any issues with them leaking.
I've had to trash all sorts of stuff due to leaking alkaline batteries (usually those g-d Duracells). About 8 years ago, I switched to quality NiMH (Eneloop) rechargeables for all my devices. No more problems - and lots of money saved.
The best way to clean corroded battery terminals that were damaged by leaking alkaline batteries is with acid. Normal household white vinegar works great for cleaning it off. Remove the terminals out of your device, put them in a small container and put a little household vinegar on them. You can watch the alkali residue fizz away. Rinse with water and reinstall.
Battery terminals are steel, plated with nickel and/or chromium. Once the shiny coating gets corroded, you are making contact with bare steel which is not a reliable connection. So, comments by MikesRadioRepair and others here about using Vinegar or other acids will not fix the problem properly. I always save good battery terminals from discarded devices so I can just swap them out. I've also had good success with conductive tapes and copper foils, with the idea being to solder teh wire onto the new conductive surface but leave the original part behind for structure.
@@johncoops6897 I have radios and meters that had corroded terminals that I cleaned 10 to 20 years ago with white vinegar and they still make reliable connections to this day. Apply a little DeOxit Shield to them after cleaning and they will be fine. Plating or no plating they still make good connection for decades. Have cleaned literally hundreds in my lifetime and never had a problem. Almost everything customers send me to be repaired has corroded terminals if it uses batteries. How many hundreds of customers devices have you fixed?
@@mikesradiorepair - I am talking about when the terminal is damaged, rather than light corrosion like shown on this EEVblog video. I am currently working through all my exterior solar lights (about 60 of one kind) where the cheapo Chinese NiCD AAA's oozes a gunge within weeks of cell death that literally eats the spring and causes it to snap!
I used to think that this stuff was mainly a cosmetic issue, but I found a remote for a projector where the acid ate through the PCB to the point where it just wouldn't power up. Ate through the copper!
Lemon juice on my bench for just such an emergency. Once all the fizz and fluff gone, flush with isopropyl alcohol and begin repairing destroyed legs and pads as needed.
Thanks for taking the time to film this series! An aside ... alkaline single-use cells are old tech with specific drawbacks. Manufacturers can dress this pig up in all the lipstick, fancy panties, and frilly corsets they would like but at the end of the day it's still going to be roughly the same crap as 20 or 30 years ago. Foreshadowing: they won't guarantee the leak resistance of their own "leak resistant" products. Yeah, I've seen enough marketing to know where that's going.
First off the reason this used to be much less of a problem was a tiny bit of Mercury was added to avoid pressure build up in alkaline batteries. Since it was banned manufactures have been struggling with leakage. I’ve had brand new batteries still in the factory packaging with an expiration date 5+ years in the future leak so you don’t need to discharge them for them to leak but it does seem to increase the odds. Many devices have soft power switches and some have significant parasitic load so you don’t necessarily have to leave a device on. My best recommendation is to use high quality low self discharge NiMh cells which pretty much never leak even when abused. It’s a crap shoot over the long haul which brands of Alkalines might have fixed the problem.
David Frisken - no it does work, I have done it myself many times, it does depend a bit on the substance and the base metal, but in my experience it often works. I keep a small bottle of white vinegar on my bench for those times I have to fix battery corrosion.
I have taken hundreds of discarded electronic games over the past 35+ years and got them working again simply by pulling out leaked batteries and cleaning the contacts with white vinegar.
Duracell AAAs rot just being left in storage in original pack. Less than a year old & fluid present.... Why? As to the corroded terminals... thank heavens for paint-on Deoxite!
Two of my AA Duracells leaked once even though they were removed from my flashlight to avoid such occurence :( I'm not a professional, but I think temperature has also has some effect.
I mixed some old and new energizer lithium cells in a light, I could heard a fizzing and the sound came from the light. In minutes 2 of the 4 cells leaking from reverse charging. If you don’t want to wait weeks try it with new and slightly discharged energizer lithium cells, the extra power really speed up the process.
As an auto technician of 30 years i can tell you first hand how very painful blue/white corrosion is when it gets flicked into your eye, Gasoline running into your armpit has nothing on this!
Depends what that blue/white substance actually is. On a car battery it's definitely not going to be the same stuff as on the alkaline batteries shown here.
@@bluelightningnz BS, Tell that to my EYE! And Yes most times it was a battery, BUT sometimes it was corrosion off of a wet PCM terminal inside the car not near any lead acid battery, Peace!
Last time I dropped a gas tank the feed line popped off and fired gasoline up my nose and into my sinuses. Of course I was working by myself so I had to discoereturn line and carefully putting the tank down before plunging my head into a sink full of cold water.
@@Henchman1977, Ha Ha, i dropped a chrysler fuel tank off the trans jack trying to get it over the damned exhaust, tank was full and tore both fuel lines off the bottom of the whole car, I thought i was having a bad day, OMG!!
In my experience, alkaline batteries start leaking at elevated temperatures, particularly during summer months, air humidity also seems to have a negative effect. You should place some your samples in a warm area and some in cooler place, that should give you a wider sample results.
Alkaline cells are electrical cancer. In my experience the magic combination of factors to cause alkaline cell leaks is a complete discharge and enough time for the seals to fail. When it does fail the electrolyte will come out of the negative terminal as a clear liquid (solution of potassium hydroxide) and dry into the white crystals you see here. For cleaning you should use something that reacts with or dissolves KOH like household white vinegar and finish with a water rinse to get rid of acid. Then you should insert the leaking cell into a piece of dog shit and mail it back to the manufacturer for inspection I've seen many cells that were not installed in a device (or even new in the package) start leaking in the exact same way. Normal discharge or self discharge will accomplish the same result. To avoid this you either have to proactively replace cells and pray or use a different chemistry like 'heavy duty' (lower power density) or lithium AA (expensive) which don't have a liquid electrolyte and are thus unable to leak. The duracell AAs that leaked in Dave's example had an expiration date of 2018 so they have been around for years. The 'no leak guarantees' require that your cells have a valid date (spin them so dates face out) and that you haven't disturbed them in the device Overall this is a horrific design flaw with alkaline cells and has driven me completely insane over their inability to engineer a solution. If they can't stop the leaks they need secondary containment to absorb this liquid when it leaks out. It is absolutely unacceptable for any physically undamaged cell to leak material and damage the device it's installed in. Forget about preventing the leak with power seal marketing crap, add absorbent material that makes a leak irrelevant. Now including 'power diapers' for when our batteries inevitably shit their pants!! Fun fact: 9V batteries are a stack of alkaline cells which do not leak externally because they're in a secondary container. Derrrrr with our billions of dollars of R&D we just can't figure out how to stop this leaking!!!!
