Duracell alkaline AA batteries

[PT20J]

I’ve always used Duracell. I never had one leak and I liked the fact that the had the expiration date printed on them simply so that I could sort out the oldest from the newest in my stash. (The original ACK 121.5 MHz ELT used Duracell batteries when they discovered that the only FAA requirement for an ELT battery was that it have an expiration date printed on it by the manufacturer).

However, lately I have had three separate Duracell AA batteries leak in various devices well before the expiration date and when they were not fully discharged. I may switch to Energizer.

Anyone else having similar issues?

Skip

[EricJ]

11 minutes ago, PT20J said:

I’ve always used Duracell. I never had one leak and I liked the fact that the had the expiration date printed on them simply so that I could sort out the oldest from the newest in my stash. (The original ACK 121.5 MHz ELT used Duracell batteries when they discovered that the only FAA requirement for an ELT battery was that it have an expiration date printed on it by the manufacturer).

However, lately I have had three separate Duracell AA batteries leak in various devices well before the expiration date and when they were not fully discharged. I may switch to Energizer.

Anyone else having similar issues?

Skip

I've not been able to find an alkaline battery brand that isn't susceptible to leaking.   

[Rick Junkin]

Yes, I've also had issues with Duracell and Procell in the last few years.

There is a HUGE counterfeit market and the counterfeit batteries show up at online retailers and even at Walmart. Do a search on "counterfeit duracell" and you'll find a lot of material that shows how to identify the authentic batteries from the counterfeit.

The counterfeit batteries are typically found online and usually sell for too-good-to-be-true prices. But paying the "normal" price doesn't guarantee you'll get the real deal either. You really need to know what you're looking for to ID the junk.

Cheers,
Rick

[ArtVandelay]

I got with the new Energizer lithium batteries...advertised 10 year lifetime.

[philiplane]

I've found even the lithium batteries leak in 2-3 years in the Florida heat, so I check all of them every year, and replace every other year. Headsets, pulse oximeter, ELT's, you name it.

[carusoam]

When it comes to batteries...

Somewhere along the line I compared all available at the time...  

Duracell was putting in the development to make batteries that last...

Probably measured in Walkman hours....  

Energizer cat had nine lives...

Duracell bunny keeps on going...

 

Price was important, but performance was always key...

Fake products are disappointing...

Battery performance is relatively easy to measure by their users... 

 

Concorde, Duracell... DieHard....

Favorite battery manufacturers at one time or another... 

I need a new car battery supplier... 

Best regards,

-a-

[GeeBee]

Advance Auto Parts now sells DieHard from Johnson Controls. 

 

[Yetti]

You may not live down south in the sub tropical zone

[Marauder]

I’ve always used Duracell. I never had one leak and I liked the fact that the had the expiration date printed on them simply so that I could sort out the oldest from the newest in my stash. (The original ACK 121.5 MHz ELT used Duracell batteries when they discovered that the only FAA requirement for an ELT battery was that it have an expiration date printed on it by the manufacturer).
However, lately I have had three separate Duracell AA batteries leak in various devices well before the expiration date and when they were not fully discharged. I may switch to Energizer.
Anyone else having similar issues?
Skip

Glad I’m not the only one. I have a half dozen Coast headlamps in various locations where I need them. I’ve seen Duracell battery leakage in 4 of them. These batteries were not in the units for a lengthy time either. Two of the lights had new Duracell’s that were 2 months old when they failed.

I’ve switched to Energizers alkalines for the AAA size and am using lithium Energizers for AA applications.

BTW - I found that white vinegar on Q Tips will dissolve the leakage.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Hank]

5 hours ago, Marauder said:

BTW - I found that white vinegar on Q Tips will dissolve the leakage.

Yes it will. Keep applying until the fuzziness stops and all buildup is gone. Then let it air dry before popping in new batteries.

[steingar]

I had a set of Duracells leak all over a GPS long ago.  Ruined the damn thing.  I called Garmin, maker of the GPS.  They fixed it under warranty desfpitethe fact that 1. the damage wasn't caused by any manufacturing defect other than the fool thing needing batteries and 2. I don't think the GPS was under warranty at the time. I miss those days.

[GeeBee]

On 5/16/2021 at 4:33 PM, Yetti said:

You may not live down south in the sub tropical zone

Actually, I do.

 

[Mark89114]

I think everything across the board is getting cheaper and poorly made, disposal goods to expensive capital goods....blame wall street and all of the MBA's.

[ArtVandelay]

I've found even the lithium batteries leak in 2-3 years in the Florida heat, so I check all of them every year, and replace every other year. Headsets, pulse oximeter, ELT's, you name it.

Energizers don’t, and they guarantee it or they will replace the device. Mine haven’t, but I don’t tie down outside either.

[philiplane]

2 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Energizers don’t, and they guarantee it or they will replace the device. Mine haven’t, but I don’t tie down outside either.

I just replaced two Energizer AA alkaline batteries in a Lightspeed headset. Batteries installed 3/15/20, so they were all of 13.5 months old. I don't think any brand is immune. It comes down to the storage temperature. Batteries of any kind aren't supposed to be stored above 95 degrees. It regularly hits 105-110 degrees in South Florida hangars from June to September. This year I'm leaving flashlights and headsets in a wine cooler repurposed for this. They'll stay at 60 degrees between flights and eliminate the other heat related problems too. The heat turns the low gloss clear coat on the headset plastics to mush, and makes the ear seals fall apart. 

Now I need to find a way to cool the RG35AXC battery without removing it from the plane... 

Hangars get warmer, and stay warm longer than a tie down, where you at least get a breeze to cool things down. And more cooling at night.

Edited May 18, 2021 by philiplane

[A64Pilot]

Rechargeable batteries don’t seem to leak, but I think in AA size only NIMH are available, if you can find Li-Po they should outlast Alkaline.

‘One of my head sets uses a 9V, and 9v’s are stupid expensive so I’m using rechargeable li-Po 9V’s that you plug a mini usb into to recharge

[bradp]

On 5/16/2021 at 11:17 AM, PT20J said:

I’ve always used Duracell. I never had one leak and I liked the fact that the had the expiration date printed on them simply so that I could sort out the oldest from the newest in my stash. (The original ACK 121.5 MHz ELT used Duracell batteries when they discovered that the only FAA requirement for an ELT battery was that it have an expiration date printed on it by the manufacturer).

However, lately I have had three separate Duracell AA batteries leak in various devices well before the expiration date and when they were not fully discharged. I may switch to Energizer.

Anyone else having similar issues?

Skip

I’ve had Duracell’s leak (in pagers of all things).   Go with energizer lithium AA.  Haven’t had a single leak and the two-three fold increase in capacity is well worth the increased price. 

[bradp]

22 hours ago, philiplane said:

Now I need to find a way to cool the RG35AXC battery without removing it from the plane... 

12v plug / transformed and marine bilge blower unit on a pwm. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by bradp