Whenever I change the batteries in the TV remote, I take the used ones and snap them into a two-cell holder that has a couple of flashing red LEDs connected to it. These can be found everywhere as part of cheap cardboard tray displays selling all sorts of worthless junk as you go through supermarket checkout lanes. They flicker at top speed because the power usage is next to nothing, but eventually the batteries are completely drained and that is when they ALWAYS leak.
The reason your device leaked, is because it has two batteries in series with those packs in parallel. The duracells died first and the cheap brand charged them, causing them to leak. Batteries do not charge each other in series, only in parallel.
rechargables are way more cost effective and ecological anyway. im amazed single-use batteries are still this popular for general use in the home or office where it is not like the extra life is that important.
Fun fact for those who didn't know, spectrum brands which owns Rayovac varta and car supply brands were finally transferred to Energizer Holdings inc. In January. Also Dave I can send you some rayovac fusion, rayovac high energy, members mark (Sam's club), diehard batteries (sears/Kmart), kodak, Polaroid, and Kirkland batteries if you want. Also you should check out maxwell batteries.
I am in the "don't buy Durpacell" anymore category. I have had two new unopened packages leak. Plus many in use as well. They were nice enough to send a coupon for more free batteries...
Please note that each brand has multiple models and multiple factories. Duracell with their copper top color scheme come in many variants that way, same for the others. Store brands may shift suppliers and keep their branding. You need to document and mention the exact variants tested.
I paused on the Coles battery warning and surprisingly it has the best answer of them all in my opinion. Plus they don't say these batteries leak, it says "batteries may leak" 'if' then lists possible scenarios lol
I found a old set of D cell carbon batteries with a guarantee written on the battery no leakage if damage products and product to manufacture for replacement and they gave an address and phone number to contact. These batteries are roughly 50 years old and they did not leak.
Carbon cells do not typically leak, though they are very low in capacity and do not do well in higher drain applications. Their “heavy duty” replacements, though, are prone to leaking.
I have used the "industrial" versions of both Energizer (Energizer Industrial) and the Duracell "Procell" and have found that the Duracell brand will become useless and leaky before their use by date (still in the packet) while the energizer industrial ones are still usable (just) up to two years past the stated use by date. Both brands were kept side by side in the same storage bin so environment isn't a factor. Another observation is that neither of the so called professional/industrial versions are as good capacity wise as the consumer variety. We now just get the standard consumer types and only Energizer. We still buy from the same source being Element14. I'd be interested to see some actual testing of the industrial versions against the consumer variety just to suck it and see! Very interested in this experiment...
Lately, all the AA & AAA Duracell's have been leaking badly in my equipment. I never mix brands and replace immediately when the product acts up. My Honeywell Chonotherm III Thermostat needs a battery change (2 AAA) every 5 years or so. I saw the blinking indicator a few days ago and popped it off the wall. YUKKKKK - the Duracells leaked VERY BADLY. I cleaned the entire battery compartment with Q Tips and isopropyl alcohol. The metal spring and opposite end metal plate were very slightly corroded. Cleaning with alcohol didn't help, so I need to use fine emery cloth to try and remove the corrosion. By the way, I have seen batteries leak just sitting in a drawer for a few years - not yet expired.
You need to find a pack of whatever cheap brand of AA batteries they used to ship included-in-box with electronics (especially toys) from the 90's. Those things were so bad, they practically leaked fresh-from-the-factory!
It will be interesting to see the results. I did this test about 12 years ago when I was writing a spec sheet for some of my products. It did seem that the more expensive, higher capacity cells are more prone to leaking. Not really surprising as the internal pressure will be a lot higher with less 'space' for the decay products. Some of the cheap ones are almost hollow so they keep the waste inside. Looking forward to see what results you get.
Duracells have always been notorious for leaking. Back in the day when I was recharging Alkalines, the Duracell were best for that but the leaking was a worry.
Hi Dave, did you discharge different batteries in series? Here in Germany most of the noname or cheap brands mostly only have 20% of they rated capacity... I'm just asking if you already could have over discharged some of them?
Do not use IPA to clean the terminals.. you use vinegar which will foam while it neutralizes the alkaline chemicals which are a base ( why you use an acid to clean it up). I've salvaged dozens of holders and cases in vintage radios with leaky batteries this way.. and some modern stuff too. Car batteries are different.. use baking soda.
This is why I always use Energizer Lithium as I've been using them ever since they came out. I've left them in things for years on end and they've never leaked.
Duracell releasing these cells called DuraLock (at least here in EU), supposedly less prone to leaking in long time periods, is basically admitting that they have a problem ;). I am testing that theory on my own, I have discharged the standard coppertop, DuraLock and TurboMax types of Duracells next to other, usually cheaper brands, waiting for the inevitable to happen.
Some quality brands are just trading on their name. They buy batteries in from all over the place. Ok, they do some work on QA with the factories, but its not the same a manufacturing them yourself. There are many variations to the chemistry of Alkaline cells. If you were to log the Voltage over time during discharge, sometimes its possible to find which cells come from the same factory, particularly if its done at a cooler temperature.
Had some old walkie-talkies as a kid, they got stuffed in a box in the closet and left for years. Batteries leaked so bad I couldn't even identify the brand, or the cells. It was just like the inside of a geode, white and blue-green crystal everywhere.
Thing is, depending on where you are in the world, you might have different companies manufacturing batteries for the same brand. North American Energizer may not be what he's getting in Australia, etc. Something that might be worth a bit of homework on, and appended to the notes.
The interesting thing, though, is that I’ve always found Energizer and Duracell to both leak pretty much equally, but both have proven better than the other minor brands that compete with them. Outside of lithium manganese type batteries, I’ve not found any alkaline brand that will not leak both new in package (pre-expiration) or installed in equipment. So in this household Energizer and Duracell are both used about 50% of the time (though not ordinarily mixed) and in applications where the greatest risk of leakage exists i’ll install lithium manganese batteries instead of alkaline if I care about the device.
Duracell have been purged from my household on the basis that AAA, AA and PP3 simply cannot be trusted not to vomit. As regards C and D...I still have a few in use but keep a close eye on them.
My parents have a twenty something LED light from 10 years back. The batteries always leak before the light output dims to anything like unusable levels. It's kept in a damp cupboard so I wonder if humidity has any impact on tendency to leak? I guess the light is designed to well use as much battery capacity as possible too.
I love that DC load gizmo. I noticed one of those Duracells at the beginning of the video says "original equipment accessory" on it. A lot of devices come with "Duracells" that say something like that on them, and they're not what I'd call true Duracells. Many of them are Chinese el cheapo "Duracells". Some kind of stupid deal Duracell made with Chinese OEMs, perhaps, or maybe they're supplying the Chinese-built devices from a Chinese Duracell plant? Either way they do not always represent the performance of Duracells you'd nab off a shelf in the US or Europe. Worse yet, if that one IS an inferior Duracell, you've encountered one of the scenarios they tell you to avoid. Mind you, that is largely Duracell's fault for not substantially differentiating between different cells like that. But yeah, something to keep in mind any time someone is dealing with a supposed brand name battery, or else they'll inadvertently mix in with similar looking coppertops. I'm not a fanatic of any of the brands, and I feel all the major brands have gotten a bit better IMHO. The newer "basic" alkaline batteries have a longer shelf life, and they all offer various premium batteries, some of which are incredibly resilient when it comes to leaks. For my long term storage alkaline batteries I picked up a couple packs of Rayovac Fusions (Rayovacs are Varta over there). They're rated at 12 years, affordable (in the 30 count Pro Packs), and are supposed to be very leak resistant and good in high drain devices. Time will tell but the price was really decent compared to Energizer MAX or Duracell Quantum. They definitely fall far behind some of the high-end Lithiums for shelf life, but the price of Lithiums means I only use them sparingly... like smoke alarms. To make matters more "interesting", Energizer just bought Rayovac / Varta from Spectrum. So the future of Rayovac batteries is unknown. Will they continue producing them at the current plants? Same quality, or cheap out? Or just produce cheap batteries somewhere else (China?) and brand them as Rayovac? On top of that the EU has pushed Energizer to sell Varta off, so Varta will be sold to... who knows? China again? Yeah THAT sounds good for competition. This won't impact actual batteries for a while though, since the deal just happened in January.
Every cell failure I recall (in past 20 years or so) have been Duracell... I refuse to buy them any more and still got stung! I recently bought a mini mag light, it came with Duracell, and that was the first AND the last pair of batteries for that flashlight. It now resides in the landfill.
Back in the 80s, it seemed like all batteries leaked... except Radio Shack's "Miracle Seal" alkalines. Some years ago, I picked up a small LED flashlight from the land of the Great Wall, including Chairman Mao batteries. I tossed it into my toolbox and forgot it. One day, I needed the light, took it out... and it didn't work. Opened it up, and a lot of "water" poured out, evidently from the batteries.
Duracells are bad about leaking while STILL in the new package with 2 - 3 years left on the date. I had 3 packs leak after 1 year in 72F low humidity house. So no excuse for extreme temps. Duracell would only replace them IF you had the ORIGINAL PACKAGE. But at least they replaced some of them.
I think changes in internal resistance play a part too besides just the charging issue. There is definitely something as almost all devices are wired in series. Basically when one battery is almost discharged but another has plenty left it can stress the almost empty one causing it to leak.
Even if the batteries don't leak, it seems that your roof does! Interestingly, here at work I had to acquire replacement batteries for isolated oscilloscope probes much like the one you showed at the beginning of the video. I settled on the Energizers because of the strength of their language in guaranteeing against leaks (or at least the offer to repair/replace if they do). No sense saving a quarter on batteries to ruin a thousand dollars of instrumentation! Seriously, though, don't mix your batteries and I hope you have learned your lesson.
And you know why the duracells always fail when mixed with generic brands batteries? Because they have less capacity, discharge and reverse charge before those generic ones will.
Lately, the Energizer Alkaline batteries have been awful with leakage! I just opened a pack of 24 that were dated to last till 2023 and 5 were leaking and 2 were already dead! I had them in storage in my room for awhile. This is not the first time that this has happened to me with Energizers. I have also had similar leakage problems with new, never used Duracell Alkaline batteries, but not as bad as the Energizers. I remember how good they used to be years back and now they just suck. I never have any problems with the old carbon zinc batteries due to leakage or being dead right out of the pack. Also, "off brand" Alkaline batteries seem to last longer and not leak like the name brands do.
Dave, why didn't you mention the Duracell that leaked was over a decade past it's manufacturing date. I noticed you did mention it was mixed with another battery of different charge status.
2 Manufacturers so that 2 could be overdischarged due to a capacity difference. Last time i had 3 of same manufacturer AA batteries and when device stop working one was 1,2V, second one 0,7V and third one -0,03V and leaked, so probably different capacity also when it was from same package.
When I have batteries that have leaked and corroded the terminals, I clean all the gunk off remove any corrosion with very fine sandpaper and then coat the terminals with wire glue and let it dry over night, this prevents any more corrosion and insures a good electrical contacts
The problem with leaking alkaline battery is very annoying because the battery leaks even when the battery still has a lot of power. For example, in my TV remote control it happened twice, it was working the day before and suddenly the remote stops working, not because the battery is exhausted, but because the battery electrolyte has leaked and ruined the electronics. This happens even when there is no power drain, it looks like it is just a matter of time, many times even before the battery expiry date. Energizer, Duracell and Ikea are the worst, as worst as the Chinese made alkaline batteries. Now I only use carbon zinc batteries for my low current devices (remotes, clocks, scales, etc) that will leaks after the power runs out. As soon as the device stops working, I know that I need to change the battery.
They don't say "May explode or leak" they say "May explode or leak IF recharged, put in fire, etc"
That leak guard advertising only applies to cells left lying around in unused equipment.
Agent24 I saw the same thing
Probably over-discharged is mentioned sometimes.
I'm convinced they'd argue putting batteries in parallel or series technically counts as "recharging"
@@redtails It's essential over discharge. Some may have specified avoid over discharge in their manuals.
I totally agree. Dave seems to be turning into a politician by cherry picking his words from statements to try to make a point.
Part 2 coming up in a few years :XD
I think it might be true soon, but we'll never know (I'm not judging).
Waiting . . . . .
I also had Duracell problems, noticing increasingly variable performance and leakage. They were always my default choice, but I stopped buying them a couple of years ago, they are banned in my house now :)
ForestCat_Peter .Duracell used to be much better. They were made here in CT USA for years. I live in CT, it was a bummer when they left. They are now made in China and they went way down hill. They used to be the best, now they are the same as one hung low brand.
I also stopped buying Duracell due to the same problems.
Are we there yet?... Are we there yet?.... Are we there yet?.... I'm hungry... Can I drive?
Can I have an ice cream?
I need the toilet.
I need to pee.
Mom, sikkeposu peed on the seat and it smells
I'm bored.
You should've used batteriser on them!
*sarcasm sign*
The prevent all leaking...I already commented on that. Of course all the haters will deny it. I'm sure Dave will debunk that as well, but hey...It was on the internet, it MUST be true! LOL
*Batteroo
Yeah but what about reverse charging? If the baterrizer is a boost topology, shouldnt that fuck the oitput capasitor? Or even break down the diode?
I had to look up what those are. My first reaction was, oh wow those are neat holsters. Then I read the claim and realized I misinterpreted what they are.
I remember donkeys years ago, when Duracell's TV ads in the UK, used to say they were guaranteed not to leak. In my own experience over the years, I would say that Duracell are the worst offenders.
...and then they took the mercury out.
@w5cdt I mean, I'm pretty sure that's kind of a _good_ thing. Besides, all alkalines are mercury-free nowadays so it's not indictive on why Duracells leak like a colander.
the copper top battery - no other battery leaks faster
So true.
Completely agree. Brand new package, three batteries installed in an LED headlamp. Headlamp starts acting wonky, figured batteries were weak. Open it up and all three are leaking. Couldn't have been in there for more than three months. Clean it up, go to the package and discover another five leaking batteries. Send a complaint to Duracell, they ask for lot numbers ect. Eventually they ask me if I would send the batteries to them. So I did. For my trouble I got some coupons for deodorant and toothpaste. Last time I purchased Duracells, and probably the 5th time I"ve told this story on the internet.
oh gawd those things explode so easy its unreal. only good cell they make in my own opinion or at least the rechargeable type those are not bad at all. i have 2 giant containers of dead cells all mostly blown now half the generic ones are fine some of energizer are ok intact ive recharged the energizers some times and never had them explode. rare cases ive had but that's why i store them in a container where i don't care (mostly for fun though) but i just cant believe how duracell is not.. duracell anymore older ones were more durable ffs.. i once found d cell batteries in a old 1990's device.. these were from 1998.. they never exploded entire time sitting and still had a charge.
They pop great on a welder
My personal experience between "bunny" and "copper" batteries (in the U.S.) is that I prefer to not buy "copper" batteries. EVERY time I have used NEW "copper" ones (AA or AAA) I end up with damaged and/or contaminated equipment...shockingly often within one or two months. This includes use mostly in TV remotes and LED flashlights (even leaking in flashlights where load power is ZERO when switched off...not the microchip-controlled ones that still drain some power even when turned "off"(note1)). Just 2 months ago I installed virtually brand new "copper" cells in an LED flashlight (of the ZERO-power-drain-when-off type) only to have them leak within 2 months, and I'd only used the flashlight once for a few seconds right after installing the batteries to verify it was working properly. Before installing in the flashlight, the cells all read about 1.59V...which is normal for brand new alkaline AAA and AA cells. Those particular batteries were purchased in dec2017, so they did spend a year in the package before I used them in the flashlight.
I think I've had something like 6 "bunny" cells leak TOTAL in the past 10 years when used in the same equipment under the same conditions...and they were years old...not weeks or months.
(((note1: many cheap LED flashlights still drain the batteries even when they are turned "off". These are the type that are controlled by a microchip that is controlled by the manual switch instead of a direct on/off manual electrical switch. The microchip is what usually provides multiple modes like "hi-power", "low-power", "strobe", "SOS", and "off". The amount of power drained while turned "off" depends on the flashlight design. Some are very low drain (micro-amps) whereas others may be milli-amps. I've seen LED flashlights that drain 3xAAA cells from brand new to less than 1V each within 3 months. To store them with batteries in place, I put a slip of thin plastic between the contact point of one of the cells to prevent discharge while stored. This is similar to "remove this tab before using" you may see on remotes that do the same thing when shipped with battery/ies installed. To use the flashlight, I just remove the plastic strip rather than have to load batteries stored separately.)))
Batteries these days don't even need to be discharged to start leaking. I've seen it with new in the pack batteries well before expiry. I just had one go in a labelmaker and it and all the other batteries with it were 1.25v. I use NiMH wherevever I can because I have lost all faith in modern alkalines. I can't wait to see how this turns out.
In a large pack of new Duracells, I always end up with a few leaking in the pack after a couple of months. I won't be buying them anymore. Happened multiple times.
@Lassi Kinnunen you should buy up those rolls of hdmi connectors, you can then resell them in pairs on ebay repairers would buy them no problem you could make real money(serious).
nimhs still leak, i have damaged equipment to prove it..
I've started converting 2S 1.5V battery applications to 1S 3.7-4.2V Li-Ion in the 14500 size in devices I am reasonably certain can handle a bit of overvolt. It's worked out pretty well for me so far!
Last year I got NIMH batteries from Amazonbasics. I hasn't brought battery from store for while. Worth it.
National Hi-Top from Japan, I have two of these in a CD player remote control, from 1986, they still power the remote just fine.
Just measured the cells, one is at 1.293V the other is at an outstanding 1.509V ! not to shabby for 33 year old cells.
Made in June of 1986 with an expiration date of July of 1988, absolutely incredible. No leakage whatsoever, guess these whip the crap out of any "bunny batteries" :o)
Japanese company Matsushita Industrial (National/Panasonic) used top grade pure chemicals, and materials in their batteries in the 1980s and even till late 2000s. After that their quality has been degrading. I have an ordinary zinc carbon Panasonic AA battery from 2007, that's slightly rusted at the cathode, but no leakage at all. The voltage reading is 1.1 V, it was in a Sharp calculator.
While on a volunteer fire department, we received a couple boxes of free batteries from Duracell. I noticed sever packages had corrosion. These were factory sealed blister packages. All well within the shelf life listed on them.
Since you put them in transparent containers, you should set up a camera to take a picture every day so we can see a cool time-lapse of the leakage at the end.
one picture? Want a web cam on this, how cool would this be - watching batteries leak...;-)
One picture every day, that'll be like
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Leaked
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
@@NickWolfe Not necessarily. Look at a leaking battery closely and you should find a spot in the casing, usually around the negative terminal where it seems to have pushed itself apart. A pic a day played back at 30-60FPS would very likely show a gradual bulge up until the point it pops then we would get to watch crystals grow on the outside of the battery.
I was also thinking of time-lapse corrosion. That would be phenomenal!
"This test doesn't really end until something leaks"
The entire lab leaked?
That explains the video the other week!
Awesome, I look forward to the results!
I've had a *lot* of Duracells leak, including some well before the expiration date. :(
I've had a few generic cells leak too but not nearly to the extent as the Duracells. I don't remember ever having any other major brand leak.
[edit:] I've had an Eastman Kodak AA cell in continuous use in my Timex Indiglo alarm clock for the past 25 or so years! I find that *extremely* impressive: the durability of the cell and the extremely low quiescent current of the clock. It keeps the LCD on and I often use the Indigo backlight and I used to use the alarm every day.
That's called anectodal evidence and confirmation bias.
@@UloPe Anecdotal, sure. Based on observation but without any rigorous testing. Confirmation bias of what, though?
I was hoping you started this video a year ago and we were getting a conclusion soon.
Oh well, see you all again next year!
Fantastic idea for content =D It's about time someone did a video on this subject!
I think i can understand brand-mixing: they could have different charge-characteristics, meaning that while both may be fresh, one may be treated as half-charged compared to the other.
Duracell is the worst. But was never that way before, IMO.
Absolutely right. Used to never leak. Now they always leak.
I had Duracells ruin a $80 multimeter many years ago. The meter was turned off. It ate the runs on the PC board. They've been crap for a long time.
They don't seem to care anymore, they will just produce till their stock of faulty chemicals ends i guess. And then they may plan to sit down, with whatever profits they've made. The rogues. But the quality was good before 2009, I think.
I don't use batteries much, but the culprits DO seem to be the duracell devices. I feel the generic cheapies might do fairly well since they likely aren't using every single atom of space in them like the name brand ones do
It really is irritating when you go after something that's seldom-used with zero standby current only to find it dead with a crusty mess in the battery compartment. It basically defeats the purpose of using alkanline cells in that application.
...and then when you go to the nice bulk package of made-in-USA cells that you have only to get that characteristic aroma of electrolyte in the box without actually finding anything.
I'm convinced we couldn't intentionally manufacture a literal turd in this country without completely screwing it up.
4:20 a "grocery shopping centre kinda thing"... aka a supermarket... lol, I love Dave.
Everyone has these moments...
Seeing the bunny on the duarcell package is confusing. In the US Energizer is the one with the bunny mascot.
It always confused me, seeing Duracell commercials on TV with the bunny, and then hear people online talk about the Energizer bunny...
Energizer basically copied the Duracell bunny but Energizer did it better.
@Bob Sacamano Damned you bob, i was just about to post this!, Ha Ha Cheers!
... not to mention: "Eveready Battery Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of electric battery brands Eveready and Energizer, owned by Energizer Holdings. It should not be confused with the almost identically named and defunct UK battery company, Ever Ready." (That from Wikipedia.)
Bob Sacamano And trademark confusion is real. The reported use of the same advertising theme made me think the same company used both names, as slapping 2 different names on packaging is usually cheaper than making two different advertising campaigns with high production values.
This is the reason I only use 1.5V Lithium batteries in my meters. For stuff that gets used a lot and requires hiher current, Eneloops are the way to go.
In devices I KNOW can take ths slightly higher "new batteries installed" voltage, I do something similar. In a device that uses 2xAA "1.5" volt cells in SERIES, I short-out one of the cell positions and use a lithium 14500 in the other position. The single "3.7" volt lithium cell provides about 4V vs. 3.6V for 2 fresh "1.5" volt alkaline cells in series. If you try this...you do so at your own risk.
In other cases where 4V is definitely too high, I've lowered the lithium cell's output voltage closer to 3.0V by installing a salvaged Silicon diode (like an !N4001) and instead of shorting-out the 1 cell position, I install the diode oriented so that it conducts current but lowers the voltage about 0.7 volts...the typical voltage-drop across a "normal" silicon diode. Note: in some circuits the 0.7V voltage drop won't be reliable so that needs to be taken into consideration. If you try this...you do so at your own risk.
I think it would be better to have a light bulb as a load, so you know when the batteries die
Surely you meant LEDs
@@thunderb00m As the idea is to draw a decent amount of current then no, incandescent makes more sense. Although I do believe modern battery chargers with a discharge function just use a high value resistor with an LED to basically achieve the same.
I've had more expensive items damaged by Duracell 2AA batteries than any sane person could ever anticipate in his wildest dreams! :(
I don't use alkaline batteries anymore, just use low self-discharge NiMH instead. They have better current capability as well. Interesting test though.
Some of them are way cheaper, even counting with only 5 recharges, than one alkaline. 1.5 USD for an (Ikea brand) Eneloop, they've become crazy cheap. (just pick a good charger)
I’ve had Duracell batteries leak even in devices that weren’t left switched on. Absolute crap.
I used the Professional grade Duracell for many years and they ALWAYS leak in WINTER... never in summer. Talking about a mild Australian winter, not really cold but temperature change really makes difference. I noticed that the premium cells leak more than cheap ones (just like in your example, Coles didn’t leak). The professional Duracell leaked more than the Retail Duracell. Maybe leave some in the fridge overnight and room temperature during the day.
maybe because the pro cells are more densely packed inside so there is less room for pressure build up.
Simon Tay yes, this is exactly what I suspected
i always use varta industrial they are the pro version and they never leaked on me duracell and other leak like shit
FWIW: This may be just anecdotal, but I'm pretty sure the only batteries I've seen leak over the last several years have been Duracels.
No worries, I can provide you with plenty of leaking Energizer alkalines if you like. ;-) I use both Energizer and Duracell about equally, though I don’t mix them, and they both leak pretty much equally in our household...even in their package years before their expiration date. For more valuable devices I’ll use lithium manganese batteries rather than alkaline as I’ve not encountered any issues with them leaking.
I've had to trash all sorts of stuff due to leaking alkaline batteries (usually those g-d Duracells). About 8 years ago, I switched to quality NiMH (Eneloop) rechargeables for all my devices. No more problems - and lots of money saved.
Dave is telling you to use isopropyl, but cleaning battery leakage is best done with natural white vinegar.
Follow up any time?
At least something like: Yeah, we still have them cells, they are in their storages, nothing happened yet, stay tuned.
The best way to clean corroded battery terminals that were damaged by leaking alkaline batteries is with acid. Normal household white vinegar works great for cleaning it off. Remove the terminals out of your device, put them in a small container and put a little household vinegar on them. You can watch the alkali residue fizz away. Rinse with water and reinstall.
Ive had to file down to metal and replace corroded battery terminals before
Battery terminals are steel, plated with nickel and/or chromium. Once the shiny coating gets corroded, you are making contact with bare steel which is not a reliable connection.
So, comments by MikesRadioRepair and others here about using Vinegar or other acids will not fix the problem properly. I always save good battery terminals from discarded devices so I can just swap them out. I've also had good success with conductive tapes and copper foils, with the idea being to solder teh wire onto the new conductive surface but leave the original part behind for structure.
@@johncoops6897
I have radios and meters that had corroded terminals that I cleaned 10 to 20 years ago with white vinegar and they still make reliable connections to this day. Apply a little DeOxit Shield to them after cleaning and they will be fine. Plating or no plating they still make good connection for decades. Have cleaned literally hundreds in my lifetime and never had a problem. Almost everything customers send me to be repaired has corroded terminals if it uses batteries. How many hundreds of customers devices have you fixed?
@@mikesradiorepair - I am talking about when the terminal is damaged, rather than light corrosion like shown on this EEVblog video.
I am currently working through all my exterior solar lights (about 60 of one kind) where the cheapo Chinese NiCD AAA's oozes a gunge within weeks of cell death that literally eats the spring and causes it to snap!
I used to think that this stuff was mainly a cosmetic issue, but I found a remote for a projector where the acid ate through the PCB to the point where it just wouldn't power up. Ate through the copper!
Vinegar works well for cleaning terminals
And for making chips tastier! (no, not silicon chips).
@@xjet The silicon ones are my favorite, they have a way better crunch than any other chip I've tried.
Lemon juice on my bench for just such an emergency. Once all the fizz and fluff gone, flush with isopropyl alcohol and begin repairing destroyed legs and pads as needed.
@@vgamesx1 as @xjet said wile chomping on a CD4017
@@God-CDXX I enjoy the occasional esp32/8266 but the 555 is a nice classic, they sometimes cut the roof of my mouth though.
in the last 10 years or so every Duracell I used end up leaking.
I used to go to school with a boy called Lee King.
Thanks for taking the time to film this series!
An aside ... alkaline single-use cells are old tech with specific drawbacks. Manufacturers can dress this pig up in all the lipstick, fancy panties, and frilly corsets they would like but at the end of the day it's still going to be roughly the same crap as 20 or 30 years ago.
Foreshadowing: they won't guarantee the leak resistance of their own "leak resistant" products. Yeah, I've seen enough marketing to know where that's going.
First off the reason this used to be much less of a problem was a tiny bit of Mercury was added to avoid pressure build up in alkaline batteries. Since it was banned manufactures have been struggling with leakage. I’ve had brand new batteries still in the factory packaging with an expiration date 5+ years in the future leak so you don’t need to discharge them for them to leak but it does seem to increase the odds. Many devices have soft power switches and some have significant parasitic load so you don’t necessarily have to leave a device on. My best recommendation is to use high quality low self discharge NiMh cells which pretty much never leak even when abused. It’s a crap shoot over the long haul which brands of Alkalines might have fixed the problem.
I think I know where you can get another HVP-70...
White vinegar will remove the corrosion from the terminals.
I found citricacid a bit more effective/fizzy actually. (E number E330)
Disolved in some alcohol.
Old wives tales.
David Frisken - no it does work, I have done it myself many times, it does depend a bit on the substance and the base metal, but in my experience it often works. I keep a small bottle of white vinegar on my bench for those times I have to fix battery corrosion.
I have taken hundreds of discarded electronic games over the past 35+ years and got them working again simply by pulling out leaked batteries and cleaning the contacts with white vinegar.
Duracell AAAs rot just being left in storage in original pack. Less than a year old & fluid present.... Why? As to the corroded terminals... thank heavens for paint-on Deoxite!
Vinegar or pretty much any acid followed up by some IPA works just as well and cheaper too.
diluted vinegar and later with soapy water cleans up really well... An battery exploding test maybe very interesting!!
The one thing you can rely on: a leaky Duracell. Terrible Muriel. I reckon the Panasonics will do well.
Two of my AA Duracells leaked once even though they were removed from my flashlight to avoid such occurence :(
I'm not a professional, but I think temperature has also has some effect.
I mixed some old and new energizer lithium cells in a light, I could heard a fizzing and the sound came from the light. In minutes 2 of the 4 cells leaking from reverse charging. If you don’t want to wait weeks try it with new and slightly discharged energizer lithium cells, the extra power really speed up the process.
As an auto technician of 30 years i can tell you first hand how very painful blue/white corrosion is when it gets flicked into your eye, Gasoline running into your armpit has nothing on this!
Depends what that blue/white substance actually is. On a car battery it's definitely not going to be the same stuff as on the alkaline batteries shown here.
@@bluelightningnz BS, Tell that to my EYE!
And Yes most times it was a battery, BUT sometimes it was corrosion off of a wet PCM terminal inside the car not near any lead acid battery, Peace!
Last time I dropped a gas tank the feed line popped off and fired gasoline up my nose and into my sinuses. Of course I was working by myself so I had to discoereturn line and carefully putting the tank down before plunging my head into a sink full of cold water.
@@Henchman1977, Ha Ha, i dropped a chrysler fuel tank off the trans jack trying to get it over the damned exhaust, tank was full and tore both fuel lines off the bottom of the whole car, I thought i was having a bad day, OMG!!
Part 2 in about 3 years. Durahell Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
**one year later**
In my experience, alkaline batteries start leaking at elevated temperatures, particularly during summer months, air humidity also seems to have a negative effect. You should place some your samples in a warm area and some in cooler place, that should give you a wider sample results.
Alkaline cells are electrical cancer. In my experience the magic combination of factors to cause alkaline cell leaks is a complete discharge and enough time for the seals to fail. When it does fail the electrolyte will come out of the negative terminal as a clear liquid (solution of potassium hydroxide) and dry into the white crystals you see here. For cleaning you should use something that reacts with or dissolves KOH like household white vinegar and finish with a water rinse to get rid of acid. Then you should insert the leaking cell into a piece of dog shit and mail it back to the manufacturer for inspection
I've seen many cells that were not installed in a device (or even new in the package) start leaking in the exact same way. Normal discharge or self discharge will accomplish the same result. To avoid this you either have to proactively replace cells and pray or use a different chemistry like 'heavy duty' (lower power density) or lithium AA (expensive) which don't have a liquid electrolyte and are thus unable to leak. The duracell AAs that leaked in Dave's example had an expiration date of 2018 so they have been around for years. The 'no leak guarantees' require that your cells have a valid date (spin them so dates face out) and that you haven't disturbed them in the device
Overall this is a horrific design flaw with alkaline cells and has driven me completely insane over their inability to engineer a solution. If they can't stop the leaks they need secondary containment to absorb this liquid when it leaks out. It is absolutely unacceptable for any physically undamaged cell to leak material and damage the device it's installed in. Forget about preventing the leak with power seal marketing crap, add absorbent material that makes a leak irrelevant. Now including 'power diapers' for when our batteries inevitably shit their pants!! Fun fact: 9V batteries are a stack of alkaline cells which do not leak externally because they're in a secondary container. Derrrrr with our billions of dollars of R&D we just can't figure out how to stop this leaking!!!!
Stopped using these alkaline years ago , just use eneloop recharge types and never had one leak or fail over several years use
Duracell always leaks, case closed.
I have yet to have DuraCell NOT leak.
Me too.
Really looking forward to the results as I have always wondered about this. May cure my battery paranoia.
Whenever I change the batteries in the TV remote, I take the used ones and snap them into a two-cell holder that has a couple of flashing red LEDs connected to it. These can be found everywhere as part of cheap cardboard tray displays selling all sorts of worthless junk as you go through supermarket checkout lanes. They flicker at top speed because the power usage is next to nothing, but eventually the batteries are completely drained and that is when they ALWAYS leak.
Duracell, particularly the 'D' cells, I've had them leak in an unopened pack.
happened to an expensive flashlight of mine once, they were so corroded they were frozen in there and i had to throw the whole thing out
The reason your device leaked, is because it has two batteries in series with those packs in parallel. The duracells died first and the cheap brand charged them, causing them to leak. Batteries do not charge each other in series, only in parallel.
rechargables are way more cost effective and ecological anyway. im amazed single-use batteries are still this popular for general use in the home or office where it is not like the extra life is that important.
Fun fact for those who didn't know, spectrum brands which owns Rayovac varta and car supply brands were finally transferred to Energizer Holdings inc. In January. Also Dave I can send you some rayovac fusion, rayovac high energy, members mark (Sam's club), diehard batteries (sears/Kmart), kodak, Polaroid, and Kirkland batteries if you want. Also you should check out maxwell batteries.
I am in the "don't buy Durpacell" anymore category. I have had two new unopened packages leak. Plus many in use as well. They were nice enough to send a coupon for more free batteries...
Please note that each brand has multiple models and multiple factories. Duracell with their copper top color scheme come in many variants that way, same for the others. Store brands may shift suppliers and keep their branding.
You need to document and mention the exact variants tested.
Great idea, I have had Duracell leaking in packages at Walmart
That Duracell from the beginning was made in 2011. "Best before" March of 2018. We have 2019 now, so........ "ua ua ua"
I paused on the Coles battery warning and surprisingly it has the best answer of them all in my opinion. Plus they don't say these batteries leak, it says "batteries may leak" 'if' then lists possible scenarios lol
I found a old set of D cell carbon batteries with a guarantee written on the battery no leakage if damage products and product to manufacture for replacement and they gave an address and phone number to contact. These batteries are roughly 50 years old and they did not leak.
Carbon cells do not typically leak, though they are very low in capacity and do not do well in higher drain applications. Their “heavy duty” replacements, though, are prone to leaking.
I have used the "industrial" versions of both Energizer (Energizer Industrial) and the Duracell "Procell" and have found that the Duracell brand will become useless and leaky before their use by date (still in the packet) while the energizer industrial ones are still usable (just) up to two years past the stated use by date. Both brands were kept side by side in the same storage bin so environment isn't a factor. Another observation is that neither of the so called professional/industrial versions are as good capacity wise as the consumer variety. We now just get the standard consumer types and only Energizer. We still buy from the same source being Element14. I'd be interested to see some actual testing of the industrial versions against the consumer variety just to suck it and see! Very interested in this experiment...
Part 2, see you in 5 years
I've had Duracell batteries leak new in the package, they're the worst. Not buying any more.
Lately, all the AA & AAA Duracell's have been leaking badly in my equipment. I never mix brands and replace immediately when the product acts up. My Honeywell Chonotherm III Thermostat needs a battery change (2 AAA) every 5 years or so. I saw the blinking indicator a few days ago and popped it off the wall. YUKKKKK - the Duracells leaked VERY BADLY. I cleaned the entire battery compartment with Q Tips and isopropyl alcohol. The metal spring and opposite end metal plate were very slightly corroded. Cleaning with alcohol didn't help, so I need to use fine emery cloth to try and remove the corrosion. By the way, I have seen batteries leak just sitting in a drawer for a few years - not yet expired.
For me it’s always Kirkland that leak, I don’t see Duracell leak often, maybe it’s because I live in a different country idk.
You need to find a pack of whatever cheap brand of AA batteries they used to ship included-in-box with electronics (especially toys) from the 90's. Those things were so bad, they practically leaked fresh-from-the-factory!
It will be interesting to see the results. I did this test about 12 years ago when I was writing a spec sheet for some of my products. It did seem that the more expensive, higher capacity cells are more prone to leaking. Not really surprising as the internal pressure will be a lot higher with less 'space' for the decay products. Some of the cheap ones are almost hollow so they keep the waste inside. Looking forward to see what results you get.
Hi Dave, I noticed that you have an adapter on the 8601 electronic load. Where can I get one? :)
AFAIR it was sent to him by a viewer in a mailbag, must be years since then...
@@bonzaihb3432 I want one! :)
iohippo on Tindie.com sells these adapters.
@@jonrussell2229 Thank you.
Duracells have always been notorious for leaking. Back in the day when I was recharging Alkalines, the Duracell were best for that but the leaking was a worry.
Hi Dave, did you discharge different batteries in series? Here in Germany most of the noname or cheap brands mostly only have 20% of they rated capacity... I'm just asking if you already could have over discharged some of them?
Do not use IPA to clean the terminals.. you use vinegar which will foam while it neutralizes the alkaline chemicals which are a base ( why you use an acid to clean it up). I've salvaged dozens of holders and cases in vintage radios with leaky batteries this way.. and some modern stuff too. Car batteries are different.. use baking soda.
Daaaaamn I though you started this experiment months ago and this video contains the results... I can't live with this presure.
This is why I always use Energizer Lithium as I've been using them ever since they came out. I've left them in things for years on end and they've never leaked.
Duracell s always leak, expensive, and have less energy than a poundshop aa aaa cells.
100% !!
Duracell releasing these cells called DuraLock (at least here in EU), supposedly less prone to leaking in long time periods, is basically admitting that they have a problem ;). I am testing that theory on my own, I have discharged the standard coppertop, DuraLock and TurboMax types of Duracells next to other, usually cheaper brands, waiting for the inevitable to happen.
Some quality brands are just trading on their name. They buy batteries in from all over the place. Ok, they do some work on QA with the factories, but its not the same a manufacturing them yourself.
There are many variations to the chemistry of Alkaline cells. If you were to log the Voltage over time during discharge, sometimes its possible to find which cells come from the same factory, particularly if its done at a cooler temperature.
Had some old walkie-talkies as a kid, they got stuffed in a box in the closet and left for years. Batteries leaked so bad I couldn't even identify the brand, or the cells. It was just like the inside of a geode, white and blue-green crystal everywhere.
Great idea!
Thing is, depending on where you are in the world, you might have different companies manufacturing batteries for the same brand. North American Energizer may not be what he's getting in Australia, etc. Something that might be worth a bit of homework on, and appended to the notes.
Duracell always leak in my experience, they are utter crap. Energizer, never had the issue over the same time frame.....
The interesting thing, though, is that I’ve always found Energizer and Duracell to both leak pretty much equally, but both have proven better than the other minor brands that compete with them. Outside of lithium manganese type batteries, I’ve not found any alkaline brand that will not leak both new in package (pre-expiration) or installed in equipment. So in this household Energizer and Duracell are both used about 50% of the time (though not ordinarily mixed) and in applications where the greatest risk of leakage exists i’ll install lithium manganese batteries instead of alkaline if I care about the device.
@@ethanpoole3443 I wonder if different regions are manufactured in different factories?
Duracell have been purged from my household on the basis that AAA, AA and PP3 simply cannot be trusted not to vomit. As regards C and D...I still have a few in use but keep a close eye on them.
My parents have a twenty something LED light from 10 years back. The batteries always leak before the light output dims to anything like unusable levels. It's kept in a damp cupboard so I wonder if humidity has any impact on tendency to leak? I guess the light is designed to well use as much battery capacity as possible too.
I love that DC load gizmo. I noticed one of those Duracells at the beginning of the video says "original equipment accessory" on it. A lot of devices come with "Duracells" that say something like that on them, and they're not what I'd call true Duracells. Many of them are Chinese el cheapo "Duracells". Some kind of stupid deal Duracell made with Chinese OEMs, perhaps, or maybe they're supplying the Chinese-built devices from a Chinese Duracell plant? Either way they do not always represent the performance of Duracells you'd nab off a shelf in the US or Europe. Worse yet, if that one IS an inferior Duracell, you've encountered one of the scenarios they tell you to avoid. Mind you, that is largely Duracell's fault for not substantially differentiating between different cells like that. But yeah, something to keep in mind any time someone is dealing with a supposed brand name battery, or else they'll inadvertently mix in with similar looking coppertops.
I'm not a fanatic of any of the brands, and I feel all the major brands have gotten a bit better IMHO. The newer "basic" alkaline batteries have a longer shelf life, and they all offer various premium batteries, some of which are incredibly resilient when it comes to leaks. For my long term storage alkaline batteries I picked up a couple packs of Rayovac Fusions (Rayovacs are Varta over there). They're rated at 12 years, affordable (in the 30 count Pro Packs), and are supposed to be very leak resistant and good in high drain devices. Time will tell but the price was really decent compared to Energizer MAX or Duracell Quantum. They definitely fall far behind some of the high-end Lithiums for shelf life, but the price of Lithiums means I only use them sparingly... like smoke alarms.
To make matters more "interesting", Energizer just bought Rayovac / Varta from Spectrum. So the future of Rayovac batteries is unknown. Will they continue producing them at the current plants? Same quality, or cheap out? Or just produce cheap batteries somewhere else (China?) and brand them as Rayovac? On top of that the EU has pushed Energizer to sell Varta off, so Varta will be sold to... who knows? China again? Yeah THAT sounds good for competition. This won't impact actual batteries for a while though, since the deal just happened in January.
I have a battery leakage that went into a lego train remote 14 years ago and havent been taken out since
Every cell failure I recall (in past 20 years or so) have been Duracell... I refuse to buy them any more and still got stung! I recently bought a mini mag light, it came with Duracell, and that was the first AND the last pair of batteries for that flashlight. It now resides in the landfill.
Back in the 80s, it seemed like all batteries leaked... except Radio Shack's "Miracle Seal" alkalines. Some years ago, I picked up a small LED flashlight from the land of the Great Wall, including Chairman Mao batteries. I tossed it into my toolbox and forgot it. One day, I needed the light, took it out... and it didn't work. Opened it up, and a lot of "water" poured out, evidently from the batteries.
Duracells are bad about leaking while STILL in the new package with 2 - 3 years left on the date. I had 3 packs leak after 1 year in 72F low humidity house. So no excuse for extreme temps. Duracell would only replace them IF you had the ORIGINAL PACKAGE. But at least they replaced some of them.
The batteries in series (old and new) probably won't reverse charge. In parallel they would try to keep the voltage equal, but not in series I believe
I think changes in internal resistance play a part too besides just the charging issue. There is definitely something as almost all devices are wired in series.
Basically when one battery is almost discharged but another has plenty left it can stress the almost empty one causing it to leak.
Even if the batteries don't leak, it seems that your roof does!
Interestingly, here at work I had to acquire replacement batteries for isolated oscilloscope probes much like the one you showed at the beginning of the video. I settled on the Energizers because of the strength of their language in guaranteeing against leaks (or at least the offer to repair/replace if they do). No sense saving a quarter on batteries to ruin a thousand dollars of instrumentation!
Seriously, though, don't mix your batteries and I hope you have learned your lesson.
And you know why the duracells always fail when mixed with generic brands batteries? Because they have less capacity, discharge and reverse charge before those generic ones will.
Lately, the Energizer Alkaline batteries have been awful with leakage! I just opened a pack of 24 that were dated to last till 2023 and 5 were leaking and 2 were already dead! I had them in storage in my room for awhile. This is not the first time that this has happened to me with Energizers. I have also had similar leakage problems with new, never used Duracell Alkaline batteries, but not as bad as the Energizers. I remember how good they used to be years back and now they just suck. I never have any problems with the old carbon zinc batteries due to leakage or being dead right out of the pack. Also, "off brand" Alkaline batteries seem to last longer and not leak like the name brands do.
Dave, why didn't you mention the Duracell that leaked was over a decade past it's manufacturing date. I noticed you did mention it was mixed with another battery of different charge status.
2 Manufacturers so that 2 could be overdischarged due to a capacity difference. Last time i had 3 of same manufacturer AA batteries and when device stop working one was 1,2V, second one 0,7V and third one -0,03V and leaked, so probably different capacity also when it was from same package.
When I have batteries that have leaked and corroded the terminals, I clean all the gunk off remove any corrosion with very fine sandpaper and then coat the terminals with wire glue and let it dry over night, this prevents any more corrosion and insures a good electrical contacts
maybe you could use gloves next time handling those leaked batteries. I felt a cringe seeing those dendrites on your fingertips
The problem with leaking alkaline battery is very annoying because the battery leaks even when the battery still has a lot of power. For example, in my TV remote control it happened twice, it was working the day before and suddenly the remote stops working, not because the battery is exhausted, but because the battery electrolyte has leaked and ruined the electronics. This happens even when there is no power drain, it looks like it is just a matter of time, many times even before the battery expiry date. Energizer, Duracell and Ikea are the worst, as worst as the Chinese made alkaline batteries. Now I only use carbon zinc batteries for my low current devices (remotes, clocks, scales, etc) that will leaks after the power runs out. As soon as the device stops working, I know that I need to change the battery.